Ladybank Masonic Hall nets £50,000 funding to renovate roof

Established in 1890 the Masonic Hall has served Masons in the Ladybank area as well as attracting visitors from across the Kingdom.

Over the years the hall has provided a much-needed community space for local residents to enjoy, and has been the hub of many activities from dance classes, taekwondo, Slimming World and many other private functions.

However, more recently, members of the Masonic Hall have had to cease all meetings as well as community activities within the building not only due to Covid restrictions, but also as a result of the ageing leaking roof.

Alan Laing, junior warden with the lodge, said: “For over 10 years the Masonic members have turned their attention to fundraising activities to raise money to renovate the roof.

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"They hosted a packed Sportsman’s dinner and a successful Christmas party night in December 2019 which attracted 120 local guests and continued fundraising through a variety of other activities.

"Despite the good efforts of the hall’s members the cost of the roof renovation seemed to be a target that was going to be a challenge to reach under normal circumstances, and with the emergence of Covid, achieving that target was made less likely as all activities stopped due to restrictions on gatherings."

Alan goes on to say how important the hall is for the community, and that the lodge has the full support of the people of Ladybank going forward.

"Myself and past master Duncan McCartney drove the project, and have done some extensive legwork in the village to ensure that we have the full support of the local people and businesses, and to obtain signatures needed to accompany the grant application.

"There is a great sense of community at the lodge, and it does a lot of good in the fact that it is used by the community for so many different things.

"The roofing company that will be carrying out the work will be maintaining the roof for the next 10 years – because the grant is public money we want to ensure that it is spent wisely and will benefit the community for years to come.”

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