DRUMMUIR HALL PUBLIC MEETING Mon 15th March 2004

Drummuir Hall was built in 1899/1900 and was financed by Mrs Edward Walker,  mother of the then Mrs Gordon-Duff . At first the Hall was run and maintained as part of Drummuir Estate. Then, in 19??, it was leased to the Community at a rent of £10 per year and Drummuir Community Association assumed responsibility for its running and maintenance. The current Lease expires in October 2004 and Drummuir Estate do not wish to renew it. Instead, they have offered to sell it to the Community at the surveyed valuation of £75,000. If the Community doesn't wish to buy, or cannot raise the necessary funds, the Hall will be put on the open market.

The Hall is currently used 6 nights per week by the Youth Club, Bowling Club and Badminton Club. The School has recently increased its roll to 40 pupils and is very tight for space so they would be pleased if the Mother & Toddler Group could transfer their daytime activities to the Hall. If we lose the Hall now we will lose these local clubs that are the major Community activities in the area. Once lost, it is unlikely that a new Hall could ever be obtained. It is therefore vital that we do everything we can to retain it.

An organisation called the Scottish Land Fund, administered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, makes money available "To contribute to sustainable development in rural Scotland by assisting communities to acquire, develop and manage local land or land assets." An application has been made to this body which, if successful, will provide ??% of the necessary £75,000. However, part of the requirement is that a public meeting must be held to demonstrate that the application has the support of the majority of the residents. This meeting has been arranged to take place in Drummuir Hall at 7:30pm on 8th March 2004. It is vital that you attend. Even if you don't use the Hall yourself, please come along and help to preserve it for others and for future generations.

Drummuir Hall Committee.

DRUMMUIR HALL PUBLIC MEETING ON MONDAY 15 MARCH 2004.
To assess local support for the Community purchasing the Hall

Fred MacDonald, Chairperson of Drummuir Hall Management Committee, welcomed everyone to the meeting and then introduced the speakers for the evening - James Mark, Committee Member, Lucas Chapman from the Scottish Land Fund and Councillor Pearl Paul.

Fred then handed over to James who gave a resume of the history of Drummuir Hall and the intention of the Landlords, Drummuir Estate, to either sell the hall and adjoining cottage to the community or to negotiate a new "economic" lease.

The Landlord has intimated that the purchase price for the hall and adjoining cottage, would be in the region of £75,000 to £80,000. Two surveys carried out have confirmed this to be the combined value of the properties. No formal commitment to sell the properties has been given by the Landlord at this stage.

James informed the meeting that the Hall Management Committee felt the preferred option would be to purchase the hall. The funding could be obtained from the Scottish Land Fund.

No figure had been mentioned to date as to what a more "economic" rent would be, although it is highly unlikely to be at a sustainable level for the present users/clubs. It was also felt that it might prove more difficult to access funding to upgrade/refurbish the building if it was leased.

The Landlord had also intimated that if a community buyout was not possible and the option to negotiate a new lease was not taken up, then they may put the hall for sale on the open market.

James urged all present to support the purchase of the hall, as the hall is currently well used by the various clubs but has the potential to accommodate more daytime activities/events. The hall plays a vital part in the social structure of the community. The hall is the only public hall between Keith and
Dufftown. The closure of the hall would be terrible loss to the community.

James explained the funding application and the subsequent commitment of the community required to proceed with this project.

One of the conditions of receiving the funding, to purchase the hall, would be to set up a "Company Limited by Guarantee," which, in effect releases the committee from any responsibility for financial losses. Councillor Pearl Paul would be able to give more details about this as she has been involved in a similar project in Rothes.

James informed everyone that they would like to take a "show of hands" at the end of the meeting to gauge the public support for the project, in order to decide if the Hall Management Committee would proceed with the application or not. It was also the intention to distribute forms, during the evening, for all present to indicate if they wished to:

(a) become a member of the "Company Limited by Guarantee"
and
(b) to serve on the new committee

James reported that a "draft" application had been submitted to the Scottish Land Fund and indications were that the application would be looked on favourably.

Councillor Pearl Paul gave a talk on the similar project, which she is involved with, in Rothes. The community there bought a disused shop and piece of land, which they changed to a Visitor and Resource Centre and a Children's Play Trail. The funding was received from the Scottish Land Fund and the project is now operating very well, having just completed it's first year of operation.

Pearl explained the need to set up a "Company Limited by Guarantee" to safeguard the future of the project and at the same time making the committee members exempt from any financial responsibilities. This would be a legal procedure and stressed that the structure/conditions could be set up as the Committee wished and could be altered at any future date if the need arose. To be a Member of the "Company" would cost £1, which is a one-off payment, entitling the member to elect the Office Bearers (or Board of Directors). She assured everyone that anyone could be a member of the company but did not have to serve on the committee. The title of "Board of Directors" is used but would operate in the same way as our present Management Committee.

Pearl stated that access to further funding was certainly easier if the building was owned. The Rothes project have since managed to secure funding for disabled access/toilets and I.T. equipment.

Some of the funding sources mentioned were:-

Lottery Fund
Local Capital Grants
Scottish Executive
Landfill Grants
M C Libraries
Adult Learning

The projected income for the Rothes project has exceeded their expectations, with use of the building coming from unexpected sources. Unfortunately the Rothes project suffered a huge setback during the early stages due to flood damage. However, the Scottish Land Fund were very flexible and made allowances for this unforeseen delay. She praised the Scottish Land Fund for their helpful and approachable staff and their willingness to be flexible.

Lucas Chapman of the Community Land Unit - Highlands & Islands Enterprise gave a presentation of the Scottish Land Fund. He explained that an application to purchase the hall would receive a grant of 94% of the valuation price. This is made up of 75% (£60,000) from the Scottish Land Fund and 19% (£15,200) from the Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The remaining 6% (£4,800) would be met by the Drummuir Hall Bank funds. However, if the Committee could negotiate a discounted purchase price of £75,000 then there would be no cost to the Drummuir Hall Management Committee.

Lucas was very optimistic that the application would be successful and congratulated the community for turning out tonight to support the project. He also noted that the Hall had been running successfully, for the past forty years, and the ownership of the building would undoubtedly improve the facilities available to the community. The additional income from renting out the adjoining cottage would also help to sustain the future of the hall.

A question and answer session then followed.

Q If the purchase of the hall was successful is there a time limit for the upgrading work?

A As legislation dictates i.e. Disabled Access and toilets and then as and when the "Board of Directors" wish or feel happy with.

Q Assuming funding is granted, hall is purchased but 2-3 years down the line "everything" falls apart - what happens to the funding? Is it taken back? Does the hall then have to be sold?

A Never happened yet. Very unlikely. In the event of the project failing the building would be offered to a similar organisation within the area. The guidelines and criteria set up for the new "Company" will be stated in the articles/memorandum. Application for further funding can be gained from the new "Charity" bank which in effect lends money on basis of community assets.

Q Are you then a business subject to VAT?

A No, still a charity - provided all income is used for the maintenance/upkeep of the hall.

Q Are the present committee confident that the present level of income will continue in the future?

A Yes the usage of the hall by the various clubs is likely to continue.

Q Can we get match funding against the £75,000 from the Land Fund?

A No this is a one-off payment for the purchase of the properties only, although once in ownership it will greatly improve the chances of securing funding from other organisations.

Q Would setting up a new company make us more liable to meet the ever-increasing health and safety legislation.

A Unlikely as the building will continue to operate as it has been - no change of use.

Q Does the Land Fund monitor the project and if they do for how long?

A Yes, a progress report and accounts have to be submitted annually. Unsure how long this will continue - probably up to ten years.

Q Is there a time scale that we have to have raised a certain amount of money by?

A No, the application would be extended, never been known to happen, always given extra time to raise the necessary funding.

Q When new Board of Directors is established would the present Trustees be released from their duties?

A Yes, although they may wish to serve on the new Board of Directors. Pearl was unsure if she would be permitted to serve on the Board of Directors but felt she would better serve the whole community if she did not.

Q What happens if we cannot get enough people to serve as a Director?

A Unlikely, only need 3 members to serve. Very disappointing if we could not achieve this.

Q Can you be a Director if you don't stay in Drummuir?

A It is always better to have the majority of the Board of Directors to be members of the "local" community, however you could be a member of a club who uses the hall or just a supporter of the hall.

Q Are there any legal fees involved?

A Yes, the Land Fund will cover the cost of these as part of the purchase costs.

Q What happens now?

A The remaining requirements of the application will be submitted to the Land Fund, hopefully within the next week. A report will then be forwarded to the Scottish Land Fund Committee. They will then consider the application and hopefully within 2 - 4 weeks an offer letter will be sent out with the conditions of the funding. A firm commitment from the Landlord to sell and accept the Community's offer will be required. The drawing up of the "Company Limited by Guarantee" may then proceed.

James asked all present to vote, by a show of hands, if they wished the Hall Management Committee to proceed with the application to the Scottish Land Fund to purchase Drummuir Hall and adjoining cottage. The vote was unanimous!

Fred then thanked everyone for their undivided support and closed the meeting.