SAVE OLD SCHOOL: Group Meeting in the Rose & Crown, Ivinghoe,
17th September 2012 at 8.00pm
SOS Group Meeting 20 17-09-2012
Category Archives: Campaign Updates
SOS Meeting Minutes
Chair of Ivinghoe SOS
SOS Page
A SOS page has been added to the website menu above, here you can view the constitution and the minutes of the sos meetings.
SOS Success
APPROVED that a full repairing 25 year lease on peppercorn rent is granted to Ivinghoe SOS, with an option to transfer the freehold during the term of the lease.
Please click on the following link to read the full document. SOS APPROVED DOC
Read more http://www.villagesos.org.uk/content/ivinghoe-old-school#comment-442
July 2nd 2012 BCC feedback Questions
AGENDA
SAVE OLD SCHOOL:
Group Meeting in the Rose & Crown, Ivinghoe,
July 2nd 2012 at 8.00pm
BCC feedback questions on May 2012 Business Plan (CT in chair)
Welcome to all SOS interested parties! Minutes, Apologies.
1 Update Nigel on SOS news for Beacon Magazine article due in.
2 BCC Finance have reviewed the stage 2 bid document for the Business Investment Group (BIG) and require the following clarifications before it is presented to BIG. If we want to make the 26 July BIG meeting, Jackie Wesley believes we would need to get the updated information back by 10-12 July. Where they have phrased questions they would expect the answers to be addressed within the business case, not necessarily listed for instance, as an appendix:
· Provide evidence of the £3,600 rent paid by Ivinghoe Parish Council. We have £5,500 listed in our documents as the last lease amount paid.
· Due to the nature of a number of the structural works required is it likely that the building will not be available wholly for the entire rental income period? What is the likelihood of the works being completed and funding being secured before the start date of your financial model January 2013 for either the Council or yourselves? If the work is spread over a specified period, e.g. 5 years, rather than carried out at the start will this have a different impact on rental income? How will this be dealt with as the financial models in the business case already indicate a deficit? (The request to demonstrate how SOS would achieve funding and work around the necessary structural works as outlined in bullet point two, JW believes, relates mainly to the request from BCC relating to the potential option for model 5.)
· There is no sensitivity modelling to take into account inflation. The financial models indicate that rental income will be fixed with expenditure remaining at the same levels. Whilst the long term intention is to have the two businesses have their utilities individually metered, what is the contingency plan in the meantime if costs such as these increase? Is the intention to increase rental income? How will inflation be dealt with generally?
· In section 3 annual income from rent is expected to be £16,350 p.a. plus £1,200 p.a. from additional community use and fundraising. The financial model indicates £15k p.a. for rental income, £18.8k for recharges and £1,350 for other income. Why is there a difference? The impact of this difference could affect the deficit/loss.
· What will be the impact if funding cannot be secured for the building works? What is the contingency plan?
· What is the contingency plan to address deficits identified in the financial models?
· In section 6 there are start-up costs of around £80k which includes £54,200 for building costs. Can you confirm that the £54,200 is in addition to the estimated £145,850 indicated for building works in the survey provided by property?
· Also, there are start-up costs relating to the businesses that will be renting space at the building. Will these amounts e.g. for the kitchen, costume storage be recharged to these businesses or is the Community Group incurring these costs?
· One of the proposed funding streams from the Architectural Heritage Fund includes low interest loans. How will the interest expenditure be covered? There isn’t a provision in the financial model.
· Within the environmental policy a ‘safe cycle’ storage in mentioned, what is the cost and where is it shown?
· Will the volunteers be paying for their own training or CRB checks if required?
· Review the calculations in the financial models, for instance some of the totals do not add up, e.g. total spend in option A, year 1 is shown as £17,540 but is actually circa £32k.
· The computer equipment is stated as £1,600 in section 6 but appears as £16k in the financial model. Is this a typo?
· When is the group expecting to break even? Even with removing the rental charge to BCC the financial models highlight a loss.
· What is the maintenance cost made up of? What is the basis of reducing the maintenance spend in years 2-5 in option B?
· What are the revised timelines? A number of the deadlines in the gant chart have been missed.
With regards to the financial models we will require the models as per the original advice dated 26th January (email) and 27th January (letter), plus the preferred option mention in the second paragraph in the executive summary in the business case. I have specified below the request:
1. 25 year lease with rent indicated at £5,500 p.a. with the Council first putting the building in good order and all maintenance responsibilities being transferred to the Community Group (as originally specified)
2. 25 year lease with rent indicated at £5,500 p.a. with the Community Group having internal/limited maintenance responsibilities and the Council retaining structural maintenance responsibilities only (as originally specified)
3. 25 year lease with rent indicated at £0 p.a. for an initial period to be agreed with the Council first putting the building in good order and all maintenance responsibilities being transferred to the Community Group (as originally specified)
4. 25 year lease with rent indicated at £0 p.a. for an initial period to be agreed with the Community Group having internal/limited maintenance responsibilities and the Council retaining structural maintenance responsibilities only (as originally specified)
5. Leasehold at £1 p.a. for all years with the potential for a freehold option later and full maintenance responsibilities (including structural) as the building currently stands passed over to the community group
What happens if the value of the property increases??? Funds for purchase
Jacqueline Boosey
Project Support Officer
Centre of Expertise – Projects and Commercial Accountancy
Finance and Commercial Services
AOB
Next meeting to be arranged as needed.
Pub Quiz Success
Village SOS Re-Opens for Funding (UK)
Village SOS Re-Opens for Funding (UK)
The Big Lottery Fund has announced a new round of Village SOS funding – totalling £4million – to support rural community enterprises across the UK. Through Village SOS grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 will be available for projects in rural villages or small rural towns with fewer than 3,000 people. Organisations that can apply for funding include Voluntary and community groups or organisations as well as parish, town or community councils, provided local residents have clearly shaped the project. Examples of the type of projects supported through the previous Village SOS funding round include the Barford and Wramplingham Community Shop, South Norfolk, which received a grant of £29,980 to set up and run a community shop which will be based in leased premises of the newly re-opened village pub; and Laneshaw Bridge Community Enterprise in Pendle who received a grant of £29,066 to create a community hub, including a village shop, tearoom, post office outreach service and internet cafe. This enterprise will sustain itself from the income generated from the services provided and reinvest this back into community projects. Communities that have already received funding from Village SOS should not apply for funding during this round.
Applications should be submitted against one of three assessment rounds with the final deadline being 2pm on the 12th September 2012….
www.villagesos.org.uk/funding
Lynne Maddocks Community Engagement Officer Aylesbury Vale District Council
SOS Campaign
SOS campaign to save the Old School building on Ivinghoe Lawn for the use of the community.
Carol and Bob Corn, with the rest of the team, have been beavering away to try to keep the old school (Ivinghoe Centre) for the benefit of our community. We can now announce that we have proceeded to Stage 2 of the Community Asset Transfer process. This is where the building moves from the County Council hands to a community run Charitable Trust.
We are currently producing the Business Plan in order to start negotiating the lease agreement with the County Council. We are also planning a web site and beginning to look for fund raising opportunities, as well as many other interesting projects for the Centre. Volunteers are helping the
group to produce the business case, media needs, history project and the necessary fund-raising; more are welcome now to form small sub -groups. We will eventually be inviting people to help in the final preparation of the building, and again when we are up and running to assist in the running of the many activities.
Bucks County Council has already spent a lot of money moving the Post Office and creating the shop premises across the road and seems reluctant to spend very much on the Old School. They are however keen to support a viable plan for us to take it on.
We expect the county to put the building in good structural order and the community will need to form a Charitable Trust to run and maintain the building. There are several small businesses ready to hire the rooms and a café and I.T. hub are planned. It all looks very exciting and in future the building will be a useful and welcoming centre as it was in the past. With viable businesses renting the spaces
we expect that the old school will eventually be self-supporting. In order to apply for many of the Grants we are looking at, we have to prove that we have the backing of the local community and that we can raise funds ourselves, so we are looking for fund raising ideas. With so many voluntary jobs, generated by the BIG SOCIETY, there may be ways for some village fund raising projects to work together.
We are kicking off fund-raising in the village by organising our own Quiz Night and Auction of Promises in the Rose and Crown. The pub will generously provide food and space for 45 of us for a fun night out on 23rd May 7.00p.m! Tickets will be on sale via Sue 661910, or Bob and Carol 662267, or from the pub direct, at £10 each person who forms part of a team (max. size 5). May we auction your skills? We would like to offer an hour’s ironing, two hours gardening, CV or letter writing, a
painted portrait of a neighbour or something else more to your liking! What would you offer to help us raise much needed funds for SOS? Do let us know in advance so we can add you to offer to the publicity later on.
The processes involved in getting our old school back take time, but so far all is looking promising. There will be a need to expand the small team soon and form the Charitable Trust with the required officers of Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, so all those who expressed an interest in keeping the school last summer, or who are inspired to be involved, please contact Carol and Bob again on 01296 662267, or thecorns@talk21.com or come to a Monday meeting in the Rose and Crown. The pub will tell you when the next one will be.
There will be an open meeting in Ivinghoe Town Hall in May with a chance to look inside the Old School Building, do look at the flier that comes with this magazine, look in the Beacon or Pitstone Parish Post or check the village notice boards.
Alex Wynn and Sue Nicholls