KITCHEN REFURBISHMENT

The kitchen in the Town Hall is to be totally refurbished during the coming month.  The kitchen is extensively used by the Community for all sorts of events; particularly for the Saturday coffee mornings, where more than 200 cups of tea and coffee and home bakes are served by a willing group of volunteers. Much of the equipment is old and does not meet the latest health and safety standards.  It has always been the highest priority for the community for improvement to the Town Hall.  The Trust has been helped enormously by an enthusiastic group of volunteers in developing the plans for the new kitchen.

Thanks to funding support from Scottish Hydro Clyde Community Fund and Dumfries and Galloway LEADER Programme, the refurbishment can now take place.  We are delighted that Instock, a leading commercial kitchen supply company from Carlisle, have been awarded the contract.  They will be using local joiners and electricians during the refit.  There will be a totally replaced floor, hygienic wall panels, new worktops, new cooking facilities including a microwave and an instant water heater; a refrigerator, and replacement crockery, pots and pans and tea and coffee pots.

The new kitchen will provide up to date facilities in the Hall, and will provide enhanced cooking facilities which will allow the Trust to offer more extensive opportunities than have been possible previously.

Peter Beck-Samuels, Chairman of the Trust, stated “We are delighted after a number of years that we can now proceed with the refurbishment of the kitchen, and meet the community’s top priority. It will enhance the facilities, and further improve the use of the Hall, especially with its external face-lift as well”.  One of the volunteers who helped with the planning stated “We are looking forward to using the new kitchen, which is well overdue”.