Culrain & District Hall: Preserving a community's only public building

Fund Background

The RWE Rosehall Wind Farm Community Fund supports a boad range of community activity and development of benefit to those living in the Community Council areas of Ardgay & District; Creich; and Lairg, within the County of Sutherland.  The fund is provided by RWE, owner of the Rosehall Wind Farm.  Funding decisions are made by the SSE & RWE Community Funds Panel, made up of people who live, work or actively volunteer in the fund area.

Organisation Summary

Culrain and District Hall manages a former RAF crew hut, which was relocated to Culrain in 1957. The organisation operates as a registered charity and serves the communities of Culrain, Ardgay, Bonar Bridge, Invershin, and Rosehall through a committee of 10 trustees. 

The hall functions as the sole public building in Culrain, providing essential community services including a food larder, emergency resilience hub, and venue for social events and meetings. The organisation benefits from extensive volunteer support, with 30-70 community members participating in various projects throughout the year, including Carbisdale Forest Trails clearing days under their path management agreement with Forestry Land Scotland.

The Challenge

The hall's exterior wooden cladding had deteriorated significantly, with separation in numerous places and holes compromising the building's weather resistance. This damage created multiple pressing issues: the building was no longer watertight, making it vulnerable to further structural damage; persistent bee and wasp infestations required costly pest control interventions and had forced event cancellations; and the compromised exterior threatened the long-term viability of Culrain's only community facility.

Given the hall's critical role as a community hub serving residents across a 4-mile radius from Ardgay, maintaining the building's structural integrity was essential for continued service delivery.#

Project Scope

The project involved the complete removal and replacement of the existing deteriorated larchwood exterior cladding. The work addressed all damaged sections whilst maintaining the building's character, and ensured compliance with Highland Council planning permission requirements that had specified wood cladding to match the existing fabric. 

The refurbishment eliminated water ingress, prevented future pest infestations, and delivered a weatherproof exterior designed to last at least 25 years. The project represented the final phase in a comprehensive refurbishment programme that had previously addressed roofing, insulation, electrics, and fire safety systems at a cost of approximately £100,000 through earlier grant funding.

Application

Culrain and District Hall requested £20,000 from the RWE Rosehall Wind Farm Community Fund towards the total project costs of £42,291.10. The organisation planned to secure additional funding through a parallel application to the Achany Fund (£20,000) and contribute the remaining £2,291.10 from reserves. Despite approaching multiple contractors, only one quote was obtained as several declined the work, citing the project's modest scale. The organisation demonstrated strong project management capability through the successful delivery of previous major refurbishments and maintained appropriate governance policies, including safeguarding measures.

Panel Consideration & Award Decision

The SSE & RWE Community Funds Panel recognised the application's strong merits and the hall's proven value as a community asset. However, oversubscription to the fund required careful consideration of award levels. The panel acknowledged the organisation's pragmatic approach to phased delivery, noting that, if necessary, the most weather-exposed 50% of exterior cladding could be prioritised initially. Given the hall's importance to the community and the organisation's track record, the panel awarded funding to support this essential infrastructure project whilst recognising the constraints of available resources across multiple deserving applications.

Final Thoughts - Broader Implications

This case study demonstrated the ongoing challenges faced by rural community facilities in maintaining ageing infrastructure whilst serving as vital community hubs. 

The project highlighted effective community asset management, where trustees systematically addressed urgent structural issues through strategic grant applications and local fundraising. 

The success of this phased refurbishment approach provided a model for other community organisations managing complex building projects within limited resources, emphasising the importance of prioritising work based on structural urgency and weather exposure.

The hall's transformation from a dilapidated building to a renovated community asset illustrated how sustained community commitment, combined with appropriate funding support, could preserve essential rural infrastructure. 

Read more about the RWE Rosehall Wind Farm Community Fund here.