A Suffolk parish council has been given permission to build an extension on a hall that was rebuilt following an arson attack in 2013.

Trimley St Martin Parish Council had applied to East Suffolk Council for permission to extend Trimley Memorial Hall to provide a separate hall with a kitchen, store and disabled toilet facility and now the plans have been approved.

The hall will be built to the rear of the existing hall and will involve the extension of an existing double pitched roof and flat roof design with rendered masonry walls to match the existing colours.

READ MORE: Trimley St Martin hall applies for extension following fire

The 32sqm hall will include a ramp and landing to the entrance, while there will be 42 car parking spaces.

A design and access statement with the latest plans indicated that the separate hall would enable more bookings to be accommodated to keep up with demand and would not 'compromise' any existing parking on the site.

In June 2013, the hall, just off the High Road, was hit by a blaze that took three hours to control and destroyed most of the items inside.

READ MORE: Trimley St Martin: Hopes high that Memorial Hall will reopen by Christmas after devastating blaze

East Anglian Daily Times: The memorial hall was damaged during an arson attack in 2013The memorial hall was damaged during an arson attack in 2013 (Image: Archant)However, a subsequent assessment of the hall indicated that the blaze, which happened in the early hours, did not cause extensive damage to the walls of the facility.

It meant that the building did not need to be demolished but repairs had to be made to the roof and the floors of the hall.

The hall was reopened 16 months after the blaze following a £289,000 restoration project.

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Prior to the fire, the hall had been used regularly by a wide variety of groups and organisations including quilters, embroiderers, Trimley Saints Players, Trimley Wives and the parish council.

Speaking on behalf of the parish council, parish clerk Carly Small said in a letter to the district council: "It is greatly needed as many groups/hirers are being turned away as the current space is already booked.

"Trimley St Martin has grown and continues to grow as a community and therefore more community space is required."

READ MORE: Suffolk news