The Fenwick community has been given time to come up with a business plan for the John Fulton Memorial Hall.
However, the matter has been made more difficult by the loss of the nursery, its main source of income, after it relocated to Fenwick school campus.
The hall was originally transferred to the Ayrshire Communities Enterprise (ACE) in 2015 after the council agreed to reduce its operational properties across the authority by a quarter.
However, in 2020 the organisation used a clause allowing them to end their lease after five years, despite having ‘run the facility well over the period’.
A report to the cabinet stated: “The John Fulton Hall was well used by the community and in order to ensure that the village did not lose access to this valued asset, the Fenwick Community Action Plan group applied for and were successful with charitable status under the name Fenwick Community Initiatives.
“The charity expressed an interest in the property.
“Vibrant Communities have been working with Fenwick Communities Initiatives over the last year to consider a business case which will ensure that the John Fulton Hall can continue to provide community activities.”
With Covid restrictions loosening, meetings with the community were positive and a number of groups indicated they were keen to use the facility.
The report continues: “The relocation of the nursery into the school campus has however made the business case much more challenging given that the nursery were the previous tenants main source of income.”
The cabinet agreed to a short term management Fenwick Community Initiatives which would ‘allow the charity to explore the business case and submit a further application by April 2024 for lease of the building’.
During this period, East Ayrshire Council will be able to reclaim 50 per cent of let income generated. It will also provide financial support of around £34,000 over two years.
Fenwick Conservative councillor John McFadzean expressed concerns over whether the £34,000 would be enough, given the rising energy costs, but was told that the matter could come back to cabinet should there be a need for additional funds.
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