Councillors consider options for Inverurie Town Hall
A business case is to be drawn up that could see Inverurie Town Hall refurbished or extended if funding becomes available, councillors have agreed.
An options appraisal for the building had been requested by the council’s Garioch Area Committee after previous plans for the hall were withdrawn for further development.
At the committee’s meeting on Tuesday (Dec 2), councillors were presented with four high-level options to consider. They were to:
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Continue operation of the town hall as it is currently with no additional investment
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Refurbish the town hall
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Refurbish the town hall with an office extension
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Refurbish the town hall with a separate, new build office
It was stressed to councillors that money has not yet been identified for works to the building and that the project is not in Aberdeenshire Council’s current Capital Plan.
Garioch Area Manager Ann Overton explained that preparing a business case for a project would place the committee in a good position to move forward should funding opportunities become available in the future.
Following a detailed discussion of each of the options, the committee decided to support options for both refurbishing the hall, and for refurbishing the hall with a small extension.
The was agreed on the basis that either option could be taken forward without affecting the ability to deliver the other. Work will now take place to explore how these approaches could be brought forward.
Speaking after the meeting, Garioch Area Committee chair Cllr Marion Ewenson said: “While this is very much a long-term vision for the town hall, the committee is keen to be in the position to present a strong business case for consideration should funding opportunities become available.
“Refurbishment to what is a much-loved building is key to both approaches and any extension to the hall would be significantly smaller than previously proposed and sympathetically designed.
“We are still in the very early stages of developing these proposals, and further details will be shared in due course.”