Help members of our community, especially older adults, build their digital confidence and stay safe online. As a Digital Champion, you will offer friendly and patient support to learners who are new to technology.
You don’t need to be an IT expert—just a great communicator with patience and understanding.
Your role will involve:
Attending support sessions and outreach visits at Forres Town Hall.
Helping people get started with technology, sometimes remotely by telephone.
Building learners’ confidence so they know how to find further help.
Experience in coaching, mentoring, or teaching is a bonus. Free Digital Champions training is provided to all volunteers. Currently running on a Tuesday, 2 pm to 4 pm, with the hope of increasing the number of days as we step into 2026.
Join us and make a real difference in your community.
We are currently looking for Receptionists who can welcome visitors to the Forres Town Hall. This position plays a vital role in the customer service of our team, and in providing as much access as possible to the Town Hall across the week. The receptionists will greet and direct visitors as well as answering and responding to phone calls. Additionally the role can provide administrative support if that interests you.
The role is based in the Hallkeepers Office in Forres Town Hall and you will need to have good verbal communication skills, a friendly and welcoming demeanour, and the ability to multi-task at times.
The role can be undertaken in a morning or early afternoon. How much you can support us, is up to you. Just a few volunteering hours a week goes a long way to helping our team do our best for the people of Forres and the surrounding area.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024.
FACT will be holding its Annual General Meeting and 10th Birthday Celebration on Friday, 26th November 2021 at 5.30pm. Members and supporters are invited to join us for the meeting and celebration in Forres Town Hall.
For full information and documents please click the the link AGM Info or contact our reception office 01309 674388 or email info@forresarea.org
As FACT conclude the final stages of a Community Asset Transfer for Forres Town Hall, with support from the Scottish Land Fund, steps are now underway for a major Refurbishment Project for the Town Hall.
This project aims to bring the building up to current standards in terms of accessibility, building services and fabric insulation, and to repair and refurbish the building in order that the nearly 200 year old Forres Town Hall can continue to thrive in the 21st century.
Since 2017, following extensive community consultation, FACT has been able to develop a clear vision for Forres Town Hall, which will see its functionality transformed. The stated aims of that vision are:
The wish to transform the Main Hall into a modern multi-purpose accessible performance space
A need to ensure universal accessibility to upper floor accommodation at both the front and the rear of the building
A need to maximise opportunities to create additional flexible floor space for use by the community and social enterprises
The wish to restore the Lesser Hall to become a beautiful event space once more that celebrates the heritage of the building
The wish to make the entrance foyer more welcoming and practical
To achieve the above future vision for Forres Town Hall, funding from the Scottish Land Fund, which also supported the Community Asset Transfer, has enabled applications for planning permission and listed building consent to be submitted to Moray Council’s Planning Department for a transformative project to refurbish, insulate and improve the building.
Links to the planning application and listed building consent applications can be found on Moray Council’s Planning Online portal under Ref.No. 20/00888/APP and Ref. No. 20/00889/LBC. The Design and Heritage Statement, one of the supporting documents submitted as part of the planning and listed building consent applications, provides a full summary of the design proposals.
The design proposals submitted for planning permission and listed building consent, sub-divides the Town Hall into three parts – a front section with foyer, toilets and a restored Lesser Town Hall, a central section with a large multi-purpose performance space and a rear section with three levels of flexible workspace, and meeting rooms. It does this by proposing:
To remove the art deco alterations from the Main Hall – revealing the original roof structure – and to install retractable seating in its place, to allow the Hall to be used for more flexible uses
Through removing the gallery in the Main Hall, to re-purpose the first-floor corridors (and the stairs that lead to them) that service the gallery as flexible work/ meeting space and storage
To create new multi-purpose rooms and support space over three floors in the place of the current stage, including a new room below the roof structure overlooking the Main Hall
To insert a new second floor mezzanine in the first-floor room on the front elevation
To provide new platform lifts at the front and rear of the building, to provide almost universal access throughout
To introduce natural light to the Main Hall via new rooflights
To provide modern fit for purpose sanitary facilities including accessible toilets and an accessible shower
To greatly improve the functionality and size of the existing kitchen
To establish dedicated plant space at the rear of the Main Hall to allow the future installation of efficient energy systems
To restore the Lesser Hall to its former grandeur through careful restoration and redecoration
To improve external accessibility to the building by adjusting external levels and improving surfacing in the pend
To carry out essential and desirable fabric repairs
The Long section drawing shown below gives an idea of some of the above changes.
When Moray Council took the decision to close Forres Town Hall completely in 2017, Forres Area Community Trust (FACT) stepped in to lease and manage the building on behalf of the community. This has been very successful as FACT have worked with user groups to increase occupancy and use of the building which doubled in the first 12 months of taking on the building.
Until lockdown earlier this year a wide range of user groups including Forres & District Pipe Band, the Varis Players, Film Forres and the Forres branch of the Royal Scottish County Dance Society have been able to continue using this space.
FACT has also been able to offer various activities in the Town Hall such as the popular Forres Online drop in sessions, and Older Persons Project activities such as gentle seated exercise and welcomed new groups to use the building including Turning Point Church, Zumba and Pound exercise classes, Guide Dog Training and community meals with Moray Food Plus.
During lockdown it has been possible for Forres Town Hall to serve as a hub for the Forres & Kinloss community food project which has allocated over 1,000 meals since May of this year. It has also been open at limited times for donations to be made to the Scrubs project, food donations, masks, and blankets for the Cameron Project in a Covid-safe way. It has even been possible during lockdown to have the help of volunteers to refresh some of the current décor in the North Room on a socially distanced basis.
Following the successful lease period, FACT is now in the final stages of concluding a Community Asset Transfer for Forres Town Hall, with support from the Scottish Land Fund. The final sale has not yet gone through as it has been delayed by the pandemic, however this is expected to complete before the end of the year. The building will then be owned by the Forres Area Community Trust on behalf of the community.
Following on from an intensive briefing day last Friday we hope to have the volunteer telephone befriending programme up and running by Friday this week. We can help with signposting to services that can help you if you are in need. This is a work in progress and will develop over the coming weeks as we understand the impact of the pandemic on our community.
Please keep in touch through social media or by calling us on 01309 674 388 and leaving a message. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
A bid
to buy Forres Town Hall and turn it into a venue for community, business and
training events has been successful in the latest round of grant applications
to the Scottish Land Fund.
Forres
Area Community Trust has been awarded £116,365 to purchase the hall, which has
been a feature of the town’s High Street since 1829, in order to provide
community facilities, meeting rooms, study and workshop areas, training
facilities and co-working hot desks.
Debbie Herron, Development Manager Forres Area Community Trust, said:
“We are delighted at the news that Forres Area Community Trust has been awarded the SLF funding to buy Forres Town Hall on behalf of the community. This endorsement of our work means that we can continue to work to support the development and resilience of our community into the future.”
Securing
the Town Hall into community ownership and having the support of the Scottish
Land Fund is the first step in redeveloping and refurbishing the building for
the benefit of the community.
Fabio Villani Chair of Forres Area Community Trust said:
“The Scottish Land Fund’s generous support enables us to purchase Forres Town Hall as well as to further develop our plans for its future. It marks an important milestone in the history of Forres, as one more key element of the town’s heritage is fully returned to the direct care of the local community. It also marks an important milestone in the development of FACT as a key organisation in helping the people of Forres make the most of the Town’s many assets. ”
If anyone would like any further information, please do get in touch on 01309 674388, info@forresarea.org or pop into the office between 10am and 1pm through the week.
