Celebrating Village Halls Week 2025

This week sees the launch of the 2025 Village Halls Week!

The week is all about celebrating the incredible contributions of village halls and their amazing volunteers who keep our rural and island communities thriving.

The celebration of Scottish Village halls is being led by Scottish Rural Action (SRA) in partnership with Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE). Village halls in Scotland are invited to join this celebration for the first time, marking a new partnership between SRA and ACRE. 

Christine Fairbairn from SRA said:

“Everyone involved in running a village hall understands its vital role in community life. Volunteers make an extraordinary contribution, often against the odds, driven by determination, laughter, and countless cups of tea. 

“We’re delighted to bring Village Halls Week to Scotland, honouring both these spaces and the volunteers who sustain them.”

The Scottish Rural Network (SRN) have been supporting the development of villages halls through a range of activity over several years, including the funding of a Village Halls and Community Hubs Handbook.

Produced by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) from Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS), with support from SRN, the publication guides community organisations through what they need to know to manage and run a sustainable village hall or community space. 

You can visit and explore the handbook at Village and Community Halls Handbook.

Additionally, we funded the 2024 event, 'Heart of the community: village halls conference' (Conference report here) and we are currently working with our partners again to delivery a 2025 conference. 

To celebrate Village Halls Week, SRA are hosting a free online event – Thriving Village Halls: Inspiring Income Ideas on March 20, 1:00 PM – packed with creative income generating ideas.

This event shines a light on how rural community spaces can thrive financially while delivering meaningful social and economic benefits. Whether you're involved in running a village hall, looking for creative fundraising ideas, or eager to connect with like-minded people, this session is for you.

What to expect:
✅ Real success stories – Hear from Colintraive Village Hall (Argyll) and Brodick Community Hall (Isle of Arran) about their creative and effective approaches to income generation.
✅ Urban perspective – Gain insights from a guest speaker offering lessons from an urban community hall (Balerno Village Trust, Edinburgh).
✅ Learn something surprising at the end!

From hosting community events and renting out space to engaging local businesses and volunteers, this event will offer practical ideas and inspiration to help village halls remain sustainable and financially resilient.

Book your spot at: Thriving Village Halls: Inspiring Income Ideas Online Event.

Finally, for more inspiration check out our video case study which focuses on three very different community spaces - but with one thing in common - the fantastic people who volunteer and work to maintain and run this wonderful community assets.  

This film features three community spaces from across rural and island Scotland and shows how each group has managed to adapt their facility to the communities needs by utilising Community Led Local Development (CLLD) funding, part of the Scottish Government's Rural Development Programme.