The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded The Leanchoil Trust £93,650 to help repurpose the former hospital.
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THE TEAM planning the future of a much-loved historic, local building has been awarded more than £90k for the next stages of the project.
The Leanchoil Trust has secured £93,650 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help save and transform B-listed Leanchoil Hospital for the community, and repurpose it as a centre for health and wellbeing together with veterans' support.
Trust chairwoman, professor Marianne Nicolson, confirmed the award is a step towards achieving the goal - the ‘Growing Wellbeing from Heritage’ project is also set to apply for up to a further £1.37million in delivery support.
Professor Nicolson said: “The award of £93,650 allows our ongoing plans to progress to the next stage.
“We look forward to continuing our engagement with the local community to deliver a refreshed, multipurpose Leanchoil for the benefit of local people of all ages.”
Leanchoil Hospital served the community for over 130 years. It was built by local subscriptions and donations, so the trust wants to return it to community ownership to once again support health and wellbeing.
The development grant is to help the trust prepare for the capital project to restore Leanchoil. The building phase will start in mid-2025, by which time they expect to have planning in place and know exactly what is to be included on the site.
Professor Nicolson explained: “The project is complex, and the trust continues to work in the background with its partners on sustainable options.
“We are particularly fortunate to have contracted the services of a heritage buildings professional to guide the development phase to ensure we deliver the best outcomes for Leanchoil and the community.”
The Leanchoil Trust continues to work closely with its partners, Erskine, Hanover Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service. They aim to evolve the plans to secure the hospital’s long-term future and prepare the delivery phase application, due to be submitted in 2025.
TA programme of events and activities focussed on Leanchoil’s heritage is being planned, with opportunities for the public to get involved as volunteers or participants.
The development funding will help Leanchoil Trust towards finalising designs, obtaining planning consents, formalising partnerships, contributing to staffing, raising funding and exploring new options for the site.
The trust has concluded conditional missives with NHS Grampian for the sale of the St Leonard’s Road site. Transfer of ownership is anticipated in early 2025.
The hospital refurbishment programme aims to create a state-of-the-art space for community use, whilst retaining the beauty of the building and surroundings. The Leanchoil Centre will provide health and wellbeing facilities, a café and a dedicated veterans’ activity centre, which it is hoped will open in 2027.
The total estimate for the refurbishment is £5million.
The award from The National Lottery Heritage Fund forms part of the trust’s capital funding strategy.
Professor Nicolson said: “We also thank the Pilgrim Trust for their generous award of £15,000 to support the ongoing development phase of the project.
“We will be applying to the UK and Scottish Government's capital regeneration programmes and national and local charitable trusts who support community projects.”
She added: “When the time is right, we will also run fundraising campaigns and have already benefitted greatly from the generosity of funds raised by Albert Duffus to support the veterans' part of Leanchoil activities.”
Erskine veterans charity is committed to moving into part of the Leanchoil Centre when it opens. In the meantime, Erskine plans to open a temporary activity centre in the Victoria Hotel to start delivering services sooner to the large population of veterans who live in Moray.
Professor Nicolson finished: “We wish them well in this endeavour and look forward to welcoming them to the Leanchoil Centre in due course.”
Visit https://www.leanchoiltrust.org/ for more information.
