RCA - News
January 2008
The construction schedule has slipped somewhat but construction continues and we now expect the hall to be complete in the spring of 2008.
March 2007
The contract for the construction of the Raasay Community Hall has been signed and the anticipated start date is 16th March 2007. We expect the hall to be completed by the end of the year. The main contractor for building the hall is K2S(Scotland) a company of Polish builders based in Fort William.
The steel frame and roof will be put up by a sub-contractor AJ Construction, an Inverness-based firm starting at the end of April taking a few weeks.
The site preparation for the village hall was undertaken by Hugh Mackay Plant Hire. Hugh and his team hammered through the rock and moved mountains to get the site ready in time.
The funding for the hall is now in place with contributions from: Big Lottery Fund (£200,000); Highland Council (from 2 different budgets) (£130,000); Highland 2007 (£20,000), Highlands & Islands Enterprise (Skye & Wester Ross) (£247,000); BBC Children in Need £35,000; European Regional Development Fund £180,000; the Robertson Trust £15,000; Communities Scotland (from 2 different budgets) (£90,000); Highlands & Islands Community Energy Company (£28,760); the Gannochy Trust (£20,000); the Hugh Fraser Foundation (£10,000); Lloyds TSB (£6,500). The RCA will also contribute £22,000. If you can add those up – you will know what it costs to build a village hall on Raasay in 2007!
May 2006
Following the approval of our EU ERDF grant in Januray 2006, we now have over £700,000 committed to the project and expect to go out to tender for a construction company in summer 2006. We are still fundraising though!
November 2005
RAASAY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
Company Number SC 269183
Charity Number SC 036239
As of November 2005 the RCA has raised over £500,000 towards the costs of the village hall with contributions from the
- Big Lottery Fund,
- Highland Council,
- Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise,
- Children in Need, Communities Scotland
- Robertson Trust.
We are awaiting the outcome (in December 2005) of an application for European ERDF funding to complete the package.
10th May 2005
(PRESS RELEASE EMBARGOED UNTIL 01.00 HOURS MAY 10TH 2005)
Funding boost for Raasay Village Hall
Raasay residents are this week celebrating a major award from the National Lottery. The Big Lottery Fund has just released details of a £201,000 contribution towards the cost of building a village hall for the island.
At present there are no purpose-built community facilities on the island,
apart from a small day care centre for the elderly. With a growing population,
especially of under-16s, and with young families returning to live on the
island, there is an urgent need to have a proper venue for sports and arts
events, for ceilidhs, meetings, clubs - all the events that other communities
take for granted. The hall will be able to work closely with the nearby
primary school and provide space for gym and indoor games.
Successive village hall committee members have worked hard to raise funds for a hall and, over the years, more than £60,000 has been raised by this small community (population 210). Bids for major outside funding have not been successful until now. Now at last Raasay has good news to celebrate, though a lot of hard work remains to be done before the foundation stone can actually be laid.
Roland Stiven, Chair of Raasay Community Association (formerly the Village Hall Association) said this week: "this is wonderful news for Raasay. A village hall for the island will provide a focus for lots of community activities and particularly make a difference for the large number of children growing up on Raasay. We still need to work to secure the remaining funding but this is a vital and very important first step. Building work on an island involves substantial extra costs. We will be grateful for all donations whether large or small from anyone who wishes to support the project. With the promised support of Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise, Highland Council and other funding agencies, we are confident of success. We are particularly grateful for the ongoing help of Chrisanne Macdonald of Skye and Lochalsh Council for Voluntary Organisations and our Councillor, Hamish Fraser".
Contacts:
Roland Stiven, Chair, Raasay Community Association
Telephone: 01478 660333 e-Mail: rolandstiven@phonecoop.coop
Sadie McLeod, Raasay Community Association
Telephone: 01478 660345 e-Mail: sadie.raasay@btinternet.com
