Save our Village Hall
For only £3 per year for each Kirknewton household we can save our Village Hall!
West Lothian Council is stopping funding to community centres. To avoid our Village Hall moving to WLC control or being closed, KCDT will start leasing the hall from 1 April 2026 bearing the yearly cost of about £6000. We can only cover about half of that with hall hires - so we need to fundraise another £3000 in a year to keep our hall open!
8 Ways you can help:
-
Become a member of KCDT to keep updated on the campaign and have your say. It's free to become a member!
-
Join the weekly community draw either online for £26 per 6 months (per ticket, and also includes KCDT membership), or buy your ticket in the shop for £1 a ticket per week.
-
Hire the Village Hall for your parties and events for only £25 an hour.
-
Show your support by joining activities in the Village Hall. There's yoga, kettlebell circuits, pilates, rainbows, brownies, Kirknewton Cafe, bingo, playgroup ....and more!
-
Make a one-off donation below.
-
Help us brainstorm about how we can reduce running costs and/or increase income for a sustainble future for the Village Hall.
-
Tell your neighbours and friends about our campaign.
-
If you're a business interested in sponsorship contact us.
For more information see the FAQs or contact Steph (stephkirknewton@gmail.com) or Ian at the shop.
One time donation for our Village Hall
For only £3 per year per Kirknewton household we can save our Village Hall. The Village Hall costs about £6,000 per year to run, and about half of that can be covered with hires - se we need to raise another £3,000 this year. Updated goal for one-time donations: £2078 (updated 8 April 2026) - for full progress bar with various source of donations, see above. Thank you for your support!
£359.05 raised
13 donations
346 days left!
17%
Amount
Can save our Village Hall.
£3
Covers 1.5 days of running costs.
£25
Covers 3 days of running costs.
£50
Covers a week of running costs.
£120
Other
0/100
Comment (optional)
FAQs
Why is the Village Hall at risk?
West Lothian Council (WLC) is stopping the funding for community centres across West Lothian. The options are for community committees to remain in control of centres but bear all operating costs, or the control of the community centres moves back to the Council.
What option is Kirknewton exploring?
Over the last 2 years, negotiations have been ongoing between WLC and the village (Kirknewton Community Council, Kirknewton Community Development Trust, and the Village Hall Committee). Through discussions with the community, including an open meeting for residents in the Village Hall in 2025, there was a preference to keep our own control of the Village Hall and explore ways to bear the costs.
What will the new management system look like?
From the 1st April 2026 (the deadline set by WLC) the KCDT will lease the Village Hall from WLC on a monthly basis for a temporary period of time. This transition period will allow KCDT to set up a brand new charity for the Village Hall that will then allow us to apply for water/rates relief and also apply for funding specific for property. For legal reasons, the charity-structure of KCDT is not suitable to deal with property and accompanying liability. The new Village Hall charity will become independent from KCDT and have its own board etc.
What are we doing to save our Village Hall?
Besides negotiating with WLC and setting up a new management system, we're doing lots to help save our Village Hall. We are setting up this fundraiser to cover the cost for this financial year, including by giving the community draw a boost. Furthermore, we are increasing our efforts to effectively communicate with the community about our ongoing efforts (e.g. by improving and updating this website). We are restarting monthly newsletters for KCDT members (sign up here) about the campaign and general news from the village. Through increased communication we hope to also increase the visibility of the Village Hall in our community. If you have other ideas about how to better use and save our Village Hall, don't hesitate to get in touch. For example, would you want to see an online booking system?
Why can't the Trust simply pay for the Village Hall?
The KCDT indeed manages money to invest in the community. Unfortunately, the current pots of money are ringfenced for certain purposes (e.g. due to rules by the funder) in such a way that it is not possible to directly pay the Village Hall operating costs. The money raised in the current campaign all goes directly towards maintaining the Village Hall. Once the new Village Hall charity is in place, with a different legal structure from KCDT, it will be possible to apply for funds to cover operating costs of the hall. For more information about the Trust's finances, please visit the Trust's page.
Campaign updates
Campaign updates
3 April 2026: Campaign launched
8 April 2026: Wow - within one week we already managed to raise over a third required to keep our Village Hall running this year! Thank you so much for everyone who engaged so early on already.
Further updates to come.
Want to be kept in the loop? Sign up to become a KCDT member (it's free) and receive the monthly newsletter.