SOS Meeting Minutes

“SOS minutes posted on SOS menu page above”
Hi there all those in our Save Old School ‘family’ who are supportive of our progress forward to install a Community Hub into the Old School Ivinghoe.
Herewith our latest minutes.
After a gap whilst BCC BIG committee considered our final Community Asset Transfer, it was good to gather around some tables in the Rose and Crown again and share the most important moves and messages achieved in the last two months.The basic award is shown on the third and last page of these minutes attached….and of course we are all joyous at this achievement. The Big Lottery grant application is now in and we await their reaction with a held breath!
We now turn our faces to other funding streams to assist this refurbishment challenge, which is all now ours to shoulder, and have formed a team of four to apply and two to proof read our application attempts.
Liz Raba from Flametree Community Limited, who will lead a good percentage of the activities for all our differing age-groups and tastes, that you will see on offer in folded pamphlets around Pitstone and Ivinghoe shortly, was there at our meeting to discuss practical details. Hayley Wesley who will install and run a Cafe within the building could not make this particular meeting, but instead furnished us with questions by email and a costed plan for her personal setting-up. So we are all in close communication and full agreement as to the way forward. We will gain occasional access to the building over the next month to take utilities advisors into the premises for researching and costing refurbishment details, and hope to be agreeing a Bucks County Council Lease by the end of that same October 2012 month also.
We are working hard to bring about our active presence in the building by some time around New Year 2013…subject to all the refurbishment and grant awards needed for such remedial activities…and Lease final moves. We are full of ideas that will assist us to fit comfortably within the context of what is already here on offer in our lovely village, and on imaginative methods to support those present activities and spaces whilst we across the road enhance the gaps, in a mutually helpful manner, knowing we have the support of Brookmead school, the Church family and the Parish…..and of course all of you!
Please spread the word on this campaign’s success, and plan positively with us for the future. We will try to keep the villages informed of our progress through the relevant magazines, Newspapers and our website (manned by Martin McCormack)…..and our leaflet. When we are up and running the Trustees for our ‘not for private profit’ community organisation will post regular ‘transparent’ accounts and open reports in the Community Library and on our website, for you to peruse at leisure.
Many thanks for the help you offer in many small ways….please keep that coming..plus suggestions….this is for us all to support and use…….we will let you all know when it is ‘paint brush’ time!
best wishes for your days
Carol Tarrant (Corn)
Chair of Ivinghoe SOS

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

The Pub Quiz at the Rose & Crown raised a massive £710

A big thank you to all who participated! Sue and Alex you have gotten us off to a grand start for fundraising and should be feeling truly triumphant! £710!!

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

www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk

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