Five projects designed to put village halls and sports centres back at the heart of local communities across East Anglia have been awarded a share of a £2m funding package from the Big Lottery Fund (BIG).

Three schemes in Norfolk, one in Suffolk and one in Cambridgeshire have received a funding boost as part of efforts to help voluntary and community groups weather the effects of the economic downturn. Plans for a new village hall complex in Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk, have been boosted after receiving a grant of nearly £485,000, while the Wisbech St Mary Sports and Community Centre scheme in Cambridgeshire has been awarded £469,000.

Lowestoft St Andrew's Parochial Church Council in Suffolk has netted £437,316 for a new community centre Great Dunham Amenities Committee (GDAC) will receive £345,345 towards the construction of a community building hosting recreational, educational and social activities in Norfolk. Keith Mitchell, GDAC project co-ordinator, said: "Our current hall is an outdated prefabricated building from the late 1960s and there's no way we could have built on to it or refurbished it. But now with the funding we'll be able to provide a brand new venue for the village."

The Thruxton and Garvestone Institute near Norwich, Norfolk, has received £177,986 to demolish the community's existing village hall and replace it with a new facility providing badminton and indoor football, as well as local food market events.