New Hall Plans
Dates for your diary:
Sunday 3rd April & Sunday 17th April, 10am until 4pm, to review the full sized plans.
By clicking on the image below you can view the main floor plan for the proposed new Glass Hall.
As far back as January 2013 the Hall committee has been looking closely at all the options for improvements to Glass hall to fix and improve for a long term future, which turned out to be very expensive for limited benefits.
The committee then decided to look at the option of a new hall in detail, fit for the next 60 or so years and to take advantage of the increasing availability of local windfarm funds.
You may remember that during the weekend of the 13th March 2015 we held open days at the hall to review submissions from 7 architects, and on the 15th April we heard from 3 of the architects with favoured designs to make a presentation before a vote by the community to choose the favourite, which was a design by Colin Thompson Architects from Inverurie.
The community has since been granted funding from the Clashindarroch Windfarm Fund to pay for architect fees, investigations on site, a bat survey and planning permission fees. The hall committee has discussed the hall plans in detail with the architect.
A key consultation has been with the school (and education department) to understand their needs going forward. They expressed their desire to have kitchen facilities and indoor sports facilities to meet with their needs and effectively make this aspect of Glass school fit for purpose, which it isn’t currently.
James and Moira Ingleby will also donate to the community an area of land to the north of the war memorial to provide for a car park (small recycling area), a woodland area and an open space. This allows for the existing hall area to be extended to include outside space for decking, a garden and disabled parking.
After studying possible funding options it is clear that the hall and its environs will need to be innovative to be attractive to funders, and we will need to plan this carefully. The intention is to develop the hall that is closely knit with its environment and the community so that the inside hall space and the outside work together, this one of the main differences from the current hall. Examples include toilet facilities that are accessible from the outside for walkers and cyclists and the garden and decking area for community summer events.
The architects have reviewed the draft plan with the planning department who have also made some suggestions including the orientation of the hall to align the main door into the hall with the exit from the car park. This also maximizes the light into the hall through the large glass doors between the hall and the decking area facing south.
The next step is to formally present the plans to the planners for approval, but firstly it is most important that community members are able to see the plans and make any comments.
It will help with the planning process if community members are able to state to the Hall committee: “I have seen the hall plans and I am content with the plans and any minor modifications that may be required” . There will of course be the formal planning process to which anyone can make representation.
If you want to see the full size plans but are unable to get along to the hall on either Sunday 3rd April or Sunday 17th April, from 10am until 4pm, then please complete the form below and we will try to arrange for you to see the plans separately.
The detailed plans can also be seen online by clicking here
With thanks
Bob Yuill: Chairman
Margo Wordie: Secretary