Charity Registration Number: SC051608 (Scotland)
Aultbea Hall [SCIO]
Annual Report and Unaudited Financial Statements for the period ended 31 December 2025
Aultbea Hall [SCIO]
| Contents | Page |
|---|---|
| Legal and administrative information | 1 |
| Trustees’ Report | 2-4 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 5 |
| Statement of financial activities | 6 |
Aultbea Hall [SCIO]
Legal and Administrative Information
Trustees Elected Andrew Townsend (Chairperson) Fiona Mackenzie (Vice-chairperson) Pauline Butler (Secretary) Bruce Jeffrey (Treasurer) Jean Ross Co-opted Colin Bell Joyce Bell Kerry Ann Darlington Colin Irvine (resigned 11 November 2025) Attending regularly Amelia MacLean (junior rep) Mel MacLean Jen Turner Heather Wiseman Charity number (Scotland) SC051608 Registered office Aultbea Hall c/o Laide Post Office Laide Achnasheen IV22 2NB Independent Examiner Michael Northeast Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers
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Aultbea Hall [SCIO]
Trustees’ Report for the period 1 January to 31 December 2025
Constitutional
Our SCIO charity, formally registered in February 2022, has met its constitutional and administrative requirements through 2025. Four years since the public meeting (October 2021) that began the transformation which replaced the original Aultbea Community Centre and Football Field Trust (usually known as Aultbea Hall Trust), the original trustees and key supporting personnel have continued to commit to the charity. This consistency of personnel and purpose has been a critical factor in maintaining support from grant-givers, individual donors and the wider community. As of 31 December 2025, there were 129 local residents registered as members of Aultbea Hall [SCIO].
- - Aultbea Hall Revival! full re opening May 2025
After the frustrating delays of 2024, the major works, both to the main Hall and the exterior, were undertaken at pace in the early months of 2025.For the first four months, our contractors and volunteers were extremely busy on the repair and renovation programme necessary. Their skills and pride in quality work has resulted in a building that is now structurally sound, with substantial steelwork roof supports installed, replacement doors (both fire and standard), floors, walls and ceilings repaired, new electrical installations throughout to provide environmentally efficient heating and lighting, and a state-of-the-art fire security system.
Making good the internal paintwork has been ongoing all year, with walls, doors, windows, the stage and, most challenging of all, the high arced ceiling, all receiving the dedicated attention of both professional and amateur brush- and roller-wielders. The utilitarian steel supports have been made into a significant feature, painted in custommixed ‘Aultbea Blue’. The paint job, complemented by the inspired suggestion to build in benches between each girder (now furnished with ‘clan tartan’ cushions paid for entirely by donations from local families, together with custom-made curtains - again funded by donations), has ensured that the Hall is now an inviting and attractive venue for community events.
Externally, and thanks to a 50% grant from GAMS (Gairloch Aid and Mobility Support) and a targetted donation, improvements were completed by March to the accessibility of the Hall: the on-site parking area was levelled and gravelled; drainage, concrete stand and fencing were installed at the fire exit; and improvements made to the ramp entry to the main door. Wall and window-painting, part-funded by a further grant from the North Highland Initiative, brought the external appearance back up to respectability, and in September we took advantage of the unexpected bonus of the donation of military-grade paint in the requisite antique green/bronze colour, to put the first coat on the iconic sheet-metal roof. A second will be applied as soon as the weather and the availability of our volunteer work force allows. So, the building now has an extended lifespan and is weather-resilient for the foreseeable future.
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There remains one further external gable-end repair to undertake which is booked in for Spring 2026. We are now embarking on Phase IV, the restoration of a functioning stage, specifically lighting and the range of drapes and curtains needed to replace those which are no longer serviceable.
The scale of the renovation was far more extensive than we ever thought possible originally, achieved thanks to the overwhelming community support for our many and varied fundraising activities, and the unrelenting commitment of dozens of volunteers giving so much time and effort to the cause. And nothing would have been possible without our loyal local contractors who committed to completing the long lists of jobs to be undertaken despite all their other priorities. We are extremely grateful to those seven organisations which gave us grants, the most significant financially being the Community Regeneration Fund (via Highland Council). We also acknowledge that several officers of Highland Council provided invaluable guidance and encouragement beyond their remit.
Activities and achievements
Committee meetings have been held each month throughout 2025, always with good attendance, be it in person or by Zoom. The focus of meetings was, in the early part of the year, to deliver on our commitment to reopen the main hall for community use; thereafter to manage operations as, for the first time in 7 years, community groups and functions began to take advantage of the facilities. Minutes are posted on the Aultbea Hall website.
The elected trustees wish to express their appreciation of the co-opted members and the several volunteers from the community, including a student rep, who regularly attend our meetings, giving invaluable assistance to the project, planning and organising fundraising events and activities for Aultbea Hall Revival! , or ensuring that our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/153352818475359 remains lively and active all year long in keeping everyone well informed of what is going on inside and outside the Hall. Reports of our project developments and activities are published in the Gairloch & District Times .
The very first event in the reopened Hall was the VE Day Celebration held on 10 May. This was particularly fitting, given that its story dates back to the Second World War, when our iconic Romney building was part of the military establishment for those serving in the Loch Ewe area. The organisers, the local Poppy Scotland group, were overwhelmed by the number who came to recognise the occasion. The Hall is now proving to be an excellent venue also for badminton, table-top sale and Christmas Fayre, film showing and public meeting. We were delighted that the Highland Third Sector Interface chose us to host its first-ever West Fest in September. Regular use of the Crow’s Nest includes yoga, Sing Loch Ewe, art sessions, and the monthly meetings of Aultbea Community Council. Social events, including family and workplace parties big and small, have been held successfully in both facilities.
We are delighted that youngsters have the opportunity once again to enjoy themselves, and begin to create memories, with an Easter hunt, Halloween and Christmas Parties. Offering a warm and welcoming space for indoor recreation for our younger community members has always been a priority and a driving force for our endeavours, so, it has
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been gratifying to see regular sessions for the pupils of Bualnaluib School and the Babies to Bairns group through the autumn.
The main fund-raising (and fun) community activities organised directly by committee members in 2025 were:
| Saturday 30 March | Easter Gathering and car boot sale |
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| Saturday 20 June | Midsummer Ceilidh with Recovery Function Band |
| Saturday 2 August | Summer Flotilla (not the Raft Race!), raffle, tea tent & BBQ |
| Saturday 20 September | Wedding Afternoon Tea |
| Saturday 20 December | Family Christmas Ceilidh with Anndra & Eoin Cumming |
| Wednesday 31 December | Hogmanay Dance with Recovery Function Band. |
The logos on our T-shirts continue to spread our message across the world, being paraded this year from Lapland to Melbourne and everywhere in between, including on the Atlantic Ocean waves. Ongoing and significant sums continue to be deposited by anonymous supporters into the wee, green boxes on the counters of the village shops.
Despite the inevitable challenges, the contributions and efforts of so many, be they residents present and past, visitors, contractors or businesses, has helped us to succeed beyond expectation with the reopening our historic Hall, condemned as a ‘dangerous building’ in 2019. These endeavours were recognised on 31 October when Aultbea Hall was announced to be one of the three winners in the Village Inspiration Awards , a UKwide competition to “celebrate success stories, recognising outstanding contributions to community life”. The organisers stated that they were “absolutely blown away by the incredible number of entries this year. The creativity, community spirit, and amount of hard work happening in village halls across the UK is nothing short of amazing”. But it was our project that was one of the three that “truly stood out!”. In our entry, we highlighted the strength of community support for the repair and renovation work ongoing, and that “Generations have loved this Hall, with such good memories. Now more generations can have great memories too”. Through the completion of the Revival! project, Aultbea Hall can now justly claim to have returned to its historic role at the heart of the community.
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Statement of financial activities
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