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A First For Forres Area Community Trust
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.
Last Updated: August 21, 2019 by forresarea
Community group celebrates first anniversary running Moray town hall by submitting bid to own it
by David MacKay, Press & Journal
L-R – Vicky Flood (Community Development Worker), Kirsty Williams (older Persons Project Co-ordinator), Janice Cooper (Forres On-line Co-ordinator), Kirsty-Ann Wilson (Graduate Marketer), Rory Dutton (Tenant Co-Worker) and front – Debbie Herron (Development Manager)
A community group has submitted a bid to take over a cherished Moray landmark and bring it back to life.
Today is the first anniversary of Forres Area Community Trust (Fact) signing a lease to prevent the local town hall closing.
Now the charity is aiming to take over the ownership of the Victorian building, which has been a gathering point for generations, as well.
Today new art gallery will be opened in the hall during a party to celebrate the landmark, which dates back to the 1850s.
Annual Hogmanay bashes have been revived at the hall for the first time since the 1960s and the town centre venue is also now fully booked for Saturday coffee mornings until the end of next year.
Debbie Herron, Fact’s development manager, wants to preserve the building’s strong links with the community.
She said: “During the last year we’ve had a few people come in who have met their husbands and wives here – it used to be very popular with a lot of evening dances.
“The social history of the building is really important. We knew it was important to the community but I didn’t realise how much until this year.”
Forres Town Hall faced closure with similar venues last year due to budget cuts from Moray Council. Fact has applied to the authority for ownership of the hall to be transferred to them.
Meetings have been set up between Fact, other groups who have taken on their own community facilities and council staff so they can learn from what each other is doing.
The group has drawn up plans for a £1.9million refurbishment of the Forres hall to build on the success of film screenings in the venue with tiered seating and more gallery and office space.
Mrs Herron added: “The biggest challenge for us at the moment is the condition of the building.
“It’s nearly 200 years old now. The roof leaks in places, it’s safe but it’s just another thing that needs repaired.
“Ultimately we want to completely refurbish the entire hall over the next five years. It doesn’t make best use of space at the moment so there’s a lot of untapped potential.”
The celebration at Forres Town Hall today will run from 4pm to 6pm with regular users of the venue present to provide information about what they do.