Cow Hill Hall Project
Sometimes at the beginning of a long-term project, it can be hard to envisage exactly how things might take shape down the line. For a while, that felt like the case with the Cow Hill Hall project, until very recently.
The Cow Hill Hall plans to bring a new community space to the residents of Upper Achintore and the Plantation to use and enjoy. This area, which is coined Upper Fort William, is home to around 3000 people representing 15 nationalities.
Despite its large and culturally diverse population this area does not have a suitable hall space to serve the community and support community cohesion. This prompted the Upper Achintore Regeneration Group to investigate ways in which a new community hall space could be brought to life.
They sought funding to commission a feasibility study and business plan, which included having an architect create drawings of the proposed space. They also received grant funding to carry out community engagement work to help provide evidence that the community wants a community hall – and there is overwhelming support for the idea of a community hall. However, what is needed to drive this forward is a suitable organisation, with a group of voluntary Trustees who are themselves residents.
This is where Voluntary Action Lochaber stepped in. We worked with members of Upper Achintore Regeneration Group, residents of Upper Achintore and Plantation and a small number of key stakeholders to design, fund and deliver a campaign for Cow Hill Hall. The core aim of the campaign is to find Trustees to form a new organisation for Cow Hill Hall.
First things first, we knew the hall needed an identity of its own for people to get familiar with the proposals, something that would be visually appealing, memorable and engaging. To do this, we enlisted the superb skills and services of a local creative agency, Aeon Creative. They worked with the group to hear about the project and listened to everyone’s visions and ambitions for the project’s future. From this they created a fabulous brand, logo and colour palette which wonderfully represents the project, area and community.
These new brand assets allowed us to very easily create eye-catching marketing materials like roller banners, leaflets, pin badges, stickers and much more… This is helping to improve our community outreach efforts and continue raising awareness of the project.
As part of the Intensive Capacity Building Grant funding we secured, we were also able to commission Aeon Creative to build a website for Cow Hill Hall. This now serves as an online hub containing a range of information about the project’s history and future ambitions. It also allows community members to reach out for more information or register their interest in getting involved.
With the Cow Hill Hall Geo Hunt marking the launch of the campaign at the end of May 2025 we have now reached a very exciting point in the project. Members of the community are starting to step forward, show interest in finding out more, or offering to take part in the campaign events calendar, or explore more about what is involved in being a trustee.
Looking ahead there is a varied, fun and interesting calendar of community events and workshops being sponsored by Cow Hill Hall through 2025 and into 2026 as part of our community outreach plans. Look out for these being promoted and come and join the journey.
You can find out more about the Cow Hill Hall project at: https://www.cowhillhall.com/
Keep up with the latest from Voluntary Action Lochaber on our social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voluntaryactionlochaber
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voluntaryactionlochaber/