A NEW village hall for Bentley moved a step closer to replacing the old one when Awards For All, based near Cambridge, agreed to make a grant of £5,000 towards the scheme's design study.

A NEW village hall for Bentley moved a step closer to replacing the old one when Awards For All, based near Cambridge, agreed to make a grant of £5,000 towards the scheme's design study.

As a result nearly half of the cost of the unavoidable stage of drawing up the highly-detailed application for planning permission has been met.

The hope remains the building will begin in 2004.

As at the Silver Jubilee in 1977 children in Bentley will receive commemorative mugs but with two differences.

N This year year all children up to age 16 living in the village or belonging to the school or playgroup will be recipients; in 1977 those between 12 and 16 may have missed out.

N In 1977 Bobby Robson, then living in the village, distributed the mugs. This year it is not yet known who will do this but certainly it will not be the present manager of Newcastle United FC.

Every household will have the chance to purchase these mugs: the first at £1.50 each, others at £3 each.

Arrangements to survey a second 20 per cent of the parish's hedgerows this year are being made. Colin Hawes, co-ordinator, is drawing together his team of surveyors, looking to allocate the hedgerows to be surveyed and organising one or more training sessions for June.

Because of an exceptionally warm winter Colin expects all the hedgerow species to be in full leaf mid-May, a fortnight earlier than last year.

Anyone wishing to join last year's 25-strong team should contact Colin on 310678.

The Horticultural Society's coffee morning to raise money for two local charities will take place between 10am and noon on Saturday, May 18.