Future of the historic Seaman’s Victoria Hall in Nairn is in your hands and it could be given a new lease of life as a community hub as charity Green Hive is exploring a possible transfer of ownership
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A historical community hall at the heart of Nairn’s old Fishertown could be given a new lease of life as a community hub.
The charity Green Hive is exploring a possible transfer of ownership of the Seaman’s Victoria Hall near the harbour. Trustees of the building, which was built in 1887, are involved.
In recent years the hall has principally been used as a polling station at elections and as a venue for indoor bowls.
Green Hive manager Neil Mapes said: “Restoring and repurposing this historic and important community building could be the catalyst to a stronger and better community in Nairn.
“It has been looked after for the benefit of the community for many years and we hope this will be the next chapter for this valued building.”
The hall was once a centre of education and learning for the local fishing community.
It was used for baptisms, weddings and had its own library for fishermen going to sea for weeks pursuing the shoals of herring.
It was also the venue of meetings of a very active Temperance movement in Nairn.
A former town councillor, the late Margaret Bochel, published books telling the story of the hall and the weddings that took place there. In1987, a choir was formed for a soiree to celebrate the building’s centenary.
Green Hive supports local people with a focus on environmental challenges and empowering them to deliver a range of activities, products and services.
It hopes to gather input from local residents, community groups and organisations about how to best utilise the asset.
The charity has recently commissioned Oberlanders Architects and Community Enterprise to undertake more detailed community and technical research.
“A community survey will help us to reach a detailed plan for the future of the building,” Neil said.
Ninian Coggs, convener of trustees of the hall, said: “The hall is no longer viable and it has been closed since the start of the pandemic. We had a decision to make and the committee was unanimous that to retain the hall as a community asset and its heritage, we should look at transfer of ownership.
“The only other option would be to sell the building to a developer and it would probably be knocked down for housing.
“We are aware that there are some people who may question what we are proposing but the committee was unanimous because we really have no option.
“Our only income was from indoor bowling and membership had plummeted over the years.
“There were very occasional hall hires and it’s costing a lot of money even to maintain the property in its current state.”
Mr Coggs spent his early years living in a flat at the hall where his father was caretaker.
Together the charity and trustees of the hall want to transform the building into a community hub providing a wide range of activities but also a route to opportunities to volunteer, escape isolation, skills development, preparation for work and as a stepping stone into employment.
It will provide facilities for community groups to get together and for public sector partners to engage with the community providing advice or information “clinics”.
A heritage group is also planned involving trustees of the hall and representatives of Nairn Museum to recreate the story of the hall.
Green Hive has received a grant of £25,000 from the Nairn Area Committee’s place-based investment fund to undertake a feasibility study and research for a business plan.
Charity chairman Simon Noble said: “The two businesses we have commissioned to undertake the research will prepare their findings by March or April. It will include a business plan, adaptations that would be needed to be made to the hall, and respond to the findings of our survey from the local community about what they would like the hall to be used for.
“We will then have to go through the process of finding out what grants are available to make the plan work. That will be an interesting stage and it will be challenging because we will be competing with many other organisations for money.
“If we were unsuccessful we’ll keep trying and continue to build on the success which Green Hive has had so far.”
The survey can be found at Survey Monkey.
Paper copies of the survey can be picked up and dropped off at Nairn Library and Green Hive’s workshop.
