Aird Community Trust (ACT)

Tag: renovation

  • Work starts on community centre extension

    Well, it’s taken a while but we’re happy to say the work started on the Kirkhill Community Centre extension and refurbishment on the 20th August.

    The Kirkhill Centre Forward project will provide the community centre with a new meeting room to complement the main hall. The new room will be warm and cosy and will accommodate up to 40 people. It will be ideal for smaller groups and for meetings. It also means that new groups can be accommodated who were previously turned away because the main hall was booked.

    As well as the new meeting room the main hall will be completely renovated. We’ll have a new much more spacious kitchen, new toilets, a bigger entrance hall with space for the post office/box office.  And, thanks to funding from the Climate Challenge Fund, the hall will be insulated throughout to give us a much more comfortable and economical building.

    This project has been a community aspiration for a long time and it’s great that we are finally getting the community facilities that we need in this growing area. This couldn’t have happened without the efforts of the Kirkhill Centre Forward sub-committee which has put in a huge amount of work and continues to put in many volunteer hours. It also needed the support of the community which has raised nearly £100,000 over the years through supporting Kirkhill Gala and other events.

    The £334,000 project is funded from a number of sources including Highland LEADER, Climate Challenge Fund, Robertson Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation and Highland Council. Local company R&R Regeneration has been appointed as contractor.

    The community centre is now closed and but access will be kept for the MUGA, recycling bins and football pitch. We should be ready to re-open in late December or certainly the new year. Get ready for a massive party!

    Kirkhill MUGA

    Kirkhill MUGA is still operational during the community centre refurbishments but floodlights won’t be available until the community centre reopens. Clubs and groups are welcome to book regular sessions for football, basketball, shinty etc. and tennis membership is still available.   Contact Ken MacDonald on 01463 831479, email kdaa@kirkhillandbunchrew.org.uk  or see http://kirkhillandbunchrew.org.uk/community_centre/kirkhill-muga/

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  • Funding secured for Kirkhill Centre Forward project

    Well we’ve done it! We’ve just heard that Kirkhill District Amenities Association (KDAA) has been awarded the final bit of funding needed to go ahead with the renovation and extension of Kirkhill Community Centre. And it’s fitting that we have achieved it in the Community Centre’s 25th year.

    We’re delighted that the Highland LEADER programme have awarded us £150,000 towards the £304,000 we need for the project. We had already secured funding from the Climate Challenge Fund, Robertson Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation and the Highland Council Ward Fund. The funding also includes £62,000 of the KDAA’s own money and a Highland Opportunity loan of £20,000.

    The plans for the centre include enlarging the kitchen and vestibule, improving the changing rooms, insulating throughout, and creating a larger brighter vestibule with a Post Office counter/box office in the existing hall. The extension will include a new meeting room, store and toilets.  You can find out more on the Kirkhill Centre Forward page.

    The  Kirkhill Centre Forward committee has done a huge amount of work to get the project to this stage and thanks should go to them all, particularly Alasdair Morrison  for leading the team and Sandra Hogg for filling in all the funding applications.  Alasdair said, “We’re delighted that this project can finally go ahead. It’s been a long term aspiration of this community and with a growing population is much needed.”

    There’s still a lot of work to do but we hope that we will be able to start work in early July and reopen in October.

    Finally we’d like to thank the whole community for their support over the years . The fundraising during  Gala Week has enabled us to build up sufficient funds for this project to go ahead. However, as we’re committing all the funds we have available and taking out a loan it makes it more important than ever that this year’s Gala is a success.

    Please come along to support the events and help us make sure the new community centre is fit for the next 25 years.

    Kirkhill Gala Week 2012

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