Brass band gets £20k lottery funding for refurb

A Cornish band is celebrating after being given £19,950 in National Lottery funding to renovate its home.

St Keverne Band, which was founded in 1886, said it had been given the cash from the National Lottery Community Fund to make improvements to its base on Lemon Street.

It said the work would include installing a portable ramp, widening the building's doors, replacing furniture and a refurbishment of its community kitchen at the site which first opened in 1971.

Alan Retallack, chairman of the band, said the changes would make the band and its home more accessible to everyone in the local community.

Mr Retallack said the work consisted of projects the band had wanted to complete for "a few years".

He added the band had other fundraising events such as its annual Ox Roast, which takes place on St Keverne's village square on 2 August, but money from these events would often help the band in other ways.

"We're really relieved and delighted to get the funding because we can at get on and crack on with the improvements," Mr Retallack said.

"It's stuff we've been looking to do for a while but had to prioritise other things, so this funding has made all the difference."

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