4 weeks ago Midlothian Councillors were strongly advised to demolish Bonnyrigg Leisure Centre ASAP by their staff advisors in an official report released 6 days before the decision. Because of your unprecedented local and regional public response in those 6 days, it meant that Councillors voted to reopen bids for the building and give the community another 10 weeks to resubmit offers for the reuse of all or part of the building. The advert above was their way of informing the community.
What this means for Bonnyrigg Centre Trust is that the business plan will be strengthened with professional assistance to address the sticking points that the Council staff brought up. And start to raise funds for Phase 1 of the project. While this is done behind the scenes the main focus is to now organise together individuals and user groups to show how much it would be used. The next Council decision is 24th April. (We've stopped calling them final decisions. Because we are on our fourth now.)
***FAQ on the advert***
They are advertising a 25 yr lease. We are pressing for full ownership because grant funders give more to communities who own the building. This would future proof the building and stop the threat of demolition for the next 20 years. We will be making an offer for ownership. (The Council have it listed on their books as being worth £1 because it can't be sold or rented commercially.)
"RV £130,250" Is the Ratable value of the building. A commercial firm would have to pay £65,125 p.a. in rates for the building. A community charity would pay nothing.
We are wanting the whole building for the whole community. If it was donated, the community would get a decent building mortgage free and rates free. This gives it a huge head start and cuts out alot of the operating costs.
What this means for Bonnyrigg Centre Trust is that the business plan will be strengthened with professional assistance to address the sticking points that the Council staff brought up. And start to raise funds for Phase 1 of the project. While this is done behind the scenes the main focus is to now organise together individuals and user groups to show how much it would be used. The next Council decision is 24th April. (We've stopped calling them final decisions. Because we are on our fourth now.)
***FAQ on the advert***
They are advertising a 25 yr lease. We are pressing for full ownership because grant funders give more to communities who own the building. This would future proof the building and stop the threat of demolition for the next 20 years. We will be making an offer for ownership. (The Council have it listed on their books as being worth £1 because it can't be sold or rented commercially.)
"RV £130,250" Is the Ratable value of the building. A commercial firm would have to pay £65,125 p.a. in rates for the building. A community charity would pay nothing.
We are wanting the whole building for the whole community. If it was donated, the community would get a decent building mortgage free and rates free. This gives it a huge head start and cuts out alot of the operating costs.