Iona Village Hall Committee is delighted to announce that the Big Lottery Fund has awarded the ‘An Talla Baile’ project development funding of £33,996.

Building momentum since 2012, the community building project focusses on redeveloping Iona Village Hall, to meet the wider needs of a growing island community.

The committee has worked with the local community, supported by Community Enterprise and design team WT Architecture, to develop a business plan and a designs for a new-build hall.

A big step forward towards the realisation of this project, the development funding from the Big Lottery Fund will be used to cover the costs of fees to develop the designs and strategic plan and a part time project worker for 16 weeks. Shiona Ruhemann, chair of the Iona Community Council says: “We are delighted that the Village Hall committee has secured Big Lottery Fund funding for this crucial stage in building a more modern and adaptable Village Hall on Iona. The Hall is such a vital, dynamic engine of our community life today, and of the cohesive, inclusive island community we want to see thriving in the future. It delivers an extraordinarily busy, diverse and imaginative programme throughout the year, serving and bringing together visitors and islanders of all ages and interests. We are really grateful to our committed and productive Village Hall committee, and very excited about the ways in which this project will support and enrich our community going forward. ”

Iona Village Hall committee would like to thank the Big Lottery Fund, the project partners and the local community for their ongoing support and enthusiasm.

Spring 2017 will see another round of local consultation events and public meetings to communicate, discuss and progress the plans to bring ‘An Talla Baile’ to fruition.

For any news and updates visit http://www.ionavillagehall.org or find us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ionavillagehall).

Notes:

“An Talla Baile – Shaping the Heart of Iona” is a community building project founded identified need in the island community which has a year-round population of around 150. It is focused on the development of the only community-managed asset – the 90-year-old village hall – to address grass roots need in a strategic and sustainable way. At the heart of the project is a vision to be more than just a ‘village hall’ but to meet the wider needs of the community in a sustainable way which contributes socially, economically and with less environmental impact. Iona Village Hall Committee consists of 10 local volunteers.

Community Enterprise have over 25 years experience of working with voluntary groups to build capacity and confidence within communities to deliver community-led developments. http://www.communityenterprise.co.uk

WT Architecture are an award-winning team with experience projects on Hebridean islands; particularly the challenges that this can present. They have fantastic experience of working on public spaces and buildings and are currently working on a very similar project on Skye. https://www.wtarchitecture.com/public

The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.

The Big Lottery Fund Scotland is focussed on helping people and communities most in need throughout Scotland through its five-year £250m funding scheme as well as small grants schemes Awards for All and Investing in Ideas.