Clock Lodge Developments Press Release April 2021

The detailed  journey by the Lochgilphead Phoenix Project to save the Clock Lodge can accessed on our website but now we are in 2021 and no  doubt many of your readers will wish to know why the hoped for community facility has not been delivered as yet and what are the prospects going forward.

In brief, the Clock Lodge and the adjacent land were transferred to Harbro in 2016 after they completed wind and watertight repairs to the building in line with the agreed terms of the sale and the first stage in developing the site for their new Country Store. Part of the deal was a 99 year lease for the Phoenix Project which was signed off in February 2017. It was our task to secure the funding for the full restoration of the building with the access road and electrical and water supplies delivered by Harbro in the development of their Country Store. We worked with TALC on plans to develop the Clock Lodge as a youth arts base and secured the funding for conservation architects Simpson and Brown to develop proposals for a multi-use art space.

Unfortunately at no stage since the lease was signed off in 2017 has there been any certainty as to when full services to the Clock Lodge would be in place as over the years Harbro have postponed the development of their Country store. Funding for the restoration cannot be secured without that certainty.

Your readers may not be aware that Harbro have now reported that notwithstanding Covid, Brexit has had a major impact on their business and are of the view that there are still further consequences to face. Against that background and the ongoing issue that their current premises in Lochgilphead are not fit for purpose they have made the decision to forgo the development of their Country Store on the Clock Lodge site in favour of a move to a Macleod’s building; the former SNH premises which provides better facilities for their staff and customers.

The decision does have a material impact on the plans of the Lochgilphead Phoenix Project to establish a Youth Art’s base in the Clock Lodge. Harbro advise they are still committed to the building and have instructed their agent to proceed with Phase 1 of the water main to the Clock site.

The Phoenix Project and our friends at TALC while clearly disappointed with the complications that these latest developments bring do not intend to abandon the hope of a thriving community asset in a much loved listed building.

Clock Lodge – A Brief History and Current Status – February  2017

Many of your readers have let us know how much they appreciate the fact that the Clock Lodge is no longer a blight on the town. The journey to date has been long  with founder members championing the restoration of the building from before the Lochgilphead Phoenix Project was established as a registered charity back in 2009. We are by  no means at the end of the trail, but we are continuing to work on the production of a viable plan for the final transformation from a redundant building at risk to the home of a viable and sustainable community facility.

To bring you up to date. Harbro  have completed the initial wind and watertight repairs to the lodge; a requirement before they could construct their new Country Store at the southern end of the site. They plan to have their new store open for business before the end of the year.  The LPP have a 99 year lease on the building with a provision that full refurbishment  is completed within the next 5 years.

We have been continuing  to promote the cause at  every opportunity like last year’s Crinan Corridor Charrette  and Argyll Enterprise week, but until the roof repairs in particular had been completed we were constrained from showing off the building’s potential to prospective partners. We are now in a position to safely access  and to follow up on possible long term solutions. For example early days yet, but we are excited  by a proposal to  develop the lodge as a youth arts base working with the Templar Arts and Leisure Trust and Artmap.

Stating the obvious these things take time, but we are not going away 

Follow this link for more details on the project https://lochgilpheadphoenix.wordpress.com/current-activities/clock-lodge/

 If any of your readers are interested in working with us on the lodge and would like to view inside do get in touch via our website.

Malcolm Sinclair

Secretary, Lochgilphead Phoenix Project (SCIO), Charity No SC041108