To have sustainable repairs carried out on the monument and lobby the owners, South Lanarkshire Council (SLC), with that goal In mind.

To plan for the long term sustainability of the structure itself and the grounds by applying for grants and funding for the project.

Development of the Monument as a small visitor attraction thereby bringing revenue to local businesses and economy.

Friends of Strathaven Castle was set up as a group on Facebook on the 29th January 2023. The castle at that time had been closed to the public for around 5 years, having been deemed unsafe.

Friends Of Strathaven Castle was originally conceived as a pressure group to obtain information from SLC regarding their plans to preserve the monument and to gauge the interest of Stravonians near and far.

It quickly became clear that their was great concern in the area for the future of the castle and the membership of the Facebook group has now risen exponentially, reaching well over 1,000. There will be many more I am sure who do not engage with social media but are concerned with the future of the castle.

A core group was formed which eventually led to an elected committee which I believe is made up of a very strong group of individuals bringing various much needed skills to the table.

After receiving a letter from a concerned resident SLC informed the public that they did not have the funds in the foreseeable future to effect repairs required to the monument. Our vice chairman, Jeremy Osborne, contacted local MP Joani Reid and through her intervention we were able to receive the reports of the the survey carried out by SLC well over a year ago.

Having achieved charity status for the Group and also a dedicated Bank Account we are now in a position to apply for grants/funding to achieve our goals. SLC are happy to help with the technicalities involved.

Our aims and objectives for the immediate future are to obtain funding to have the structure stablised and opened to the public again. We believe the monument, with its long and interesting history, to be a great asset to Strathaven and surrounding villages.

Public interaction will be sought by way of an open day in January 2026. All relevant information will be available and we hope to hear the public’s views and ideas for the future of the castle.

There are many hoops to jump through but we feel we can now see daylight.

Jan Dawson (Chair), FoSC