Plans for a dedicated community centre in Monifieth are back on track with a new design set to be unveiled next month.
The campaign was dealt a huge blow just over a year ago when a £1 million bid for Big Lottery funding to convert Angus Council’s Invertay House was knocked back.
Dubbed the Monifieth Community Hub Pavilion, the latest design could be located near to the Blue Seaway playpark.
To become a reality, campaigners need to raise another £250,000 on top of the £640,000 already secured.
Roughly half of that raised has come from Angus Council and half from the previous planning agreement.
A planning application, put together by AIM designs, will soon be submitted to the local authority, who will decide whether to grant approval in the months ahead.
Jean Lee, who chairs the Monifieth Community Resource Group (MCRG), said campaigners had taken a while to recover from the initial setback.
She said: “That was a tough time and for a few weeks the committee of MCRG took a break from the whole idea, but we are all driven by the staggering lack of facilities in Monifieth and our determination to get this sorted out soon kicked in again.
“Our brief is more restricted now because we know that major Big Lottery funding won’t come to our town but our architect, AIM designs, has come up with a cost effective, innovative design which looks fantastic and absolutely ticks all the boxes.”
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She said raising the extra cash was “absolutely doable” and revealed the group has already begun approaching potential donors through business consultant Fraser Millar.
The plans will be presented to the public in a pop-up marquee at the town’s seafront — the proposed location of the centre — on Saturday June 22 from 11am to 4pm.
Ms Lee added: “Angus Council has been tremendously supportive of our project and there has been a lot of joint working to get us to this stage.
“We have the backing of all our councillors, MSP and MP and the people of Monifieth are totally behind us.
“Some of them may have almost given up hope as the dream staggered from one let down to the next – but this is the real deal this time. We have never before felt so certain.”
