Community Hall Forum

On Saturday 25th November 2025, I hosted a Community Hall Forum in Laxdale Hall bringing together halls from across Lewis and Harris.

I invited speakers from a number of organisations that offer support and advice to speak to community hall representatives about what they can offer.

Speakers included Community Energy Scotland, Community Learning & Development (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar), Outer Hebrides Community-Led Local Development Programme with the Local Action Group and the Youth Local Action Group, and Laxdale Community Hall.

We had valuable discussions on heating and energy costs, discovered funding opportunities, and heard Laura's inspiring account of the hard work behind Laxdale Hall's recent renovations.

The feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the benefit of coming together, and learning that other organisations are facing or have faced similar problems. The hope is that this event will foster an ongoing channel of communication between the halls to encourage resource and information sharing.

Community halls are at the heart of rural communities, and hopefully the connections made at this event will continue to grow and spark shared solutions across our islands.

I plan to host an event for Uist and Barra halls next year...so stay tuned!