Good news for Kirkintilloch Town Hall

Kirkintilloch Town Hall is being transformed into a centre for heritage, arts, culture and community use.

Local residents, shoppers and traders will notice some changes from this week, with a section of Union Street closed to allow deliveries and construction to be safely managed and to minimise any conflict between works and general public.

The new Kirkintilloch Town Hall will be functional, flexible and fit for the 21st century.

The Council has been working with development partner hub West Scotland, contractors and East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture (EDLC) Trust to develop the design since the start of 2015.

Plans include:

* Ground-floor event space

* New entrance, reception and vestibule

* First-floor heritage display, reflecting Kirkintilloch’s rich history (in association with EDLC)

* New office and community space

* Kitchen, store room, toilets and locker room.

The aim is that the new facility is flexible enough to cater for a range of uses - such as performances, events, weddings, heritage displays, receptions and meetings - to ensure it is sustainable, while ensuring high-quality functionality.

To complement this mix of uses, there will also be an adjoining extension. The restored building will have a potential seating capacity up to 300.

It’s a massive project and as such, Union Street is being closed between Peel Brae and York Place from Monday (18 April), with work due to be complete in summer 2017.

Delivery access will be maintained, along with pedestrian access and lift to York Place Surgery. The surgery will be open for business as usual.

People will be able to access homes, Regent Gardens Medical Centre, Holy Family and St Ninian’s Church, the Regent Centre and school premises via Kerr Street as usual.

Site cabins will be located on the hard-standing area of Regent Gardens for an estimated six weeks, before being moved on-site.

Nearby residents, traders and businesses have been informed of the temporary closure.

Council leader Rhondda Geekie said: “I am delighted that work is getting underway on Kirkintilloch Town Hall - which will blend history and future in a functional, flexible and sustainable way.

“This is a new dawn for the iconic building. The exterior will be retained and refreshed, but inside will be radically different - able to accommodate a variety of uses.

“We had hoped that Union Street could remain open throughout the works, but expert advice indicates that it would safer for everyone to close a small section of the road for approximately 15 months.

“Rest assured, traffic management and site compound arrangements will be continually kept under review and any proposed changes will be communicated locally.”

The overall project will cost approximately £5.5million. As well as significant external funding, support has also been secured from the council’s capital programme - which is funded differently and completely separate from the revenue budget, which pays for day-to-day services and is experiencing huge pressures.