Devonvale Hall is saved
Hamish Hutchinson • Published 22 Aug 2012 10:30
2 Comments
THE future of the Devonvale Hall in Tillicoultry has been secured.
A new board, of eight members, was officially elected last week.
It means the hall will continue to be operated by the community - having done so for the past seven years.
The induction of the new board followed a plea last month by the previous Devonvale Hall Ltd board members for their successors.
Out-going chairman Ross Duguid said, "We would like to thank all the out-going board for all the work it has done over the years and wish the new board the very best to take the hall forward."
As exclusively revealed in the Advertiser, the five current board members decided to step down in September after steering the hall to success for almost a decade.
A public meeting was held in July to garner support and a new board was elected last week with the current members stepping down earlier than planned. The Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface helped with the change over.
New secretary Laura Johnston-Brand, a local business owner, said, "We all had different reasons for joining the board but overall we didn't want to lose the hall. We all love the building and want it to stay in the community for community use. We hope to keep it going, keep it running and run it well."
Built by Samuel Jones (Devonvale) Ltd in 1938, the hall was a popular venue for community events until it was closed by the council in 2004 due to budget cuts.
A community group was created to fight the local authority's decision to sell the facility.
In December 2004, the building was given a B listed status by Historic Scotland and the following year the council agreed to lease the hall to the community group.
The Devonvale Hall Ltd was established with charitable status and it is the same band of volunteers that has been running the venue ever since - helped by annual grant of £5000 from the council.
The company has been successful - with more than 350 hours of lets in the past year, amounting to 8600 people passing through the hall's doors.
However the out-going board feared that if a new board was not found by September then the hall would be handed back to the council and closed once again.
This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 22 Aug 12
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gary
Unregistered User
Aug 22, 12:16
Report commentAnd quite rightly so...if not for the many purposes it serves then for the architectural design. Although built in the 30s, so not too old in the grand scheme of things, it is one of very few Art Deco styled buildings in the area and should/could be a tourist attraction. Historic Scotland should upgrade it to "A Status". the story of how it came to be is interesting enough but the beautiful architecture is a joy for art lovers...
Tilly's Devonvale Hall is one of a kind. Thanks to the people who fought for the building. I am ashamed to say I was not one of the but should anyone require an extra pair of hands, an extra signature on a petition or anything else, please ask to be put in contact with me,
Kind Regards,
Gary
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VivMcb
Unregistered User
Aug 23, 14:07
Report commentGreat news as the attractive building holds history in the hillfoots, many more buildings should b saved! Well done to the old board aswell the new board n hope ur future trades u all well!!! X
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