Update on the Refurbishment of the North and Public Halls

As at 16th November 2020

The North and Public halls in Ardrishaig are much appreciated by the local community, not least because so few of the original buildings are left in the main street. Both have been owned by the Trust, on behalf of the Ardrishaig Community, for some time now. Everyone who uses them will be aware of the issues that existed with the condition of both halls. They could be very cold and damp. It’s perhaps less well known that flooding had been an issue at times in the Public Hall due to drainage issues and proximity to the canal bank.

Work has been underway now, commissioned by the Trust, for nearly a year. We had expected all the work to be completed by the middle of 2020. But, like everything else, the work on the Public Hall was affected by the Covid lockdown and its on-going effects.

The main purpose of these works was to deal with basic problems that affected the fabric and usability of the buildings.

North Hall

Following a tender process managed by our architect, Neil Taylor of Taylor Architecture Practice, local company S & C Crawford were awarded the contract for the North Hall. They started on site in December last year, and completed the work in March 2020.

The improvements to the North Hall for now are only to the actual hall itself. The main change was installing an insulated ceiling, which will dramatically reduce the heat loss through the roof. This included repairs as needed to the roof itself and installation of new roof vents. There are new lights recessed into the ceiling, and lights added to the walls. The hall interior has been painted and the floor has been sanded and varnished.

While the main entrance door is unchanged, the internal entrance doors are now on the right as you enter. This will help reduce draughts and creates space for a storage area at the west end of the hall. A ramp has been added to the main door to replace the folding ramp that had been used previously. This new ramp is not intended to be a long-term solution, as there will be further work on the external landscaping to fit in with the intended Public Realm works adjacent to the North Hall – see below.

The next stage of work on the North Hall would see improvements to the kitchen and toilet area, as well as further integration with the Public Realm design. There wasn’t enough money available this time round to do any work on these areas. Some decoration has been carried out by Arthur Barclay, one of the Trust directors, which has greatly improved the appearance of the kitchen.

Priority was given to improving the comfort and usability of the hall, and to reduce the overall cold and damp. The main roof will hopefully survive for some time yet. But it is clearly in poor condition and will need to be replaced in the next few years, which will be a considerable cost.

As of the end of October, the hall has been back in use on a limited basis. There are some Zumba exercise classes being held. But only under very clear Covid related guidelines. Hopefully we will be able to make greater use of the hall in the near future.

Public Hall

The improvements to the Public Hall are ten times more than those to the North Hall, and ten times as expensive. Even so, much of the cost is in dealing with basic problems as mentioned above. We have been able to include some improvements to the toilets, which we didn’t think there would be enough money to do. And in particular we are entirely replacing the male toilet which was too small and in really poor condition.

Following a tender process managed by our architect, Neil Taylor of Taylor Architecture Practice, local company MacLeod Construction Ltd were awarded the contract for the Public Hall. They started work on site in January. Their progress was obviously affected, like everyone else, by the Covid lockdown. Once they were able to re-start it was difficult to get all the people and materials needed due to on-going furlough arrangements and firms not being able to get fully back up to speed. This has led to the completion date for the Public Hall being much later than we would have expected. But we are now hoping to have the hall handed back to us in early December.

A key part of the works is new and increased drainage along the base of the canal bank. When completed this will be largely invisible, but is essential to reduce the damp in the building and also the risk of flooding. To allow this to happen the small extension at that end of the building has been demolished as it is too close to the canal bank to allow any drainage work to be carried out. This extension had a store room and two toilets, all of which were in very poor overall condition, and were particularly badly affected by damp.

The electric wiring inside the building had been added to and adapted over time. On inspection by MacLeod’s engineers it became apparent that there were areas that needed to be replaced over and above those already identified. The impact of this was that further work was essential to make sure the building is fit for purpose and safe for us all to enjoy.

Another essential repair to the hall was to replace all the areas of flat roof. These were all in poor condition and allowing water into the building at various points. The replacement roof is still flat, but will use modern materials and techniques to ensure that the roof will do its job for many more years. It is also being insulated to improve the heat retention below it and make the building more comfortable for users.

One significant change has been moving the main entrance from its old position facing the A83, to the south side of the building. This means that people going in and out of the hall will be away from the very busy main road. The old ‘cafeteria’ in effect becomes the entrance lobby for the hall. It has an improved view of the loch. There will be a small canopy above the entrance, and there will be new fascia lighting.

As well as dealing with the most serious concerns about the overall fabric of the building, the other aim is to improve the comfort and usability of the main hall. A key component for both of these things is installation of a central heating system that will cover most areas within the building. This will maintain a base temperature and reduce the damp throughout. The main hall will have ceiling insulation, which will further help with the level of heating and comfort. The balcony has been removed, as it was not original, was blocking half of one of the windows, and would have been very expensive to bring up to an acceptable standard for public use.

Every effort is being made to retain the highly regarded acoustics of the hall. None of the changes should have any detrimental effect on these.

The main frontages of the building are having their render repaired and repainted. Also the main areas throughout the hall are being redecorated.

Funding

Ardrishaig Community Trust has received money twice a year since 2013 from its investment in Allt Dearg Community Wind Farm. Some of this money has been used to give significant grants to local groups over the years, to buy the North Hall and what is now the Trust office, support local events such as the Gala and Christmas Lights, provide three years of sponsorship to Lochgilphead Soccer Centre, and to make small ‘micro grants’ as well. The Trust, though, has been retaining a significant amount of this money in anticipation of the major projects needed to aid in the regeneration of the village.

The works on both the North and Public halls this year will cost over £450,000. This very significant spend is being monitored very closely.

As so much of the works taking place on the halls are to deal with basic issues with the buildings themselves, and the comfort of the main hall areas, there will be further work needed at some point to improve other parts of the halls. These include: the kitchens and toilets in both halls, external landscaping to fit with the proposed Public Realm project, further external decoration, repair and decoration of ancillary areas (e.g. storage rooms), and additional facilities for performances. All of these items of work are dependent on funds becoming available.

Public Realm

The Ardrishaig North Public Realm project is being run by Argyll and Bute Council, with funding they have set aside as part of the ‘Tarbert and Lochgilphead Regeneration Project’. The main outcomes of the project will see a public space created adjacent to the North Hall, a clearly identified crossing point across the A83, landscaping to tie in to the North and Public halls, and general improvements to the amenity of the area. Design work is on-going to consider the various options available. And to ensure that the proposals fit within the budgets available.

There is expected to be a further public consultation on the designs in the near future, hopefully before the end of the year.

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