Standing room only as bid to save courtroom gathers pace

A public meeting on the future of the former Arbroath Sheriff Court was “standing room only” as members of the community expressed their hopes and fears for the building.

Arbroath Courthouse Community Trust is fighting to bring the buildings back into community use and ownership.

Prior to the meeting, a number of attendees took the opportunity to look around the buildings, which closed when all business moved to Forfar in 2015.

Most expressed surprise at the quality of the interior of both parts of the courthouse especially the parts that still are original or parts that have been carefully reinstated.

ACCT chairman Angus Roberts said: “As townspeople we often forget that the original buildings were the Townhouse and Guildry Incorporation Meeting Rooms.

“From the street they form an important part of the town’s civic quarter, sitting alongside the former Trades Hall and the Corn Exchange, adjacent to the Webster Hall Theatre and former banks and insurance companies’ buildings.

“Together they form an impressive architectural core to our High Street contributing in no small measure to the central conservation area of the town.”

By the time the meeting commenced it was standing room only in the former court one, with the crowd including three local councillors.

There were question and answer sessions and explanations of how initial studies showed how the potential of the buildings could be unlocked to provide a community hub.

People can still contribute by completing a questionnaire at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ arbroathcourthouse17.