Work starts next week on the major refurbishment of the Nethy Bridge Community Centre, which will provide residents and visitors with an excellent venue for events and meetings and also an improved visitor centre and ranger base.
The £200,000 project has the backing of the Scottish Government with £150,000 worth of ‘shovel ready’ funds accessed via the Cairngorms National Park Authority, £20,000 from the European-funded LEADER programme and the remainder coming from the Community Centre’s own funds.
Local building firm McLeods (Grantown) will get to work on site from Monday (17th February) and the transformation is expected to be complete around the end of May.
Among the works being carried out include the upgrade and refurbishment of internal rooms and the moving of the kitchen to a location where it can better service the main hall. The visitor centre element of the hall is also being relocated within the building and upgraded, along with re-wiring, re-plumbing, new insulation and the toilets are also being upgraded.
David Carrott, Director and Chair of Nethy Bridge Community Centre said: “Once completed, the refurbishment will realise the vision of an attractive, warm, well resourced facility to meet the current and future needs of the community. It is anticipated that the new Visitor Centre will encourage more visitors to tarry a while in Nethy, boosting the local economy. Also, it is hoped that the improved hall facilities will attract more lettings, keeping costs down for regular local users.”
Hamish Trench, Director of Conservation and Visitor Experience: “The village hall is the centre of village life in most communities so it’s great to see the Nethy facility being given a 21st century make-over to ensure that it is able to service the needs of a variety of users. It’s also the home of Explore Abernethy, the local ranger service and the Nethy Bridge Interpretive Project, providing visitors with information on where to go and what to see.”