The old village hall is constructed of a corrugated iron exterior and a wooden interior, and was built in 1896 by the local people. It housed their church as well as providing a venue to meet their social needs. Unfortunately, it has been in a sad state of repair for a number of years.

To meet any new criteria would compromise the existing structural integrity of the building. As well as bordering two roads (which did not exist at the time it was originally built), there is a lack of ground for parking or outside activities. Taking all this into account, it is obvious that it would not be feasible either to renovate the building or rebuild on this site.

A New Site

As there is no suitable land in Embo to build a new hall, this is not an option.

The Old School

Located in the hub of the village, this building was constructed in 1858 of stone with a slate roof. It currently houses the Embo Community Centre activities, and has done so since the late 1980s when the user groups moved from the Old Village Hall. They include:

The Education Department leased this building to the village when the primary school closed and the children were sent to Dornoch for their primary education.

The community is of the opinion that this building is the best prospect because:

• it has the potential for major refurbishment and extension and would be able to cater for several user groups at once
• The Highland Council have given the community the opportunity to purchase the building for a nominal fee once a funding package is in place
• it has ample ground for parking and outside activities
• it is in a prime site at the front of the village, making it both easy to access and locate

However, being an extremely old building it is now in need of major refurbishment, as:

• there is no insulation in the roof or walls, nor are the windows double glazed, resulting in the building being extremely cold, in spite of the central heating
• there is a high risk of burst pipes in the winter as most of the plumbing is located in the roof space
• the toilets and urinals are in a terrible state and do not flush properly, and the floor tiles in these areas have lifted
• the old plaster in various parts of the building is showing signs of damp, resulting in cracks and crumbling of walls and ceilings
• the main hall cannot properly cater for village functions or sporting activities due to its size and fire/safety restrictions

As the only feasible option, the community has agreed that a full refurbishment and extension are required to bring this building up to the required standard, this will then ensure that the village has a continuing focal point and purpose, which they are confident will continue to benefit future generations.