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Laurencekirk Burgh Hall could re-open after Council closure

Howe of the Mearns Heritage Club trustees Mike and Marion Robson, Moira Young and Jim Wilkie.
Howe of the Mearns Heritage Club trustees Mike and Marion Robson, Moira Young and Jim Wilkie.

An historic north-east building which closed six months ago could be re-opened and run by the local community.

Laurencekirk Burgh Hall, on the town’s Johnston Street, served as a library and a meeting place for groups until its facilities were shifted to the new £23million Mearns Academy community campus in August last year.

Now the Howe O’ the Mearns Heritage Club – which met at the 19th century landmark for 20 years – has lodged plans with Aberdeenshire Council which could bring it back into use.

Laurencekirk Burgh Hall
Laurencekirk Burgh Hall

Michael Robson, a trustee with the group, said re-opening the building with a lease from the local authority would provide people in Laurencekirk and the wider area with-much needed additional space.

He said: “It was one of the popular meeting places in Laurencekirk and there are still people keen to use that.

“We’re hoping to create an interest in the building.

“It’s relatively small and costs very little to run. There have been no other proposals for its future use.”

He said the replacement site was not suitable for some members of the community.

“The new academy is not so accessible for older people,” he said.

“It is a long way for them to walk and even the parking is not particularly close for the building.

“There are plenty of groups active in the village, but the new accommodation at the school doesn’t actually increase the daytime meeting space.”

The heritage club has lodged a community asset transfer application and business plan with the council.

Mr Robson said members were now looking for other community groups to come forward with ideas for developing the building.

An Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman said it would work with the heritage club throughout the application process.

She added: “We will continue to work with community groups to ensure that Mearns Community Campus has a positive impact in the village and surrounding areas.”

The Burgh Hall first opened in the 1850s as a two-room school for the town’s Episcopal Church.

It remained a school until the 1970s when it was used for local council meetings and as a Justice of the Peace court.