The Tech has served the people of Holmfirth since 1894 and in the last 130 years, thousands of people will have walked up its steps. These and the rest of the building are showing signs of wear and tear.

Bringing the building back into local ownership cost us thousands of pounds and was paid for by the generosity of local people and matched funding from Coops UK. We have benefits from grants from the parish council and other bodies and some wonderful donors. With your support and a lot of hard work, the number of people using the Tech is increasing, year on year.

We are just about covering the running costs. This has been made harder by the increase in energy costs. The gas bill for the first 8 months of the year has gone up from £2,240 in 2021 to £10,100 in 2023 and electricity from £2,444 to £5,900! Other costs have increased more than anticipated as well. But we are holding our own.

This means, though we are not making the surplus we need to carry out the repairs. Fortunately, the Tech was not in a bad state when we bought it and we have been able to make some significant alternations, such as the kitchen and gents toilets, and deal with the damp in the basement. Major grants will be needed to replace the windows but getting grants for the small jobs in virtually impossible.

This is where you come in. We need your help with the filling in holes, painting, mending the broken pipes, replacing the curtains and carpets and the other little jobs.

If lots of people give little amounts we will be able to transform the Tech. A new colour on the foyer's walls and getting rid of the flaking paint in the Dance Studio will make such a different.

Please give what you can to help Repair the Tech.