Local Clydesdale scout group hit back at Coulter Community Trust accusing them of defamation.

Coulter Community Trust were formed in May to put together a CAT which would be submitted to the council, but recently found out another bidder has entered the fray to try and buy the hall.

In a recent social media post they wrote: Act now to save your Village Hall and your community! “Coulter Hall is at risk of being lost to the village and we urgently need your help. “Coulter Community Trust was established in May this year to take over guardianship of Coulter Hall from South Lanarkshire Council, who will shortly close the building. With the loss of the kirk and The Mill, we no longer have a community hub, and we believe that village ownership of our hall is essential to revitalise Coulter, support local village groups and activities, and bring our community together. “Coulter Community Trust isn’t the only organisation with its sights set on our hall. “Biggar Tinto Scout Group is bidding to buy our hall to turn it into a Scout Hut and bring all their activities under one roof. They claim that they will still make it available for wider community use, but with multiple Beaver, Cub and Scout groups, it is difficult to see how residents of Coulter Parish will get a look in – particularly during weekday evenings when our community would need it most. “We are in the process of preparing a Community Asset Transfer application for purchase of the hall, and we urgently need as many residents of Coulter Parish as possible to join our charity as members. It only takes five minutes to fill in the application form and there is no membership fee. Just go to https://forms.office.com/e/GZAE5VHzyf.

"Our hall exists primarily to serve the people of Coulter, and we believe that the best people to manage and operate the building are the residents of Coulter Parish themselves. And given that the funds to build the current hall back in the day were largely raised by donations from residents of Coulter, we feel justified in our belief that the building rightly belongs to the village. It would be wholly unacceptable if an organisation from outwith our community were to take our hall from us and lock Coulter village out.”

A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council said: “There are competing interests for a number of the halls that the council is trying to assist community groups to take over. Coulter Village Hall is one of these.

“There are legislative guidelines that we must follow in these circumstances, and as part of these a closing date will be set to allow both groups to submit asset transfer requests. Both applications will then be assessed and a decision made thereafter.”

A spokesman for the 1st Biggar Tinto Scout Group said: “The Scout Association is in no way associated with this matter. We have set up an entirely separate company entitled “Biggar Unity Hub” for the bid. The Scout Association does not involve itself with local CATs.

“The CAT application for Coulter Hall involves a long-term lease, and not an outright purchase.

1st Biggar Tinto Scout Group has worked successfully with other community groups in the wider area for many years. This is the first time that we have encountered such vitriol from another community group.

CCT has made no direct contact with us throughout the process. Any claims made about us wishing to exclude the local community are total conjecture on their part and completely unfounded. We are an inclusive local community group and have no wish to squeeze anyone out.

1st Biggar Tinto Scouts has engaged in SLC’s CAT process in all good faith and abided by their recommendations and rules. To be openly and deliberately defamed by another bidder on social media and in the press is not in the spirit of local cooperation and community that the process is all about.

We asked the council who will make the final decision and whether a panel/committee been set up?

They responded: “After weighing up all of the information submitted senior officers make recommendations to elected members sitting on the Housing and Technical Resource Committee. Following the committee decision, applicants can request a review or make an appeal.

We also asked: What criteria will be applied to CATS/applications when there are competing interests?

The council replied: “Where two or more applicants are interested in the same property all applications are reviewed at the same time. The CAT process involves all information provided being reviewed to confirm the groups are financially and structurally capable of operating an asset in which they have to cover all overheads and the building’s ongoing maintenance costs. Other key considerations would include the potential community benefit from each application.”