Work will begin early next year on the long-awaited transformation of Arbroath’s historic courthouse into a community hub.
Plans are being laid for vital repairs to the roof of the High Street building, eight years after the last sheriff court cases were heard there.
And the group behind the ambitious project is launching a crowdfunder appeal to keep the momentum going.
Arbroath Courthouse Community Trust was awarded nearly £300,000 of place-based Scottish Government funding distributed by Angus Council in August.
Trust chairman Angus Roberts says he hopes that contract could start in February.
“The mood going forward is very positive,” he said.
£2m dream
ACCT finally secured the building from Scottish Courts in 2020 for £1.
The group reckon it will take £2 million to realise their ambition.
Those include putting shops back in to the ground floor of the Guildhall next door.
“The vision is to build and develop a sustainable, inclusive community hub that contributes to the much-needed regeneration of Arbroath High Street,” said Angus.
“We were recently awarded £281,000 to fully repair the roof, meaning we can now begin the transformation of these disused buildings.
“Fantastic as this is, this funding is restricted and can only be used to repair the roof.
“This project is a fine balance as our revenue funding is diminishing at a rapid rate.
“It is vital that we raise funds for general building running costs, to ensure survival of the project.”
Survey support
“We’ve been supported extremely well for the crowdfunder by local businesses and some individuals providing rewards for subscribing to the campaign,” said Angus.
“Another significant step was the survey we carried out of all the commercial and retail premises on the High Street.
“We didn’t have one negative response from over 100 businesses.
“They want to come on board to create partnerships, which is encouraging.”
And more than 400 people visited the building during a recent open day to offer their ideas and volunteer to help.
The trust is also hopeful of landing six figures of UK Government funding under a community ownership programme.
Angus said: “In our view it is real progress – it’s a practical thing now and we are very positive.
“But we know fundraising will become more challenging as the cost of living crisis becomes more serious.
“This project is a fine balance as our revenue funding is diminishing at a rapid rate.
“It is vital that we raise funds for general building running costs, to ensure survival of the project.”
