A fundraiser is in full swing for Portobello town hall so it can be turned into a wedding and multi-purpose venue.
The town hall, located on Portobello High Street, was built in 1914 and now the community charity group, Portobello Central, is on a mission to open it up to new opportunities.
Edinburgh City Council has accepted the local group's proposal to bring it into their hands on lease for 25 years and already the hall has received rental enquiries for dates into 2024.
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Secretary of the charity, Geoff Pearson, 73, said: “It’s going back to being what people will remember, not very long ago being a lively place in the centre of Portobello. A lot of people have enquired to have their weddings at the hall which would be possible these days.”
“This would mean you can lay out the whole hall with cabaret tables for dining, have a band on stage and dance the night away.”
The community group has been working over three years to make sure that the venue can become fully functioning again with the council donating £350,000 from the Scottish government to make it wind and water right.
Many uses have been talked about such as listening to music, dancing, art, markets, sales, rehearsals, indoor sports, karate and much, much more. Geoff went on to say: “It’s going to be a fun place that supports the whole community.”
“We are part of the 20-minute neighbourhood discussions, and we feel the town hall is going back to the heart of the town of Portobello.”
The hall is also in a fantastic location, in the heart of Portobello and just minutes from the beach and with great transport links it would be great for the whole community to reap the benefits.
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Local MP for the area, Tommy Sheppard has backed the campaign and said, on Twitter: “I want to see Portobello Town Hall become the beating heart of our community! Great to visit the building and meet with Portobello Central, yesterday who are working hard to bring it back to life for everyone to enjoy.”
Portobello Central’s aim is to raise £25,000 and they have already received £11,000 in only three weeks.
You can view the fundraiser here.
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