The hall has been a feature of community life for generations, playing a role in most major events in the village, from agricultural show ceilidhs to amateur dramatic festivals.
But in recent years, the roof had fallen into a state of disrepair and anyone using the premises had to negotiate buckets strategically placed to catch rainwater.
Fundraising for repairs began in 2019, with an initial target of £50,000. Then, following an interruption caused by the Covid pandemic, efforts were redoubled to raise enough funds to cover the hugely increased costs.
The final total raised was £180,000, with grants from charitable trusts and donations from local businesses, including £10,000 from Scottish Sea Farms’ Heart of the Community fund, as well as individual donations from villagers, and £50,000 from the Appin Community Trust.
Appin Hall Committee secretary Susie Hutchison admitted that at the outset it was a daunting prospect but the support from the community had been ‘amazing’.
‘It’s looking great now and everyone is very pleased with the results. Because we were doing the roof it didn’t make sense not to do the upper walls too, which then meant the old windows had to come out. We also put in new double doors at the front to match the windows, which are weather resistant dark grey PVC.
‘With the money raised, we also managed to resurface the main hall sports floor, upgrade the fire alarm system and replace all the out-of-date fuse boxes.
‘The hall was only closed for about two months last summer, while the new roof was put in place, and has since seen a constant flow of events.
‘It is used for everything from birthday and wedding parties, concerts and ceilidhs to school plays, badminton, Highland dance classes, NHS vaccination clinics, and first aid training. It also becomes the local polling station during elections.
‘And the village gathers here for funerals, with the whole community and committee volunteers providing the teas in the hall.’
An (official) opening ceremony and ‘thank you’ tea party took place on April 19 with an invitation to local people to see the transformation.
‘We are very grateful to everyone who helped make this happen,’ said Susie.
