Alness Heritage Centre fundraiser passes £50k mark - but more work to do
Efforts to save an important Easter Ross community hub have reached an important milestone as fundraisers continue in a race against time to secure the necessary funds for vital repair works.
The discovery of dry rot cast a shadow over the future of Alness Heritage Centre late last year, with all but office functions currently closed to the public as a result of the extent of the damage.
Repairs are expected to cost £150,000 in total - and earlier this week Alness Community Association (ACA) was delighted to announce it had already passed the £50,000 mark, just a few months after launching the mammoth fundraising effort.
ACA vice-chairman Robert Adair said: “It’s really encouraging to know that the community are behind the efforts to raise the money to fix the dry rot and see the centre reopened.
“The money raised so far has come as a result of a combination of individual donations including money pledged from the local community council, and a series of events.
“We’ve just held a garden trough sale and tombola that raised £1000 and we also recently had a quiz night that raised £720, so the money is coming on bit by bit.
“We’re about to see a number of new members elected to the committee who will bring a lot of new ideas too for future fundraising efforts.”
Highland Council new
The dry rot was discovered back in December with the sheer extent of the problem quickly becoming clear after thorough checks were carried out.
The centre was then closed before an extraordinary general meeting was held, where it was decided to launch the fundraiser.
“To have raised this much in about 15 weeks is fantastic,” Mr Adair said. “We think that work can be done in a phased approach; the first phase costing £100,000 and the second phase taking a further £50,000, so we are on our way at least.”
Providing a base for ACA the centre is also an acclaimed museum and shop providing an outlet for local crafters.
A meeting room and garden have also proved popular and the ACA also owns the community minibus as well as publishing the Alness and District Times.
Mr Adair said the loss of the space is really being felt in the community.
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“We have space we were able to hire out for events and we are a repository for all kinds of local history that is of interest to both locals and visitors.”
As the tourist season really begins to get into its swing he said it was particularly sad to be closed at this time of year.
“Among the historical resources we have are 100 years of the Ross-shire Journal on microfiche and we’ve always had lots of people coming in to look into their family history and the like.
“We also have a whole history of the former RAF presence in Alness which has always been very popular and sadly none of that can currently be accessed.”
The building was purchased in 2000 amidst competing interest from a national supermarket, with the community getting behind the idea of preserving its heritage.
Volunteers cleaned, restored and painted to create exhibition and shop space and started gathering the photographs, artefacts, documents and memories that tell the social history of Alness.
“It is 25 years now since we were able to buy the property for the community and establish the heritage centre and we want to see it go on for many years yet,” Mr Adair said.
“We really want to get work done over the sort of July, August, September period before the bad weather starts in again, so it really is a case of working to get as much money together as quickly as possible.
“We’re pleased to hear from anyone who can help.”
Donations can be made online here