Really pleased to tell you that we will have delivered most of the environmental improvements funded by Tesco Bags of Help to the Hall before it closes on the 1^st February 2018 for four months for its refurbishment.

There are new signs, designed and manufactured by Ogilvie Engineering, at each side of the Hall, leaving people in no doubt about what the building is.

The new picket line fencing at the front of the Hall will get another coat of white paint as soon as there is a break in the cold, wet weather and the temperature rises.

A new bin, designed and manufactured by Ross-shire Engineering, has been installed at the front of the Hall.  People have been using it and there has been a noticeable reduction in litter.  We will arrange for the bin to be emptied and bags replaced regularly when the Hall is closed.

Billy MacGruer was a huge help when he brought a digger to remove old fenceposts and dense, deep-rooted thorny bushes from the back of the Hall on Fairmuir Road.

Clearing that space allowed the fencer, David Craig, to build and install a new fence and gate.  He also built and installed a gate opposite the main door and blocked off the gap between the Hall and the neighbouring house that people used as a shortcut.

The purpose of the fencing and gates is to make the garden area a safer place for children to play when the weather is good enough for their activities to take place outdoors.  It also makes the space more desirable for summer events which require more space than the Hall itself.

The area that has been cleared will be re-planted with plants that are low-lying, ground-covering and beneficial to birds and bees.

The path continues to be a right of way.  The gates are designed to open and close easily and quietly to minimise noise to neighbours.

We hope that the community will enjoy seeing these improvements and help in taking care of the area for everybody’s benefit.

Nina Graham, Company Development Manager, Muir of Ord Hall and Facilities Company