Campbeltown Town Hall Regeneration Project
Project Description
Campbeltown Town Hall is a prominent Category B Listed Building in the centre of Campbeltown, South Kintyre constructed in 1766 and extensively extended and re modelled in 1866. In recent years, this once well-used building had fallen into disuse, suffered from a lack of ongoing repairs and maintenance and fallen into disrepair.
The Town Hall Regeneration Project has created a new venue suitable for use for a wide range of civic, social and community activities. The completed building utilises creative internal and external lighting and sympathetic Public Realm design to create a facility which integrates with the street and its Conservation Area surroundings. The refurbishment provides a community hub with offices for rent, conference and meeting facilities and a one-stop-shop for accessing services for local organisations and community activities, such as weddings and conference facilities.
It is a key element and focal point of the regeneration of Campbeltown town centre, with the local council eager to see the building operated by and for the benefit of the community, generating activity in the town centre and giving local people a community asset they can be proud of.
The project was funded from a mix of Grants for Capital and Revenue Funding. These include Big Lottery, Historic Scotland Repair Grant, Campbeltown THI, Campbeltown CAR’s, Local Energy Scotland, Local Business Donations and Argyll & Bute Council Funding. Coltart Earley supported the QS and Client in all funding applications.
The new facilities include; Multi-Function Event & Performance Venue, Seating Capacity 114 (Wedding), Seating Capacity 190 (Conference), Standing Capacity 300, New Full Commercial Kitchen Offices for Rent, Management Offices, Ticket Office and Cloakroom, New Integrated M&E Plant, New Public Toilets, Back of House Storage and Full Disabled Access.
At the early stages of the project, the design team carried out various option appraisals and renewable energy option studies with simple payback analysis. Annual energy consumption profiles were also created from which a mixed fuel strategy was developed in order to allow the Town Hall to obtain a new gas connection from the local town mains which has restricted capacity for new connections.
The building services have been designed to be as sympathetic as possible to its original features, including the refurbishment of existing ventilators and ornate light fittings. Simple to use, robust system choices feature throughout to avoid creating a complex maintenance burden on the Trust who will be responsible for the operation of the facility.
Supporting Statement
Campbeltown Town Hall has been at the heart of the Campbeltown community since 1760. Throughout its 258 year history it has been used for a variety of different functions including a courtroom, a prison, the council chambers, registrar’s office, polling station, election hall, dance hall, concert venue and exhibition space.In 2009 Argyll & Bute Council’s Property Department proposed mothballing the Campbeltown Town Hall as part of a budget saving strategy. The building had, however, been identified as a “key target building” within the Campbeltown Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) and this proposal was put on hold whilst viable alternative development options could be explored.
Following completion of a development appraisal process the Campbeltown based South Kintyre Development Trust agreed to acquire the building in October 2014 on behalf of the local community and to seek the necessary funding to redevelop the building and bring it back into full public use.
South Kintyre Development Trust succeeded in acquiring over £2m of funding from The Big Lottery, THI, CHORD and Historic Scotland to secure the future of Campbeltown Town Hall, allowing the Trust to renovate the building and reopen it as a multi-purpose facility and focal point for community activities.
Following the completion of works the Town Hall reopened in August 2016 and has subsequently cemented its position in the local community as a popular venue for all manner of community and corporate events. A facility which is truly “at the heart” of the local community.
In December 2016 the Campbeltown Town Hall Project won the “Judges Special Project Award” at the 2016 Herald Property Awards and the judges noted that ‘This year saw many high calibre entries across the categories, some with backstories of tenacity and of communities working together which really impressed myself and my fellow judges. Campbeltown Town Hall really stood out and demonstrated how a small community trust has created a catalyst for revitalisation of a whole town centre.’
We have nominated this project as we believe it demonstrates successful community engagement and regeneration of a valuable historic asset within the heart of Campbeltown and demonstrates that, with a shared vision, iconic and landmark buildings within existing urban settings can contribute to the local and wider community. The previously vacant building has rediscovered its place within Campbeltown and the surrounding communities and now provides a positive contribution to the built urban and social fabric of the local area.
Gallery of images
