West Kilbride Village Hall, which is the imposing stone building at the corner of Arthur Street and Ritchie Street, has been a focal point of local life since it was built in 1900. The building is now owned by North Ayrshire Council who in 2000 leased it to the West Kilbride Community Initiative, They in turn delegated responsibility to the Village Hall Management Group, membership of which is open to all persons over 16 who reside in West Kilbride and who annually elect a voluntary Committee, which is responsible for all administration, management and upkeep of the interior of the building. By the terms of the lease North Ayrshire Council keep the building wind and watertight and award an annual grant of £10,100 which helps defray cost of wages for 3 part time caretakers.

The Building has 1 large Main Hall with stage & 2 smaller halls. Letting charges is the main income and any profit is ploughed back into upkeep of the hall. The lease has been increased from 10 to 30 years, as funders prefer this.
Over the last few years the Management Committee has been planning a progressive upgrade in the Hall's facilities, some of which have been showing their age, and in 2006 a Phase 1 refurbishment was put in place involving completely new sound and lighting equipment for the Main Hall stage.

A new sound system with induction loop was installed first and the plan was to follow this with a modern Lighting set-up but unfortunately at this point it was found that the old supporting gantry, which takes the weight of lights, screens, stage fittings, curtains etc was unsafe for a new installation and had to be replaced before the new lights could be installed. We now have an up to date system which has been well tested by a local drama group and passed with flying colours.

The upgrading of the Stage facilities cost some £35,000. The Management Committee are very grateful for the donations received from Local Organisations, National and Local Funding Providers with matched funding from North Ayrshire Council and cannot thank too highly all who have been with us along the road this far.

Upgrading plans don't stop here; the momentum must be maintained and the next stage is now nearing completion. This involved rebuilding the old storage "dunny" (what a wonderful Scottish term) now to be known as the annexe. The old asbestos roof was removed and lining walls were rebuilt to support new modern roofing. Included is a new boiler-house in anticipation of funding being sourced to replace the obsolete heating system. This venture has cost £45,000 and provides a much needed, dry, more accessible storage space which will be an asset to the building.

Into this rebuilt annexe will eventually be slotted a 21st century heating system for the whole building, although this is at present beyond our financial resources, as it is expected to cost some £100,000. The urgent need for this was well demonstrated over the 2007 Christmas and New Year period when a major circulating pipe fractured. The system was out of action for a fortnight and our staff and hall users, who were most understanding and co-operative, had to contend with what temporary heat supply could be provided.

Clearly this antiquated system puts the future of the Hall at risk and it is now an urgent priority to secure finance for its replacement. Sources of funding for Village Halls are very hard to find. The Lottery won't help as the Hall is owned by the Local Authority but the Committee is vigorously pursuing other avenues in our efforts to preserve and maintain this much used asset for our community.

This multi purpose facility is becoming increasingly popular for private functions and we also have a variety of other activities from Baby Clinics, Podiatry, Blood Transfusion Service and 'Flu Days' to Tai Kwon Do, Japanese Swordsmanship and Badminton including juniors for whom we have also acquired equipment for table tennis The Hall is an excellent venue for exhibitions, fund raising and public meetings and the committee find all of this very encouraging. There is a wealth of good will in the community towards this hall ably demonstrated by willing volunteers who give of their time and talents to assist in so many different ways and our local tradesmen who come to the rescue often at very short notice and we are so grateful to them all.

We have moved into the electronic age and now have our own web site www.westkilbridevillagehall.com and we can also be reached by calling 01294 829590 or just by dropping in when you could also visit the West Kilbride Museum on the first floor which has a fascinating collection of memorabilia and where the volunteer staff are all very knowledgeable and will make you very welcome.

The committee have an excellent working relationship with North Ayrshire Council and this set-up is a very good example of co-operation between the Local Authority and a voluntary group and could be usefully extended to other communities. We are all working towards improving Facilities for everyone.

Booking Forms are available in the Village Hall or The Initiative Centre, 86 Main Street, West Kilbride. Booking Forms to be marked for the attention of the Letting Secretary, Margaret Park, and handed in or posted to the Village Hall, 1 Arthur Street, West Kilbride, KA23 9EN. Telephone Enquiries to the Letting Secretary on 01294-829590 (Hall).

Vist our website.