Iona appeal to build ‘brilliant’ new hall

DESIGNS for Iona’s new village hall, An Talla Baile, have been submitted to Argyll and Bute Council.

Iona Village Hall Community Trust was awarded £903,888 by the Big Lottery Fund in January, but still needs to raise a further £1.2 million by December 2018 to turn the plans into reality. It hopes to begin construction in February 2019 and open the doors by spring 2020.

The trust launched a social media campaign #belongtoiona and trust chairman Anja Jardine explained on its Just Giving fundraising webpage: ‘We have a vision of a hall which not only belongs to the community, but is somewhere where people can feel they belong, whether they are islanders, seasonal workers or visitors.’

Iona’s new hall has been designed by WT Architects, which created Skye’s An Crùbh Community Hub and the White House at Grishipol on Coll, and is currently designing the new visitor centre for the Forth Bridges World Heritage Site.

The new single-storey building, in the same spot next to the library and nunnery, incorporates a courtyard, main hall with improved stage, a foyer/gathering hall, kitchen, toilets, meeting room with space for 20 around a table, an outside shelter and two disabled parking spaces.

Trustee Joanne MacInnes welcomed the ‘brilliant’ designs: ‘These designs are the culmination of five years of consultation with island residents, businesses and visitors. We are really excited to bring them to fruition. Our biggest challenge will be raising £1.2m by the end of 2018 – no mean feat for a group of volunteers and less than 170 residents.’