The Institute reflects Fife’s mining history
Heritage Grants
Date awarded
Location
Lochgelly, Cardenden and Benarty
Applicant
Heritage Building Preservation Trust
Award Given
£340000
The Heritage Building Preservation Trust bought the B listed Miners Institute from Fife Council in order to restore it and guarantee its long-term future.
The Institute is one of only a few buildings remaining which reflect Fife’s mining history. It had been empty since the early 1990s and was on Scotland’s Buildings at Risk Register. The Trust sold the Institute to the Housing Association Regeneration Community Alliance, who lease it to a further education college and a community college.
It houses community meeting rooms and a counselling and a careers service for community use. The local community was consulted, volunteers produced exhibitions, schoolchildren researched web content, and students designed the web pages. The hall of the building is accessible to the public and contains permanent and temporary exhibitions.
The aims of the project were to:
- Repair the Miners Institute and find a sustainable use for it.
- Consult with and involve the local community and schools.
- Provide interpretation during restoration work through a website, leaflet information boards, and afterwards through access and a programme of exhibitions.