Moray SNP News

PUBLIC MEETING CALLED OVER FUTURE OF LONGMORE HALL

Richard Lochhead MSP and Councillor Theresa Coull are to hold a public meeting on the future of the Longmore Hall, after the Tory-led Council voted to close the community facility.

The Conservative and Independent administration in the Moray Council forced through the closure of the hall, despite the closure being missed from the local authority’s public consultation papers.  Both Mr Lochhead and Cllr Coull have called on the Council to halt plans to shut the hall, calling for the community have its say over its future.  The Tory-led Council has so far ignored these calls. 

Now, the SNP representatives have called a public meeting on the future of the hall and to establish whether the local community would want to take over the running of the Longmore Hall. 

The public meeting will be held on Monday 19th March at 7pm in the Longmore Hall.  The Council’s Community Asset Manager will attend.

Richard Lochhead MSP said:

“Plans to shut the Longmore Hall have come as a huge blow to the people of Keith, with many community groups and organisations who use the facility being left high and dry by the Tory-led Council voting for its closure.

“The hall is well used and supported by the local community, and folk are understandably unhappy that they have had no real say over its future after it was missed out of the budget consultation. 

“While the Tory-led Council may think it is acceptable to force the Longmore Hall’s closure without the community having their say, the SNP absolutely do not.  We’ve arranged this public meeting so that folk in Keith can come together to discuss the hall’s future and to look at how we can work together to save it.”

SNP Councillor Theresa Coull added:

“People in Keith are understandably unhappy that the Tory-led Council has forced through plans to shut the Longmore Hall, despite there being next to no consultation with the local community.

“The Longmore Hall is a really important community facility and this public meeting will allow its users the chance to have their say over its future.

“The Council are closing our local halls and expecting communities to take over the running of them, but are offering little or no support to go through this process due to demand and a shortage of staff. 

“It’s not acceptable for the halls to be closed and communities abandoned like this, and it just demonstrates how ill thought out the Tory-led Council’s plans are.  They really should look to suspend these closures, at the very least until proper support can be put in place.”