Muthill Community Hub Project

Through the Muthill Community Action Plans, a new community hub facility which is fit for the 21st century has consistently been identified as a priority for the community.

In December 2022, MVT were awarded £30,000 from Inspiring Scotland to take forward an Options Appraisal and Feasibility Study. This resulted in the identification of the facilities required by the community for their Hub and the selection of Coronation Park as the preferred site. £30,000 in funding from Perth & Kinross Community Led Local Development Fund (CLLD) in 2023 allowed the necessary site investigations and design development as shown in the Stage Two Report. Further funding of £89,000 from CLLD in March 2024 enabled the project to progress to Stage Three which saw further design development and the submission of a full planning application. This submission was made in December 2024. All the documents relating to the project can be found in the Community Hub folder in resources.

Muthill Community Hub - the design

The Hub has been designed with flexibility at its heart so it can grow and change with the needs of the community over the years.

A warm welcome awaits any visitor to the Hub. The foyer has been designed as a light airy space with views to the gardens beyond. It will also be our museum space, displaying artefacts from Muthill and the surrounding area that were once exhibited in the village museum.

Regular community consultation has shown strong support for a larger hall for community gatherings, fundraising events, sports clubs, Scout group meetings and cultural events. This hall is almost twice as big as the current village hall. A bright, airy space with plenty of storage, its own loo and a servery hatch to the community kitchen. It will also feature a sprung floor for sports and dancing and have access to a landscaped patio garden area.

An additional well designed space for exercise and wellbeing classes and a place for community groups to hold their meetings was also requested. The small hall looks out over the gardens and also enjoys access to patio area. This room can be divided 60/40 using sound proofed sliding walls. This offers even more flexibility in terms of room sizes available for hire and an overspill area for the café if required.

There were many requests from the community for a café and shop. This space has been designed to make the most of the bright sunny aspect to the south and west and has good views of the play park area from indoors and the covered terrace area.

The Hub will also offer the primary school a fit for purpose venue for their PE classes (both indoors and out) and offers the potential setting for a number of whole school gatherings with parents and carers too.

In terms of sport and recreation outdoors the Hub will offer a 5 a side grass pitch which can also be used as a community greenspace for gatherings and events, gardens, a nature trail and pond area. Perth & Kinross council have also confirmed that they will be upgrading the play park area in conjunction with the development of the Hub. An upgraded parking area with EV charging will also be created along with a recycling point. A multi use games area (muga) and a pump style bike track are also planned for a later stage of development. This means the community will be able to enjoy tennis, volleyball, basketball and football without the need to travel to Crieff and have a safe area for youngsters to ride their bikes.

Drainage

The community is well aware of the challenges that Coronation Park presents when it comes to drainage. Throughout the site investigation and surveys stage of the project particular attention has been paid to this. The drainage engineers are currently finalising a plan to deal with the persistent problems on the site and these works will be prioritised ahead of construction. It is also likely that Scottish Water will require that all waste and surface water be dealt with on site so a plan will be submitted to PKC as part of the application showing how this will be achieved.

Next steps
We are awaiting news on our current funding application to Perth & Kinross Community Led Local Development Fund for Stage Four funding. This is the technical design and costing stage of the project ahead of a construction tender. During this stage a key focus for the MVT project team will be to secure the capital funding necessary for the drainage works and construction. Thanks to a generous funding contribution from The Gannochy Trust it has been possible to engage Community Enterprise to help create a capital funding strategy and work with us on funding applications.

Detailed floor plans can be found in the Community Hub folder in the resources section and additional planning information will be added there in due course.

Sept 2024 Update - Community Hub Event

It was great to welcome folk along to our recent community event and to give them a chance to see the current design pegged out in the the park. Thanks to the many community groups who came along to support our event. It was a really fun afternoon!

ABC are now collating the feedback they gathered from the community and this will further inform upon the design as we work towards submission of a full planning application in December.

STAGE THREE

We're excited to share some images of the current design of the hub. The architects have worked with the feedback from our consultation event last year, combining the most popular ideas from both designs. Work will continue on the design during Stage Three as we move towards submission of a full planning application. The Stage Two report is now complete and can be found in the resources section of the website.

Architect's sketches of the view of the hub when entering Muthill from Crieff and on Gala Day. Floor plan and site plan of the hub.

Stage Two

Hub Design Development and Site Investigations

Following the successful conclusion of the feasibility study in April 2023, Coronation Park was selected by the community as the preferred site for a new community hub facility. Since then the architects, Anderson, Bell + Christie have consulted with the community on a design for the building and surrounding land. Extensive surveys and site investigations have also been carried out - with particular focus on drainage. This stage has now ended and the Stage Two report has been prepared by ABC. You can read it in full in the resources section of the website.

How Can I Get Involved?

We want the whole community to participate. Every person has a voice in the process and will be given the chance to take part.

Want to help?

Help to distribute surveys and tell people about the events
Help us to organise events
Fill out surveys
Attend the events and encourage friends and neighbours to come along too

Email admin@muthillvillagetrust.org to get involved.

Community Consultation Event August 2023

Keeping In Touch

Become a member of Muthill Village Trust to be kept up to date on the project and Community Hub events.

Alternatively, follow Muthill Village Trust on Facebook or Instagram for regular updates on the project.

Visit the Resources section of the website to view more information about the Community Hub Project.

Funding