Historic Castletown hall 'attracting a lot of interest' after going up for sale
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE Traill Hall in Castletown, which is up for sale, has been "attracting a lot of interest" with two people considering putting in an offer for the historic building.
That was confirmed by Yvonne Fitzgerald, whose firm is handling the sale of the B-listed property which was gifted to the village in 1867 by Margaret Traill – the daughter of Sheriff James Traill, who pioneered the local flagstone industry – as a public hall and reading room.
It was later used as a temporary school, a canteen and a youth club before becoming a store for the Norfrost freezer firm but it has been unoccupied for 27 years.
Attempts were made to get the hall back into public use but they proved unsuccessful and it was decided at a public meeting last year to put the building on the market. It is valued at over £60,000. The proceeds will go to local organisations.
Ms Fitzgerald, of Yvonne Fitzgerald Properties, based in Swanson Street, Thurso, said: "There has been a lot of interest in the property and we have had two people who are considering putting in offers. One is from Caithness and the other is living here.
"We hope we could get an offer in shortly, but sometimes these things take longer than you expect. The Traill Hall is a unique and attractive building. It is in quite good condition and we hope someone will buy it."
She pointed out that the Traill Hall Community Trust, which is responsible for the property, expects that if it is sold it will be developed "within a certain timescale" so it is not left unoccupied.
The trust explored various options for the 19th-century building. One of the proposals was to turn it into a childcare hub, along with other facilities for local people, but that plan was dealt a blow when the Casper Club, the body behind the initiative, folded.
Efforts were also made to get the Landmark Trust and the Prince's Regeneration Trust interested but they were unwilling to take it on and it was agreed to put the hall up for sale. The trustees found it difficult to raise the money to get the premises back into public use.
In 2012, it was estimated it would cost about £1 million.
Trust chairman George Gunn praised the "tremendous amount of work" done by previous trustees to try and save the hall when he addressed the public meeting which attracted about 40 people at Castlehill Heritage Centre.
Mr Gunn said that if the building is sold another public meeting could be held to decide where the proceeds should go. The Drill Hall, the youth club, the community café and Castlehill harbour were among those that could benefit from the sale of the premises, it was suggested.
