Minutes:
Eric Spence (Consultant) provided a written report updating the group on progress to date on the Town Hall.
The Community Consultation-
Needs Analysis report has been finalised after feedback from the relevant stakeholders
and Big Lottery. The main findings of the Needs Analysis are:
546
individual respondents completed the questionnaire accounting for almost 10% of
the population of Campbeltown. 40 local businesses completed the Business
Survey. Overall the vast majority of
people felt that there was not the right mix of community facilities and
activities available locally. Furthermore, the quality of existing facilities
was deemed not to be up to the required standard by the majority of
respondents.
There
was particular emphasis on the requirement for better provision of facilities
for young people, parents with young children and the elderly. There appeared to be a need for suitably
sized and appropriately located spaces for local artists and musicians and a
variety of small sports, dance and fitness classes to undertake these
activities.
Similarly
many small charities operating locally are seeking a suitable venue for regular
fundraising events particularly Coffee Mornings and dances. On the commercial side, our survey indicated
a lack of good quality office space in the centre of Campbeltown. There also
appeared to be a significant market for a large function room in Campbeltown
which would be a fitting venue for wedding celebrations, ceilidhs and similar
events.
An Options Appraisal was
undertaken to assess the ability of local community halls to meet the range of
needs identified in our community consultations. An Options Appraisal Report
has been completed and finalised after feedback from the relevant stakeholders.
A summary of the Options Appraisal is as follows:
After
an initial review of 11 community use halls it was decided to concentrate on
those most likely to be able to meet a variety of needs identified in the Needs
Analysis. The following options were
explored further and appraised against a set of criteria including:
Cost/Leverage, Impact, Equity, Strategic Fit, Risks, Acceptability and Ease of
Implementation.
1.
Town Hall
2.
Community Centre
3.
Old Courthouse
4.
Victoria Hall
5.
New Build
6. Do Nothing
The Town Hall Project was
identified as the preferred option available to address the expressed needs of
the Campbeltown community.
Based on the appraisal of the
various options against the criteria, a refurbished Town Hall would be better
able to meet the needs of a wider range of groups and individuals than any
other alternative facility locally.
A Final Draft of the Campbeltown
Town Hall Business Plan has been completed. This comprehensive document
presents a strong case for the viability of running the Town Hall as a
community facility. The Business Plan established the following:
Total
costs for the refurbishment of the Town Hall estimated at £1.3M. Funding of £350,000 has been allocated to the
project from the Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI). Funding is being sought from Big Lottery -
Growing Community Assets for the remainder of the costs (£950,000) and
preliminary discussions have begun in this regard.
Both
Argyll & Bute Council and Campbeltown Common Good Fund have offered limited
financial assistance towards the running costs of the Town Hall. With the right mix of community and
commercial use, there exists real potential to make the Town Hall a successful
and self-sustaining community enterprise which will facilitate a material
improvement in the quality of life for all members of the community.
The
vision of the Town Hall Project is to combine a range of uses which serve both
the local residential community by short-term mostly daily hiring of spaces and
the local business community by the provision of high end office space and
conferencing facilities for lease in a central location. The flexibility to be
able to accommodate a varied programme of uses on competitive (*affordable)
terms will be a key part of the offering.
Conservative financial projections indicate that the Town Hall project
would be able to generate a small surplus (approx £3500) each year which could
go towards subsidising community activities.
The Town Hall Project will rely on the establishment of a voluntary Town
Hall Management Group headed by the key stakeholders and made up of
representatives of potential user groups. Their primary role would be to
oversee the running of the Town Hall and to develop a programme of activities
to meet the needs of the community.
Most of the information
required to complete the GCA Stage One Application Form has been gathered
although some assumptions remain to be verified. We estimate that this
application will be ready for submission by the end of May 2012.
There will be a meeting on 30th
April between ABC and SKDT to progress the set up of the Town Hall Management
Group (steering group) to facilitate the progress of this important project.
John Bakes informed the group that the recent work
to renovate the Bunkhouse was now complete and open for
business. He offered to show any of the group around the building
after the meeting.