General InformationWhitsome Village Hall is an old building outside the village. It has served the village well for many years. It is managed by a voluntary committee called Whitsome Village Hall Association. The committee does not own the building. It is leased at a peppercorn rent from Scottish Borders Council. The role of the committee is to manage the hall for the benefit of local residents. It has in the past been well used with lots of activities including: - Parent and Toddler Group
- Youth Group
- Badminton Club
- Local History Group
- SWRI
- Kirk Guild
- Carpet Bowling
- Community Council
- etc..........
Unfortunately, since the heating had to be removed after an ice storm a few years ago, the condition of the hall has deteriorated and it is now used occasionally by only a handful of groups. Feasibility Study The committee members had to take action. So a feasibility study was done into identifying the best way to proceed. The study included looking at all the options such as renovating the hall, building a new hall, all the potential sites for a new building, the views of residents and what activities were needed in the village. The cost of renovating the hall was almost as much as a new hall and the study recommend a new building on a new site within the village. As the above study was taking place, it came to the attention of the committee that the portakabin which houses Whitsome Village Shop was also deteriorating from age. This meant that the shop may close in a year or two. After discussions it was agreed that the planned new building will incorporate not just a Village Hall and Meeting Room but also a Community Shop, Post Office and cafe area. The Ark idea was born! The building will be in the heart of the village and will be fully accessible with adequate car parking and all mod cons.
| The new building will be a real community hub and is called ‘Whitsome Ark’ as it will help to ensure that our village remains afloat for some time to come! Next Stage
This Village Community Building is an ambitious project for a small committee to take on but there has been lots of support from parish residents and other village groups. The committee is optimistic that Whitsome will have a Hall and Community Building to be proud off. It needs to be fit for lots of new activities and services which are needed by local residents. The initial plans and costs horrified committee members and local residents alike. We realised we would have to modify our design so that there was a realistic possiblity that we could raise the required sums.
The committee aim to get the cost of the build to a maximum of £400,000.
Finding the Money  Funding bids and local fundraising have been ongoing for 18 months. After much hard work by committee members, we have now reached our minimum target and can go ahead with the building. See Building the Ark Pages
for Photo Diary of the Building Progress |
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