A Masonic lodge in Tarbert has been awarded £4,000 to support its centenary refurbishment. 

Lodge St Clement has been awarded the funding from Muaitheabhal Community Trust to aid in its refurbishment – which marks its 100th year.

The building is used for Lodge business, but it also serves as a community space where local residents and groups, who might otherwise struggle to find somewhere to meet, can use the space free-of-charge. The pipe band and local dancers are among the groups who regularly use the hall, alongside other community meetings and activities.

The building has never had a full renovation, though it remains useable for the groups who rely on it. This project will refresh the building inside and out, and it is that continued use by the wider community, rather than the needs of Lodge members alone, that has driven the work.

Donnie Morrison said: "What stood out with this application was that St Clement's Lodge isn't just a Lodge building, it's a community space. Groups like the pipe band and local dancers use the hall free of charge, and it's that wider community use that made this such an easy grant to support."

Henry William MacInnes, on behalf of Lodge St Clement, said: "This isn't just about the Lodge, it's about the groups who use the building week in, week out and never pay a penny to do so. The hall is an older building and has never had a full renovation, but it's always been perfectly useable, and this funding means we can make it a better space for the community for years to come."

The refurbishment project is expected to cost in the region of £8,000 in total, with Lodge members also giving their time to assist tradesmen with the work.