The people of Oban have saved a former school building in the town centre from bulldozers by buying it from the local authority.
The former Rockfield Primary School building will now be transformed into a centre of creativity after an offer of £1,000 by Oban Communities Trust was accepted by Argyll and Bute Council.
The council made the decision to accept the offer after discussing the item in private.
It had previously considered selling the building to a housing association for £1, which planned to demolish it and make way for flats. But there was a public outcry from people who wanted to save the building and Oban Communities Trust was formed.
Trust director Gordon McNab said: “The council said they are going to accept Oban Communities Trust’s bid for £1,000. It is obviously going to be subject to various conditions which the board will have to discuss.
“Next we will establish an entry date, which we hope will be by the end of April at the latest, so that we can get the keys and get the treatment started. We need to start work to stop the ingress of water and dry rot, which is getting worse by the day.
“With all the recent bad weather the ceiling is starting to come down and deteriorate.
“The council has said no money is available for the dry rot or fixing the roof. We have got to take it warts and all.
“We have made our own inquires as to the cost. It is going to have to be a real community venture. The community will have to supply a lot of manpower to keep the costs down. But we have been inundated with offers from companies and builders prepared to come and help.
“It is really positive. Now that the offer has been accepted the fundraising can get under way.”
He added that they would require up to £250,000 to get the building wind and water-tight and get rid of the dry rot.
The trust wants to make Rockfield a base for the community for community groups, activities and creativity.
Rockfield Primary had lain empty for seven years and had fallen into a state of disrepair before the council announced it was planning to sell the building to a housing association.
Argyll Community Housing Association had plans to demolish the building and made way for a £5million development of affordable flats.