Shambellie House Trustees are celebrating the award of two grants towards the cost of repairing and altering Shambellie House to enable it to begin a new life as a centre for the rural creative arts community.
Following a review of the impact of Covid on the potential funding, the Trustees have decided to limit the first phase of works to some alterations and repairs to the House to enable it to be secured for the local community. This will allow it to start to deliver a range of courses provided by local artists, makers and practitioners.
The Hugh Fraser Foundation has agreed to provide £30,000 towards the cost and Holywood Trust has agreed to add a further £35,000. These were the first grant applications made by the Trust for the works to the House.
Chair of the Trust, Gordon Mann OBE, said
“This is a great start to the Year for the Trust and our hard work over the years is beginning to pay dividends. The decision to scale back the project was a difficult one for the Trust, but it was clear to us that Covid will have a profound effect on major capital projects for a while. We want to see the House secured and we are at last able to run some courses. Courses which will provide a welcome boost for the local creative artists and makers who have suffered so much in the pandemic”
The Hon. Patricia Fraser, Chair of the Hugh Fraser Foundation commented:
“The Trustees are delighted to be able to support Phase 1 of the project and look forward to being able to come and visit this magnificent house, when allowed. Wishing you all the best with your fundraising for what I am sure will be a great asset to the local area.”
Karen Ward Boyd, Director of The Holywood Trust added: –
“A phased development of Shambellie House allows the community access to the facility to try out some of the activities and courses on offer. Importantly, it allows a level of disabled access to the facility to enable a wide range of people to take part. The Trust’s grant support signifies the opportunities that the developed house will be offering for local young people and the level of ambition which the project strives to achieve. We would like to take this opportunity to wish the project well and thank the group of volunteers to have taken this initiative forward, on behalf of the local community.”
