About Us
Our Journey
Women and girls served in the works’ canteen during the building of the drome until such time as a number of them were called to the services. A workmen’s hut built between Balintore and Hilton to accommodate some of the non-local labour force was left intact after the drome had been built and was then used as a cantéen for the Forces there. Many village women worked there on a rota system in the evenings providing a hot snack for the serving men and women in the area. After the war this canteen was used for a number of years in lieu of a proper hall for dances, whist drives and so on. It was demolished after the Seaboard Memorial Hall was built nearby and opened on 30th July 1958.
New Hall
It took years of fundraising and planning and no less than three finance rejections- but at last the Seaboard Villages were celebrating the news that they finally secured lottery money for a new hall. The National Lotteries Charities Board awarded the Seaboard Hall Committee £328,904 to allow it to build a completely new hall to replace the existing dilapidated hall which was built at the end of the war.
“The new hall will be the hub of our community and give us the chances, choices and opportunities which we should have, despite being in a rural area.” Maureen Ross, 2000
Our centre is a community centre run for the benefit of the community – not by the community. This means we are not member-led or publicly operated. Instead, we are managed by our own board/leadership team, working to provide activities, events, and opportunities that benefit the whole local community and beyond.
We also receive no regular public funding. Any funding we receive comes from grants that we actively apply for, along with income generated through our cafe, gift shop, room hire and events. Our Board of Directors are voluntary and receive no remuneration at all for their work.
As well as a thriving community café and gift shop, the centre provides a welcoming and adaptable community space that hosts a range of activities and events with spaces hired out by regular user groups. From exercise classes, an Art Club, to dog training classes, there is a diverse range of activities going on at the Seaboard Centre and we are always on the look out for new activities.
In 2021 a Post Office Counter was introduced which is an important hub to our community and following local bank closures in the area, it has become a vital resource for the community and local businesses.Â
The building also serves as a venue for weddings, conferences, exhibitions, concerts and community gatherings. Â