When people register as members (free) for a campaign like this, it influences politicians and funders way more than petitions and surveys. All we need is a name and address online here: http://eepurl.com/MgUIr
90 sec overview. 20 days till the final demolition decision.
When people register as members (free) for a campaign like this, it influences politicians and funders way more than petitions and surveys. All we need is a name and address online here: http://eepurl.com/MgUIr
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Lets turn Bonnyrigg Leisure Centre into a Cafe/Soft Play/ Youth Club/Village hall + more, sign here: (20 days to go) http://eepurl.com/MgUIr
Phase 2 will transform the pool into a large innovative indoor creative play centre and rapidly make it sustainable into the long term. The Trust is seeking to inherit the building so that it can pursue substantial grants amounting to £600,000 which are contingent on ownership. Become an official supporter: Sign up for free membership: We have come up with a plan that follows two phases. The first phase, a modest step, will utilising the current income generating spaces to the maximum. Phase 1 will open a fully staffed soft play, party venue, café, youth club and community offices with grant funding of £75,000 in collaboration with other social enterprises. The side hall will be rented as community offices and a youth club will be opened to partner with the new £140,000 skate park. Financial projections show break even within two years, and a £60,000+ surplus within three. Three community led consultations in Bonnyriconfirmed the need for a social hub with child friendly soft play cafe, youth club and more community spaces. In December local residents, including community councilors, formed a charity called Bonnyrigg Centre Trust Ltd and formulated an unbiased rescue plan for the building to complement the new Lasswade Centre’s offering. Local residents, responding to a door to door leaflet distribution, organised by Bonnyrigg & Lasswade Community Council, took part in a constructive ‘Reuse’ consultation carried out on 13th October. Contributors included Cheer Evolution, Seniors Social Forum, Midlothian Dog Training, Girl guides, Places for People, Architecture students, Outdoor Trainers, Woolrush Yarns, Bonnyrigg Bowling Club. 60 residents and groups attended the first day. Over the month over 1100 people watched the videos and over 220 contributed. (Appendix D) On the basis of this consultation the Community Council concluded that the community is united in their support for the reuse of the centre as a play centre and community hub. They confirmed priorities were for a toddler friendly cafe, soft play, youth club and more hall hire especially for seniors and dance groups. Midlothian Council concurrently conducted a ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ survey (Appendix E). A recurring theme was for more family social facilities and ‘what’s on’ information. Needs were: Soft Play Regenerate the High street Less Dog fouling and litter Seniors need space for shoppers club and forum Youth facilities such as skate park and youth centre. Bonnyrigg has grown rapidly as a result of new housing developments. The population is now estimated to be 17,500: Up 30% from the 2001 census.2 A further 8-16% increase is predicted in the next 5 years.3 25% of which are without transport. It is clear that those 3,000 new residents are seeking community. The consultation, along with population growth and increasing demographic diversity, demonstrates the need for a strong grass roots development to help develop a cohesive and sustainable community in the Bonnyrigg area. From Protest to Practical action. Thanks to those 290+ people who have given 2,547 hours of practical action. You came to meetings, campaigned, surveyed, pestered politicians, protested, filled in forms, wrote reports, wrote newsletters, wrote press releases, ‘Liked’ Facebook posts, commented, advised, restrained, researched, measured, designed, wrote proposals, crunched figures and dreamed. Our next practical goal is to gather members. Membership is free. It shows funders how much local support there is. All we need is a name and address here, no complicated forms: A year ago our campaign alerted Bonnyrigg residents on 27th February 2013 to the imminent demolition of Bonnyrigg Leisure Centre: 4 months before the event. It was scheduled because its title forbade commercial sale. Its listed value was nil. A unique opportunity was recognized by the community to inherit a modern centre with 1750 m2 of viable space in the form of 3 halls (large, medium and small), Soft play, conservatory, workshop and 12 usable rooms. The building is set in 16 acres of parkland and protected in perpetuity from commercial interests and development by the National Playing Fields Association. As a result of the building of the new Lasswade High School Centre, Midlothian Council decommissioned Bonnyrigg Leisure Centre on 30th June 2013. The groundswell of our campaign led, in July 2013, to the setting up of the Bonnyrigg Centre Initiative (BCI) to organize the campaign for its full reuse and community control. A survey showed 91% were in favour of exploring whether it could be self funded under community ownership. The highest priority request were for: Park Toilets (89%) Youth Centre (89%) Café (83%) Village hall (83%) Soft play (82%) Kids parties (80%) Parent and Toddlers groups (80%). The BCI group opened a dialogue with the Council with the twin objectives of postponing the planned demolition of the facility and securing time for a re-use consultation with local people and groups. The BCI group submitted a substantial proposal to the Council highlighting the great potential the building still offered. Council officers, in response, issued a report recommending time to consider community reuse. Councilors agreed to postponement for 6 months. Which leads us to the final decision on 4th February 2014. The only thing left is to gather members to show the level of community support to funders. The last 2 months have been consumed with preparing a comprehensive business plan. After a lot of editing it ended up being a 34 page businesses plan with 16 appendix reports of 150 pages. It was all submitted on 6th January. It was written jointly by Ewan Mealyou, a former centre manager, Douglas Strachan, a chartered Architect and myself, Darius Namdaran, a property manager and sustainability designer. Edited by Jo Lee and Kirsty Malley. It demonstrates how the building is self sustainable with £75,000 grant funding in community ownership. |
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June 2015
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