The community raised over £300,000 to buy and renovate the New Inn in Halse last year. The extended garden includes a 12-metre loggia, new paving and new disabled access. Stephen Hoole, chairman of the Halse and District Community Benefit Society (formed to legally run the village project), said: Undoubtedly lockdown, which curtailed the activities of so many, has been a golden opportunity for us to help bring the New Inn back to life. “The announcement of the planned reopening of the economy gave us deadlines to work with. We took the opportunity to get the outside space up and ready, which would have been well-nigh impossible had we still been trading.