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

Meeting 17th Sept

Hi there inner SOS!
Tonight we meet again ( 8 p.m. Rose and Crown) for the first time in ages…and now in a very good mood!
We have won the battle…and been awarded our CAT…..so now comes the planning forward to ‘open for business stage’. We have made some notes on what we need to share with you and then we want the rest of the time to be spent on questions and shared imaginative answers…..so no need for Agenda print-out production tonight.
We decided against an agenda as mostly Liz and Hayley will want to have a lot of small questions answered…and we will give over a lot of time for that in the second part of the meeting. Apart from that we have Public Liability Insurance to bridge in the interim before the Lease is signed in late October/early November and that will allow access for research into grant bid needs and costs. We will discuss grant bids and how to approach this workload also.

March 7th 2012 Minutes

Meeting 7th March 2012     11a.m. Judges lodging, Swan room 2                               Present;

Graham Winwright, David Exell, Jackie Wesley, Carol Tarrant, John Wallis, Alex Wynne and Bob Corn.

  • BCC promised Survey of the building? – BCC has commenced survey today 7th March – Condition survey only, with input from Bucks CC Structural Engineer. No full structural survey will be forthcoming as BCC does not do these. Noted that heating in a t least two of the rooms does not appear to work, and a suggestion was made that a drain camera inspection would be beneficial to check for cracks. BCC only really interested in Walls, foundations and roof structure – Bob mentioned future solar energy array of panels on South Facing Old School Roof, District/County Councillor Avril Davies very keen on idea. David Exell said Bucks CC not looking to invest in the building. Results of the ‘conditioned survey’ will be available to us after it has been prepared, as they might need to be built into the business case we make.

 

  • Timings/Lottery bid – and other funding bids – no one wants to take us on when we do not have a lease – often for at least five years. BIG Lottery has withdrawn our application, but suggests that we apply again when they roll out further grant schemes, even adding another ‘aspect’ of funding requirements. A new heating system, furniture and solar energy greening initiatives were lightly covered as our preferred options.

Graham suggested that we could use the phrase that we have been offered ‘first option’ on the lease,’ Decision in principle’ having already been achieved by being at stage two.

Timings however look so slow, even with our shortening of six months allowance, as sequence (6) slow. BCC suggests for speed, we draft Lease as well as Business Plan.

 

  • Our Projects future expected tenants are at the present reduced from three to two, the cookery school having pulled out to pursue their business in another form elsewhere. However our second tenant, the theatre school, has put together an extended timetable expressing their desire to hire as much of this second space as we feel is available, much of which will be to deliver community classes themselves. As a group we are conscious of the need to keep some room spare for ad-hoc occasional bookings for other community needs such as jumble sales, auctions, parties and meetings etc. The cookery school itself who wish to put on a food fare in the summer on the village lawn adjacent the Old School and wish to hire as and when this occurs also. We envisage that Sports events and other seasonal events and celebrations on the village lawn, will very likely wish some form of collaborative support from our building on occasion too. Bcc pleased we have reserve businesses awaiting inclusion. We had discussions on the shop ‘café’ threat and the emphasis on faster timings to reduce our risk of being pipped to the post.

 

  • CAT/Leasing – In response to question as to where the transfer aspect of Community Asset Transfer comes into this glorified leasing discussion, following advice from Locality at BIG Lottery Conference, we asked about the rent contributing to an eventual purchase of the building, by the community? David Exell said BCC does not do Mortgages. No valuations done on the building as yet, not a BCC thing.  Preferred option of Bucks CC as mentioned by Graham Winwright – Lease for the building with the ‘option to purchase’ included. We would then need to conduct our own survey prior to purchase. The building might be offered at ‘Valuation price’ Gavin Kinsman would be best contact for financial discussions, Rent, Mortgage and legal issues on Bucks policy. Our business plan should reflect rent free period proposals, contingency plans if businesses pull out, all manner of scenarios (risk assessment) . Business case needs to be put forward with as much detail as we can, as far as we are prepared to take it. BCC are prepared to discuss draft proposals to iron out creases.  Localities Act enables local communities to Lease or Purchase but at market value.  Jackie is to let us have a cabinet report re lease/purchase option.

 

  • Sample lease for us to see, as we are working in the dark? /no sample leases, all leases tailored to specific premises.

 

 

  • John’s Liability clause          Limited Liability
    The Liability of the Holding Trustees for the time being in respect of any breach by the (Name of the Organisation) of any of its obligations under this Lease is to be limited in amount to the realisable value of the assets of the (Name of the Organisation) that are for the time being vested in the Holding Trustees and nothing contained in this Lease entitles the Landlord to any right or remedy against the personal estate, property, effects of assets of any of the Holding Trustees or against any assets for the time being vested in the Holding Trustees that are not part of the Name of the Organisation.  – put this in as part of our proposed ‘Heads of Terms’ proposals.

 

 

  • Business Case Model – We are advised to check back with Mark Auterloney after we have drafted our ‘model lease’ in case anything now needs planning permission. After a ‘Fit for Purpose’ Survey – our responsibility will be the buildings fixtures and fitting and internal decoration. The drains and the basic kitchen will also need scrutiny and ‘fit for purpose refurbishment, we suggested. The business case must be one we can support which is attractive to the County. We can tackle this but not this and we look to County to do this instead, plus freehold idea as well. We should show where businesses have others in the wings as ‘reserves if needed’ too. We must prove the sustainability of it all, and make it attractive to BCC.

 

  • County sequence of events for CAT – Business case (draft better first, incorporating draft lease proposals): negotiations: BIG (Bucks Investment Group)would consider business case: Cabinet member report: ‘Call’ for scrutiny might cause a delay:  Drafting of the tailored final lease with length, break clauses and ‘options to buy’ written in. Obtaining Lease concludes sequence.
  • Martin Phillips is the Cabinet minister responsible for ’Community’.
  • Jackie Wesley to liaise re:  Ivinghoe Public meeting in May 2012.
  • Thanks to Graham Winwright for his open dealings with the SOS Community group .