North Notts Community Arena and The Acorn Community Theatre have scooped £281,000 between them - and those at the sharp end say it's the hard work of staff and volunteers which is behind the bid success.
Arena manager Nigel Turner says its £187,000 pot of gold will pay for upgrades to the building's electrics, heating, lighting and the removal of asbestos.

While David Jordon, chairman at The Acorn says the £94,000 grant will pay for a much needed second rehearsal room at the front of the building.

"This is an important part of our Energise the Arena project, the work will mean that we no longer have to worry about huge bills coming our way if something breaks down," said Nigel.

"When we took over, it was to secure the building's short term future - now we are looking long term and projects like this mean we will be able to continue providing opportunities for people all over Bassetlaw."

Since opening earlier this year, The Acorn Theatre has become home for many community groups and is inundated with people wanting to rehearse or hold meetings.

"At the moment we are limited to having one activity on at a time, but this will change all that," he said.

"The grant will pay for the building, and after that there will be £25,000 worth of volunteer labour to do work like plastering, soundproofing and painting."

And volunteers who help get ideas like this off the ground, were on the top of Nigel and David's thank you list.

"A lot of hard work and effort has gone into both these bids, and we both know how necessary it is to have brilliant volunteers," said David.

"I know at The Acorn we are very lucky to having a willing band of current and retired tradesman to help us - I'd particularly like to thank Mick Hagen and Terry Pearson."
And thanks was also offered to those at the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.

"The investment from CRT into Bassetlaw has been very significant and there are many projects which would not have happened without it - regional manager Meg Hankinson has been especially helpful to both of us," said added Nigel.

"These things don't happen without the hard work of everybody involved and the people in the community who drive them."