The trust took over ownership of the building, built by the Earl of Marchmont in 1829, at the end of 2007 and within six months they had raised around £650,000 towards the total of £1.9 million required to first of all secure the building and then breath a new lease of life into it.

Grants were received from the likes of Historic Scotland, the European Development Fund and Scottish Borders Council.

And the project also received a massive boost thanks to a land sale, totalling £250,000 which was sourced through Berwickshire Housing Association.

The land originally belonged to town hall trustee, Peter Leggate, but he donated it to the SHBT so they could sell it and raise funds for the restoration.

A planning application to develop the Grade 1 listed building, to include two office suites, was accepted by Scottish Borders Council in spring of last year and since then it's been all systems go.

Tenders for work were put out by the summer, with the contract being awarded to East Lothian-based Campbell and Smith Construction.

And since arriving on site they have so far installed new lead roofing onto the pavilion, built new interior structural partitions and begun repairs on the main hall roof.

External drainage work has also been completed; water supplies are now in the building and power should follow in the coming weeks.

Director of the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, Una Richards, said she had never been at the helm of a project that moved so quickly, even though, like other work in the region, progress was hampered by last month's heavy snow.

She commented: "We are definitely on schedule at present. We're extremely happy with the quality of work Campbell and Smith Construction have done although the snow did cause some problems.

"The guys couldn't get on site for a week or so and I think last week was the first time temperatures had been above freezing; on one day a temperature of -9 was recorded inside of the hall."

Una said that all is looking well for the town hall to have its official re-opening in late August/early September but said until then any more support from the public would be gratefully accepted.

The trust had hoped to be able to include a new kitchen area and toilets but at present finances don't stretch to these.

Una continued: "To see the building up and running again has been the aim of the town hall trustees for the past decade and more, and although progress has been brisk since we've taken over there is still some way to go.

"There's a fundraising thermometer on the outside of the town hall and at the moment it shows that we need another £90,000.

"We want to include new amenities such as a kitchen and toilet but the money just isn't there at the moment so we've had to take them out of the budget. Hopefully we will be able to bring them back in and that's why public donations are so important.

"People showed their support at a number of fundraising events last year but there are no events in the pipeline at present so any individual donations would be fantastic."

One of the central functions of the newly renovated town hall, once it's opened, will be as an office space and Una is hoping that prospective tenants will start to express an interest in the coming months.

"The offices will all be ready for use when the hall re-opens in the summer," Una continued.

"We will start to market them officially later in the year but I'd like to make a plea now to any interested parties

"We're reasonably confident, that despite the current climate, the interest will be there but you never know. People won't have seen the Town Hall in this light before but we're hoping they will be impressed with the new facilities."

Anyone who wants to find out more about the office spaces should contact the trust on 0131 220 5990 or admin@conservationtrust.co.uk.
Like wise for donations or alternatively you can visit the trust website- www.conservationtrust.co.uk/shbt- to pay using Paypal or to download a Gift Aid cheque.