Scarborough's Nick Thomas to sponsor refurbishment of Temperance Hall in Scalby

The hall was built in 1894 and was given to the village by John Edward Ellis, a Liberal MP and Quaker.

The Thomas' and the HQ Collection are donating £100,000 to bring the building back to its former glory, and the Scalby Cillage Trust are fundraising final funds for finishing touches including a new disabled entrance and stair lift.

Mr Thomas said: "I've watched the poor place fall into rack and ruin due to lack of funds so we decided to do something to help."

The refurbishment will include creating three ground floor business units to help local start up businesses and an upstairs meeting room to accommodate up to 60 guests for conferences and community events such as cinema nights, dance classes and charity functions.

The project is being undertaken by Carol Bird Interiors of Beverley.

Mr Thomas added: "We want to make it live, it's about time it came back to life.

"We've started doing the outside and it's going to be great. Hopefully people will use it for what it was built for which is as a place for the community to meet.

"Having lived in the village since 1987 it's a special place for us and it's nice to give something back."

The Scalby Village Trust is holding an information and fundraising evening at The Yew Tree in Scalby on Monday December 2 at 6pm. All are invited to attend to find out more about the project.

Nick Thomas is the chairman and founder of Qdos Entertainment Group and was recently awarded an MBE at Buckingham Palace for services to the entertainment industry and charity.