Rutherglen Town Hall in South Lanarkshire has been celebrating ten years since the building was refurbished.

A £12.5m restoration project returned the sandstone building to its former glory in 2005. This 10-year milestone was marked by ten shows over ten days, culminating in an anniversary party at the weekend.

The town hall holds a range of events, performances, seminars, classes, courses and workshops.

"But it was a very different story when South Lanarkshire was formed in 1996 and the council inherited a jaded, dilapidated building that had fallen into dreadful state of disrepair," a statement from the council said. "At the time the council vowed to the people of Rutherglen that it would give them back their town hall by faithfully restoring it to its former glory."

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In November 2001, the council embarked on its largest capital project to upgrade and refurbish the building, with support from Historic Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund for Scotland.

The project took over four years to complete and re-opened its doors to the public in March 2005.

Leader of South Lanarkshire Council, Councillor Eddie McAvoy said: "Since Rutherglen Town Hall re-opened its doors with a warm welcome 10 years ago, the venue has given a sense of community back to the people of Rutherglen to come together and enjoy a show, a party, a wedding, a class or course, or just a coffee and a chat in a welcoming meeting place.

"We are delighted that people come from all over to enjoy this magnificent venue that has brought our community together, as no other venue could possibly do."

Elizabeth Arbuckle, the chair of Cambuslang and Rutherglen Sports Council, added: "I would like to thank the Rutherglen Town Hall and their great team for all their efforts over the past 10 years. They have helped to make our annual sports awards an outstanding success. Nothing is too much bother, they always go out of their way to help and support on the day."

(IT/CD)