The Go Golspie Board have been working hard on a number of projects which are all progressing well.
The most exciting of which has been the successful application to the Scottish Land Fund stage 1 as a precursor to Go Golspie taking ownership of the YMCA in Golspie and bringing it back into community use.
Currently the building is leased by the Highland Council from the YMCA but over the years it has fallen into a state of disrepair and currently only a small part of it is in use. At a recent event in the Fountain Road Church hall we spoke to several people who attended and it is clear that there is a genuine local interest in bringing this building back to its former glory.
Go Golspie has been in contact with the YMCA who have been very supportive of our aim to restore the building and as a result of the Scottish Land Fund application Go Golspie has been awarded £16,700 to carry out a full survey and valuation of the YMCA building followed by architectural drawings being created to look at what can be done with it going forward.
Once all this work has been completed the consultants commissioned by Go Golspie will begin a period of extensive consultation with the community to look at the best use of this iconic building.
When the results of the consultation have been collated they will form the basis for us to apply to the Scottish Land Fund Stage 2 with a view to taking ownership of the building and restoring it. If all goes well, we could see the YMCA back in community hands by the spring of 2020.
In addition to this Go Golspie has also applied to the Scottish Government Town regeneration fund for support to begin the restoration of the original part of the building and if this is successful it is hoped that work can begin on this phase before the end of this financial year.
The Go Golspie AGM will be held in August and the date will be advertised across the village and in the Northern Times and the board hope that all our members and anyone else interested in community development will come along to support us and to hear what has been happening over the last few months.