Hi
folks,
Thanks
to everyone that participated in the Options event on Saturday 7th
September, including those that came, and those that could not make
it but sent apologies and suggestions to the questionnaire.
Around
35 people came along, with new members joining us too. BIG and Sandra
Macaskill, our consultant, gave presentations, and then we presented
the current architectural drawings. Following that there was a Q&
A and then discussion and adding of ideas and comments. It was very
positive and encouraging, and there was a general consensus over the
way forward and next steps. We were also lucky enough to have Harry
and Doris Darling, the previous farm-owners, participating in the
event.
Also,
many thanks to Jane Mather who led a Storytelling in Nature workshop
for the children that came, and later made some willow leaves for her
exhibition, Away with the Fairies, some of which will be on display
at the Storytelling Centre as part of Scottish Mental Health Arts and
Film Festival
Over
the past few months we have now spoken with a wide range of
organisations, members and local residents, and there is a majority
in favour of Option 2, as proposed in the consultation questionnaire.
We did however incorporate the views of those that supported or
suggested Option 1 and 3 in the best ways we could.
At
the event we also discussed many of the important details to consider
(i.e. finance, ownership, market, next steps, design), and noted
comments. These were taken by our consultant, Sandra Macaskill, and
all feedback and comments have been included in the final Options
report attached here, which builds on all of the consultation to
offer a summary of the preferred way forward by all. There are also pictures from the event included in this report here.
We
also now have completed architectural drawings and structural
engineering work completed by Malcolm Fraser Architects, and adapted
following comments on the 7th. This can be viewed here.
Our
next steps are to do a detailed feasibility and business plan into
this option, speaking in more detail with key stakeholders and
groups. We will have this to present and distribute by mid November.
We
will be meeting between then too as a committee. If you would like to
come along to this meeting and assist or offer any ideas or advice
that would be great.
Also,
if you are from an organisation that would like to speak with us in
more detail please let us know
We
appreciate any other ways of getting involved and offering support.
We
will keep you updated as things progress, and will be sharing final
results of this whole study and our next steps forwards in a couple
of months time
Onwards....
BIG Committee
