Shaping the future of our community

In early 2024, South Lanarkshire Council announced plans to close Coulter Hall — a decision that spurred our founding trustees to take action. Determined to keep this vital space open, Coulter Community Trust was formed as a charity and began exploring the feasibility of acquiring and managing the hall as a sustainable community asset. We knew that without a central, accessible venue, bringing people together would be nearly impossible. But with local ownership, the opportunities for community engagement and social inclusion would be limitless.

After carefully reviewing their options, the trustees unanimously decided to move forward with a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) application, based on community engagement, market analysis, and detailed research to ensure the hall’s long-term viability.

Coulter Hall is home to a number of local groups and clubs that rely on the building as a venue for their activities, and its closure would have put many of them at risk. So in November 2024, we signed a lease agreement with the council and took on responsibility for the hall’s operation and maintenance. This temporary solution gave us time to develop a robust business plan and strengthen our case for the CAT application.

Like many similar buildings, Coulter Hall has suffered from years of neglect. The structure has deteriorated, its appearance is worn, and its energy efficiency falls far short of modern standards. From the outset, it was clear that full refurbishment would be essential.

As we took control of the hall, we began speaking with architectural practices experienced in similar community projects.  Three firms were shortlisted and invited to tender for an initial package of work to RIBA Stage 1, which includes:

• A feasibility study and full building assessment
• Community consultation through public events and focus groups
• Assessment and proposal of a sustainability strategy, exploring solutions like solar panels, battery storage, and a ground source heat pump

We believe this project must be driven by the community. By gathering input from local residents and groups, we can ensure the hall’s design reflects their needs and aspirations.

In February 2025, we shared the exciting news that our charity had secured funding from the Scottish Land Fund and SSE Renewables Clyde Windfarm to begin Stage 1 of the project.  Then, in March, we announced the appointment of Anderson Bell + Christie as lead architects. As a wholly employee-owned architectural practice, they bring decades of experience working with community groups and development trusts across Scotland, with a strong focus on community participation and sustainability. 

The first step in the project was community consultation, for which we partnered with Community Enterprise — an organisation that provides development support to social enterprises, charities and voluntary groups to help turn ideas into reality.  Coulter residents, local community groups and hall users were invited to take part in a workshop and open meetings in April and May 2025, when the architects presented three potential design options, sparking thoughtful discussion and inspiring plenty of creative thinking. It was fantastic to see so many people rolling up their sleeves and getting involved!

Stage 1 of the project was completed in July 2025 with the submission of the architect's interim report, which included provisional floorplans for our refurbished hall and detailed costings.  We also published our business plan for the hall, which includes a five-year cashflow projection.  The high cost of heating Coulter Hall means that the building is financially unsustainable in its present state   Whilst CCT has funding in place to ensure that the building remains open in the short term, it's essential that we keep the up the momentum to ensure that the project continues to progress.  The architect has now submitted their proposal for stages 2 and 3 to take the project to a planning application, and we are currently applying for funding so that this next phase of work can begin.

The submission of our CAT application in August 2025 to purchase Coulter Hall from South Lanarkshire Council marked a major milestone in both the development of our charity and our plans for the building’s future. Recognising the scale of the responsibility that comes with ownership, our trustees made a conscious decision not to rush the process. Instead, we took the time to carry out thorough due diligence and careful preparation — ensuring that our application was as strong as possible and that we approached this commitment fully informed and ready for the challenges ahead. 

You can view the details of our CAT application via the South Lanarkshire Council Planning portal here, where you can also submit a comment in support or objection.