The Sale of Greenhills Church Building
No. The building has not been sold!!! Let me allay that concern straight away. Rumours do tend to circulate about the sale of the building and naturally those rumours cause concern to those who use the halls and wonder how they will keep activities going. Or indeed where! Community facilities are few and far between these days!
The process leading to agreement to sell a Church of Scotland building is rather long and slow. We are however, in that process and this seems like a good time to let you all know just where we are in that process.
The sale of the building has been agreed by the Trustees of Westhills Church (Westhills was formed as the result of the union of Westwood and Greenhills congregations). It has also been agreed by the Presbytery (the next higher body in the structure of the Church). This has been communicated to the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland (the body who actually hold the Title Deeds and therefore own the building). The General Trustees met on 8th September 2026 and made the final determination to proceed to the sale of the building.
The General Trustees will review the Titles Deeds to make sure there are no complications. Then refer it to the C of S Law Department who will appoint a solicitor to handle the marketing and sale. As an indication of timescales we would anticipate the building being marketed for sale toward the end of 2026.
In the meantime we continue as normal. The building must continue to be in regular use by hall lets. It must continue to be kept wind and weather tight and all safety aspects like fire safety and electrical safety must be kept up to date. If you are reading this as a member of a group who has a Hall Let at the Greenhills Building (Westhills Community Hub) then you may be aware that the heating system is being nursed along with only one of the two boilers functioning. If the remaining boiler were to fail we would be able to explore repairs but we will not get permission to replace the boiler(s)
Below I include a copy of the final determination from the General Trustees for your information
The situation will change when an offer is received on the building. While the General Trustees advise that the building would then need to be vacated at the time an offer is received let’s remain hopeful that the prospective buyer would wish all community groups to continue their activities but just how that works with regards to insurance, landlord responsibilities etc. is not clear to us at this time. We’ll have to cross the bridge when we come to it.
So, if you see us clearing out cupboards and selling off some furniture or moving items from the sanctuary don’t be alarmed. It doesn’t mean the building is sold. Just like you we have to prepare for the day that a prospective buyer makes an offer. We’re just getting our house in order.
Rev K Mackenzie (Minister for Westhills Church)