Greenlaw Town Hall needs an Injection of £2 Million to Survive

The 'Berwickshire News' Article by Simon Duke, dated 4 June 2008 advises:

The people of Greenlaw came out in force last week when the fate of their Town Hall topped the Agenda at a meeting in the Blackadder Social Club.

The Town Hall Committee were pleased to announce that their hard work could be awarded to the tune of £500,000 courtesy of Historic Scotland.

The meeting was a real success with over 40 people present to offer their support, including: John Lamont MSP, Councillor Donald Moffat, Sir John Swinton and Alistair Hutton (Convenor of Scottish Borders Council). Speaking at the event were James Simpson (Simpson & Brown Conservation Architects and Town Hall Trustee), Andy Millar (Scottish Borders Council), George McNeill (Chairman of Scottish Historic Buildings Trust) and Una Richards (Chief Executive of Alba Conservation Trust).

The meeting was Chaired by Town Hall Project Committee Chair Peter Leggate.

George McNeill and Una Richards outlined the commitment of Scottish Historic Buildings Trust to dedicate their time to running a high profile campaign, in conjunction with the community, to raise the funds necessary to save the Town Hall.

Una explained that Historic Scotland have indicated that £500,000 could be made available towards the project to create offices and community space within the Town Hall, but only if a further £1.4 Million can be raised within a relatively short timeframe of the end of this year.

The key message expressed at the meeting was "If you want to see Greenlaw Town Hall survive for future generations, now is the time to act. It is the last chance for the building and it need everyone in Greenlaw, Berwickshire, the Scottish Borders and Scotland and beyond to fight to save it. Without the support of the local community the building will be lost for ever".

Peter Leggate said "I am very pleased with how the meeting went and how many people turned up to lend their support. The £500,000 offer from Historic Scotland is obviously fantastic, but this is dependent on us showing that we are capable of raising a large amount of money ourselves. There are a number of fundraising ideas in mind, including an orchestral concert in Greenlaw Church, a lunch and an auction in Edinburgh, and selling Christmas Cards by a Local Artist."

If anyone would like to offer their support for this project, either in terms of time or money, please contact Una Richards on Tel 0131-656-0700 or visit the Website for further information www.conservationtrust.co.uk/shbt