A £600,000 project to renovate St Andrews Town Hall will go ahead this summer.
Fife Council has allocated funding for the work on the listed building, which prior to lockdown was a hub for local groups and events, as well as a wedding venue.
Dry rot discovered
The hall has now been behind scaffolding for more than a year after issues including dry rot were discovered during routine maintenance.
More details about the work, which will allow the building to be opened to the community once more, will be discussed by local councillors next month.
Councillors to discuss details
Janice Laird, community manager for North East Fife Area, said: “We’re currently preparing a report for local members to discuss at the next North East Fife Area Committee on April 21, which will contain more detailed information.”
It is anticipated the project will start in early summer.
Fife Council pledged funding for community facilities including the town hall in St Andrews at its recent budget meeting.
St Andrews Liberal Democrat councillor Jane Ann Liston said: “I look forward to seeing the repairs completed and the many St Andrews groups able to return to their usual meeting places in the town hall.
“St Andrews Town Hall has been shrouded in scaffolding for many months.
“What began as planned maintenance soon turned into major repairs, when it was discovered that much more work, including treatment for dry rot, was needed than originally thought.”
Funding concerns
However, Ms Liston highlighted the fact that the hall is a common good asset and the local common good fund is boosted by revenue from the annual Lammas Market, which was cancelled last year as a result of the pandemic.
She said, with the event likely to be cancelled again this year, that could lead to a shortfall in funding of “at least £140,000”.
And she said it was “only fair” that the council found funding from elsewhere to secure the future of such a vital community hub.
“Twenty years ago the construction of the new Byre Theatre ran into difficulties due to increased costs,” she said.
‘Only fair’ council is stepping in to help
“To cover the shortfall needed to complete it, the then Fife Council administration decided to take out a loan and help themselves to the St Andrews Common Good Fund to service it, despite grave concerns and opposition from the then St Andrews councillors and the community council.
“As a result, for at least 11 years, thousands of pounds were taken from the St Andrews Common Good Fund each year to pay for what is a Fife Council asset, until the demise of the Byre company cancelled the loan.
“The St Andrews Common Good was used to help Fife Council out of a difficulty 20 years ago so it seems only fair that Fife Council is now returning the quid pro quo.”