The Kirkintilloch Town Hall project secured the final piece of its required funding package following a grant of £666,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

In addition, a planning application for the overall project was approved by councillors this week.

Detailed plans for the facility - which will be functional, flexible and fit for the 21st century - were put on display at Kirkintilloch Community Hub in August.

East Dunbartonshire Council has been working with development partner hub West Scotland, contractors and East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture (EDLC) Trust to develop the design since the start of 2015.

Plans include the provision of ground-floor event space; a new entrance, reception and vestibule; a first-floor heritage display, reflecting Kirkintilloch’s rich history (in association with EDLC); new office and community space as well as a kitchen, store room, toilets and locker room.

The aim is that the new facility is flexible enough to cater for a range of uses - such as performances, events, weddings, heritage displays, receptions and meetings - to ensure it is sustainable, while ensuring high-quality functionality.

To complement this mix of uses, there will also be an adjoining extension. The restored building will have a potential seating capacity up to 300.

Councillor Rhondda Geekie, leader of the council, said, “This is great news and a positive way to round off 2015. Not only have we secured support from the Heritage Lottery Fund - the final piece of the funding jigsaw - the project has also been given the green light by the planning board.

“I want to pay tribute to everyone from the council and Trust for their efforts and look forward to seeing the project progress early in the New Year.

“The town hall will blend history and future in a functional, flexible and sustainable way.

“We’re not trying to achieve a full restoration of what the town hall was. The interior of the building will be completely transformed - giving it a new feel, fit for the 21st century.

“The exterior of the new Kirkintilloch Town Hall will be retained and refreshed, but inside will be radically different - able to accommodate a variety of uses and creating an ongoing revenue stream which will be used to off-set the building’s running costs.”

The overall project will cost approximately £5.5 million. As well as significant external funding, support has also been secured from the council’s capital programme - which is funded differently and completely separate from the revenue budget, which pays for day-to-day services and is experiencing huge pressures.

There will be a range of works undertaken at the site over 2016, with expected completion in the spring of 2017.