Longthorpe Memorial Hall, off Thorpe Road, which stood at the heart of the community for 60 years was bulldozed in January this year to make way for a new facility which cost a cool £700,000.

Today, Longthorpe Community Association chairman Michael Taylor said they were "absolutely delighted" to finally have hold of the keys to their new village hall, which is set to benefit more than 1,000 users in the area.

Mr Taylor: "We have now formerly taken possession of the new community hall which is fantastic. We have to thank Peterborough City Council for the funding and all their support."

Now groups including Scouts and Guides, the Women's Institute, a pre-school group, bowls, cricket and tennis clubs and mums and toddlers can look forward to their first winter in the new state-of-the-art facilities.

The hall, which will take the name Longthorpe Village Hall is behind the village post office and boasts a main hall which can be divided by an acoustic partition. It has a main stage to host productions and a separate committee room for meetings.

There are now toilets and a fully fitted kitchen, as well as a landscaped garden for the children to enjoy.

The original hall had been built in 1947, and was known as the War Memorial Hall to honour those who had served their country.

However, by the end of 2007 the existing timber-frame structure leaked water when it rained and had suffered from persistent vermin infestations which led to the planning chiefs giving the association permission to build a new haven.

Previously, due to the poor facilities, only one event could be held at a time in conditions described by Mr Taylor in 2007 as as "pretty appalling".

But now the committee hopes it will host occasions such as wedding receptions, private functions and baptisms.

The hall will be hosting an open day for people to come and look at the new facilities on offer on Saturday, November 8 between 10am and 1pm.

Mr Taylor said: "We hope people will come and see what the new hall has to offer and hopefully we will get even more people using this fantastic facility."

The first event will be a quiz night on the same evening hosted by BBC2's Eggheads panel member Connagh-Joseph "CJ" de Mooi, which will see 150 trivia hounds pack the hall.

The official opening day will take place on April 3, 2008.

For more information about the hall, call 01733 265739