The Govan Folk University  – A Conference.   Kandinsky in Govan.    21st, 22nd, 23rd October

For a full programme click here

 Since 2009 a cluster of local organisations have been meeting together, vexed by the way that mainstream higher education is not fully serving the community in socially hard-pressed areas like Govan. We are driven by a sense that, in addition to what mainstream institutions already offer, there is also need for a much deeper level of community education that touches levels that are not just intellectual, but also psychological and even spiritual. In Govan we daily witness how deep the roots of poverty go, and how little wider society understands their ongoing intergenerational penetration. Some of us have been involved with Scotland’s Poverty Truth Commission and its 2011 report explores such issues. 

The Govan Folk University currently has two projects – the Kandinsky in Govan conference and Govan Together which is concerned with climate change and environmental awareness. We are a loose network made up of Govan Old church, the Pearce Institute, Fablevision, the GalGael Trust and the Centre for Human Ecology. 

Kandinsky in Govan is being held as an activity of the Govan Folk University with the Centre for Human Ecology as the lead organiser and myself, Alastair McIntosh, as the conference curator. I am hosting much of the material on my personal website because that allows changes to be made easily. For details of speakers and workshop presenters please see the programme, which is being constantly updated in the run-up to the event. 

Acorn Co-op are looking for people interested in a pioneering project that will provide ordinary (and extraordinary!) people with an opportunity to live securely and sustainably on and from the land, run a small business, build a house, grow food and live among like-minded people on the West Coast of Scotland. 

We are an Industrial and Provident Society (a particular kind of co-op that can issue loan stock). The co-op will borrow money (loan stock) from its members and supporters to buy land and create a number of new crofts and an area of ‘Common Grazing’. The co-op will then lease the crofts to its members. 

The leases will remove the ‘Right to Buy’ ensuring the land stays communally owned for ever, and thus remains affordable to future tenants. Co-op members will be both tenants and landlord. Each croft will be financially independent but the common grazing will be shared and managed communally. A croft tenancy is for life and with the agreement of the co-op can be passed on to the next generation.

The loans will be repaid from croft rents and other income generated by the co-op (e.g. feed in tariffs from solar panels; running educational courses). The loans will be repaid with interest if required. (When issuing loan stock, a choice of interest rates is usually offered; some investors will accept a lower rate to support a project they believe in.) Once the loans are repaid the croft rents will be very low. 

We have found a suitable farm for sale on the Kintyre peninsula, Argyll, large enough to create 10-15 new crofts and are looking for people interested in joining us. We want the crofts to be run organically and we are Permaculture fans.

In order to finance the farm purchase and other start-up costs each croft household will be responsible for raising around £30,000 of loan stock. This could come from savings or from friends or relatives, but not from a loan secured on the land. We will repay loans from non-resident supporters first, but eventually all loans will be repaid and rents can then be minimal. 

Of course crofters still have to finance building a house, but with a creative approach such as cob-building, or building with local timber and recycled materials, we believe costs for a modest home can be kept low. Crofters are also eligible to apply to the Crofter’s Commission for a discretionary grant towards the cost of building a house – £11,500 in this location. We are in discussions with Argyll & Bute planning department to ensure they will support our plans.

Obviously this model can be varied to suit different local and financial circumstances, so please get in touch if you are interested but don’t think you could raise £30,000. Bare land or woodland would be much cheaper than a farm but we believe that converting an existing farm is more acceptable to our local planners. 

So there you have it! An opportunity to live securely and sustainably on and from the land among like-minded people in the first ‘Transition Crofting Township’, all for the loan of half the price of a ‘normal’ building plot (and a good deal of your time and effort of course!) 

If you are interested in an Acorn Co-operative croft, or want to learn more, please contact chrissie.sugden@gmail.com or ring Chrissie on 01852-500684.

Acorn Co-operative – If it’s not fun it’s not sustainable!

Scotland’s Futures Forum is pleased to publish its most recent project, a scenario project looking at what sustainable communities might look like, in Scotland, in 2030. In this section of the website you will find our main report which describes 3 scenarios for the future (i) opportunities missed (ii) opportunities taken and, (iii) opportunities uninvited. Each scenario is accompanied by a short film as well as a podcast to describe what life might be like in 2030 Scotland. You will also find all the assumptions and research which the scenarios were based upon.

This is an exciting project and the scenarios are very accessible. They throw up interesting and pressing questions for politicians, policy makers and for wider Scotland. Of course, these scenarios are not predictions. Rather, they should be used as a tool to question and assess our understanding of sustainability, of community and how we are preparing for the future.

For the full report or to see a short video of the different scenarios click here

GWSF and EVH recently published a summary of the Consultation Document published by the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR), “The Regulation of Social Housing in Scotland”.  As promised, we have written a follow-up Briefing, with SHARE joining us as co-publishers.

Many aspects of the Consultation Document are technical or reflect established regulatory practice.  But some parts of the Document involve major changes for housing associations and have generated widespread discussion among GWSF, EVH and SHARE members.  

This Briefing covers four of the big issues thatcommunity based housing associations have been raising: 

• Monitoring and reporting against the Scottish Social Housing Charter

• Regulatory standards and guidance on housing association governance 

• The SHR’s statutory duty to carry out its functions in a proportionate, transparent and accountable way

• How the proposals as a whole meet the SHR’s stated aim

The Briefing sets out our shared perspective on each of these issues. 

For a copy of the briefing click here 

The new chair of the Scottish Housing Regulator will be speaking at the GWSF conference on 11/11/11. For more information on the conference click here 

Author: Open Letter from Nick Hurd. M.P. 11 October 2011

Dear Colleague, 

In recent months, the Coalition Government has made a number of policy announcements which have important implications for charities and social enterprises. I thought it would be helpful to update you on the strategic framework in which they sit. 

Context 

Few would argue that the country faces serious economic and social challenges. The debate is about how we best overcome these challenges and secure the positive future we all want. As you know, the Big Society vision is based on the argument that we have given too much power and responsibility to Government and have too little to show for it. We believe that the country will be stronger if we as citizens have more power and responsibility to improve our own lives, the communities we share and the public services we use. Too many people have given up on their power to make a difference. As a result, we are not making full use of all the energy, skills and experience that reside in communities across the country. We want to change that and encourage more people to get involved and work together to improve our communities. We should worry as a country that levels of social trust and interaction with neighbours have plummeted since the 1950s. We want to change that and encourage more positive social interaction. The opportunity to influence the world around you, to feel connected, to be able to make a contribution, and to trust those around you – these are the some of the most important contributors to our well-being. They form the foundation of both our society and economy. This is the thread that runs from the idea of building a bigger and stronger society through our focus on well being and the idea that Ministers and commissioners should consider the full value and effect of services they provide. This is about building on the large amount of inspiring work already done by Civil Society¹1 and communities across Britain and doing more to recognise the value of that work and encouraging and enabling more to happen. 

Government Action – the strategic framework 

To enable this long term culture change Government is focused on three strands of activity; 

1) Transferring power to communities – the Localism Bill provides radical new rights and powers for citizens and communities, not least the Right to Buy and the Right to Challenge. In parallel, our transparency agenda is giving citizens more power in the form of information, whether it be local crime maps or information on what our local authority is spending. 

2) Opening up Public Services to a greater diversity of providers and devolving power to local commissioners, not least through community and personal budgets and free schools; and 

3) Encouraging more Social Action2 and the building of Social Capital³. 

The focus of the Office for Civil Society 

Since May 2010, the Office of Civil Society has focused on developing and delivering programmes that have two priorities: 

1) Encouraging Social Action and building Social Capital, especially in communities that need more support. 

2) Helping Civil Society seize the opportunity to play a bigger role in shaping how communities work together and how public services get delivered. 

The key initiatives which are taking place to achieve these priorities are set out in detail here; 

1. Encouraging Social Action and building Social Capital 

More Giving 

We want to encourage more giving because we want to help charities improve the lives of more people. We also know that giving brings people together and can substantially boost the wellbeing of the giver. Britain is a generous country but giving has flatlined at best. Back in December we issued a Green Paper, to generate a debate on what was needed to significantly grow the giving of both time and money. In March, the Chancellor announced in the budget some generous new incentives for philanthropy and some welcome reform to simplify Gift Aid. This was followed by the Giving White Paper which set out our plans to make it easier and more compelling to give and provide better support to the charities that channel our generosity. Through our Transforming Local Infrastructure programme £30m has been set aside to rationalise and transform the essential support services provided by local infrastructure bodies, which have a vital role in enabling giving. Through our Community First programme £80m is available to help build local endowments and encourage people to get involved in their neighbourhoods. 

Other key initiatives included the Social Action Fund, an Innovation in Giving Fund and a series of Challenge Prizes, worth over £30m over the next two years. The Social Action Fund will support the scaling-up of proven models of giving in some key target areas such as people at, or approaching, retirement age, or National Citizen Service graduates. The Innovation in Giving Fund will support more experimental approaches in the development of social action that we believe have transformative potential and can be supported to grow across the country. There are a wide range of motivations that draw people into the satisfaction of helping others, from acquiring experiences that boost skills and CV’s, to the practical exchange of help and support for our children or elders. While for some, pure altruism and selflessness is motivation enough, we should also be open to harnessing these other motivations to encourage giving too. So we are particularly interested in testing models of reciprocity, such as time credits, that create what are called complementary currencies. 

This is an ambitious long term agenda, around which we believe there should be political consensus. The White Paper is not an end but a step on a journey which will be followed by a Giving Summit and other initiatives to encourage us to be an even more generous country. 

Cutting Red Tape 

Over time past Governments have allowed too much regulation to get in the way of people helping each other. This bureaucracy also soaks up time and money that could be better used. One of the most important things Government can do is get out of the way. 

Lord Hodgson has produced an excellent report – Unshackling Good Neighbours – which contains a set of very practical ideas which we are keen to implement where possible. This report complements Lord Young‟s radical review of Health and Safety regulation and the Home Office and Department of Education reviews of the CRB and Vetting and Barring regimes. The latter resulted in welcome reforms of the CRB process which will become law once the Protection of Freedoms Bill completes its passage through Parliament. 

In addition, the Government is conducting a rolling Red Tape Challenge to review the validity of regulation across the economy. An important outcome of this challenge will be to reduce the burden of regulation that can hurt enterprise within the sector and often affects the ability to engage volunteers and encourage more individuals to behave with greater responsibility for our society. 

National Citizen Service 

In the context of changing cultural attitudes to giving and getting involved, the attitudes of young people are critical. That is why we attach such importance to National Citizen Service (NCS) pilots that we have run this summer across the country. NCS is about throwing young people together from different backgrounds and challenging them with new experiences. They are then encouraged to work together in setting up a social action project to make a positive difference to their communities. We are still learning but the feedback from this summer has been very positive and we are now commissioning up to 30,000 places for next year. We are also working with our partners to make sure that NCS graduates are given every opportunity to connect with local charities and community groups so that they can continue to contribute. The Government has shown it‟s commitment to the further development of the programme by indicating that we will sign up around 90,000 young people on the programme in 2014. 

Community Organisers and Community First 

We are very aware that some communities will need more help than others to take advantage of the new opportunities to take more power and responsibility. That is why we are investing in Community Organisers and the Community First programme. Both will be focused on areas of relatively high deprivation and low social capital. Community Organisers will listen and create networks of people and organisations that care about the same thing and want to drive change. They can transform the confidence of neighbourhoods in their own ability to tackle problems that undermine the area. The Community First programme has two elements. A £30m grant programme which will put money into the hands of neighbourhood groups to help them implement their own plans (with the support of Community Organisers). It will contain a match requirement (time and/or money) because we want taxpayers money to be a catalyst for real community action. The second element is a £50m matched fund to incentivise the building of local endowments to create a sustainable source of local grants for the future. We are working with Locality to bring the first organisers on stream by October 2011.Our partners on Community First are Community Development Foundation and Community Foundation Network and the funds are now open for applications, with work on the building of local endowments already underway. 

Helping Civil Society seize the opportunity to play a bigger role in shaping how communities work and how public services get delivered. 

Looking forward, we believe that the Big Society agenda contains three major long term opportunities for civil society :- 

Our commitment to open public services creates the opportunity for charities and social enterprises to deliver significantly more public service contracts. Indeed we have an explicit Coalition Government commitment to “support the creation and expansion of mutuals, co-operatives, charities and social enterprises, and enable these groups to have much greater involvement in the running of public services.” 

The localism agenda creates more opportunities for civil society organisations to shape local priorities and give voice to those who need it. 

An ambitious agenda for growing giving (of time and money) and social investment creates the opportunity for charities and social enterprises to access significantly more resource. 

We want to help the sector take full advantage. In this context our work is focused on three objectives: 

• Making it easier to run a charity of social enterprise; 

• Making it easier to work with the State; and 

• Getting more resources into the sector. 

Making it easier to run a charity or social enterprise 

In addition to the cutting red tape agenda already discussed, we want to encourage Better support for front line organisations. In December last year, we ran a consultation on what was needed to improve the effectiveness of the infrastructure that exists to support front line organisations. The result of that consultation is a new £30m fund to be invested over the next two years. This fund will in effect offer transition funding to local support organisations who see the need to find a more efficient and sustainable model of delivering the services that local civil society organisations will need in the future. This includes the local infrastructure, such as volunteer centres, that exists to support volunteering. For the first time we are integrating our work in this area with the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) who will deliver our programme and invest themselves in distinct but complementary streams. We both want to see front line organisations have access to more effective support both online 

and offline. We both want to see infrastructure organisations increase their value to local customers and partners and reduce their dependence on BIG and Central Government. 

Making it easier to work with the State 

One of our first actions in Government was to renew the Compact, which sets a framework for the relationship between State and Sector. We also introduced new measures to strengthen transparency and accountability around implementation. 

We also launched a Green Paper to generate a debate on what changes were needed to commissioning in order to make it easier for charities and social enterprises to compete for public sector contracts. The results of this consultation fed into the Public Services Reform White paper and helped inform our recent announcements on the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund and the development of a new programme to support more innovative and intelligent commissioning . In November the Government will set out how departments will take forward ideas to implement open public services over the rest of this Parliament in line with the principles and policies set out in the Open Public Services White Paper. 

We recognise that it vital to have a strong and fair relationship between Local Authorities and the Voluntary and Community Sector which is why the Department for Communities and Local Government published the Best Value Guidance recently. The guidance makes it clear that councils should consider overall value – including social value – when considering service provision. This guidance sets out our desire that public agencies and civil society collaborate more in the running of public services. 

Over this period, our colleagues at Department for Work and Pensions announced the new Work Programme structured on a payment by results framework. Almost 300 charities and social enterprises have won contracts with the potential to earn many hundreds of millions of pounds over their life, subject to their performance. 

As part of our intention to give ownership and control to empower employees to innovate and redesign services around service users and communities, and drive up quality, we have launched our plans on „Right to Provide‟. We have also launched our Mutual Pathfinders Programme. The Mutual Pathfinders are led by entrepreneurial public sector staff who want to take control of their own services. They are trailblazers for the rest of the public sector – helping Government understand, by learning from the front line, what type of support and structures will best enable the development of employee-led mutuals on an ongoing basis. The Pathfinders cover a range of different sectors, including health, learning disability, social care and youth services. Each Pathfinder is supported by an expert mentor from some of the country‟s most successful businesses and leaders in employee ownership models. 21 organisations have been announced as Mutual Pathfinders and a further organisation taking part in the Department for Education Social Work Practice Pilots is also participating. 

Getting more resources into the Sector: 

Growing the Social Investment Market 

Philanthropy and the State have been the two core pillars of funding for the sector. We want to help build over time a third – social investment. The mission is to make it easier for social entrepreneurs to access capital and to give savers more opportunities to invest for good. The prize is to make an effective connection between 

mainstream capital and the social sector which does not exist today. We are under no illusions about the scale of the challenge or the length of time it will take. However we set out our stall in the Social Investment Strategy document and are now delivering on those words. 

The recent announcement on the formation of Big Society Capital (BSC) and the agreement with the Merlin banks has been acknowledged by many commentators to be groundbreaking and a world first. We are working closely with Big Society Capital to establish an institution that can use up to £400m that we estimate will be released over time from dormant accounts, and up to £200m from the banks, to catalyse the social investment market and provide a permanent boost to civil society. We are very grateful to everyone involved in the process, not least Sir Ronald Cohen and Nick O‟Donohoe. It is an exciting opportunity to build the market In the meantime, we are delighted that the investment committee set up by BIG has announced its first investment. 

We know that the creation of BSC is not in itself enough to grow the social investment market. A number of organisations need help to become more investment ready, which is why we have announced a new Investment and Contract Readiness Fund. This will provide grants to help ambitious social entrepreneurs buy in services from relevant intermediaries. Our ambitions go further. We recently announced that we are working with four local authorities to develop social impact bonds to help finance a new approach to supporting chaotic families suffering multiple problems. 

Building better connections between Businesses, and Civil Society. 

We see great potential to make better links between business and civil society, not least because the value can be two way. This is particularly true when we talk about the transfer of skills. In his speech „Every Business Commits‟, the Prime Minister made it clear that businesses are an integral part of the locality where they are based and he encouraged businesses to further support these communities. One consequence of that speech is that Business in the Community are developing a network of Business Connectors whose role is to make better connections between what communities need and what local businesses have to offer. This role clearly complements the work of the Community Organisers we will be training to help communities do something about the problems that undermine their neighbourhoods. 

Opportunities and Risks 

This agenda of opportunity has to be reconciled with the urgent need to reduce Government borrowing. What is at stake is an economic recovery which the social sector needs to see as much as everyone else. A sector which receives £13 billion of taxpayers money a year cannot be immune from the painful but necessary process of reducing Government expenditure. With the support of strategic partners, we have worked hard to try and mitigate the short term damage to the capacity of the sector. The £107 million Transition Fund was created and executed quickly to support over 1000 of the most vulnerable organisations. Local Authorities could not have received a clearer message from Ministers about the tests of reasonableness and the need to prioritise internal savings before cutting funds to the local voluntary sector. Many have responded very positively and indeed have maintained or even increased investment. However we know that this is not the case everywhere and that cuts have created real frustration and difficulty for the significant minority of charities and social enterprises who rely heavily on public funding. 

In attempting to approach these issues we will continue to work closely with our strategic partners, who enable us to fully link with the sector and continually allow us to hear the front line. 

There is no doubt that we are working together in a very challenging environment. However this is also a time where tough circumstances are requiring us to think harder about efficiency and finding better ways of doing things. The proud history of Civil Society in this country is characterised by tenacity, inventiveness and the ability to adapt to change. These qualities are needed now more than ever. 

NICK HURD

Extract from an interview printed in Holyrood Magazine.  To read whole interview click here

……A leading exponent of land reform, Wightman argues that the transfer and value of land in Scotland is skewed in favour of established owners and property speculators, while community ownership and local accountability, which could provide greater transparency, flexibility and equality has been sidelined.

The situation is not new. In a political system in which the space for specifically Scottish legislation was limited and the House of Lords was stuffed with landowners, land reform in Scotland was left untouched for generations.

That changed with devolution. Wightman says the Scottish Parliament has “95 per cent” of the powers required to enact far-reaching reform, and praises the flurry of activity that followed its establishment. In its first years, the Parliament enacted the National Parks (Scotland) Act, the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and the abolishing of feudal tenure, a policy Wightman first saw on a Donald Dewar pamphlet in 1968.

“It wasn’t just the legislative programme but the culture that they changed,” he says, “because I remember clearly the Scottish Land Owners Association coming to committee meetings in the Scottish Parliament. (It was) very, very uncomfortable for them because they hadn’t been used to being grilled by politicians.” However, momentum soon dissipated.

Wightman says that in the last parliamentary session the Scottish Government “basically did nothing”. “What’s happened is we’ve now got a culture where landowners feel very buoyed,” he adds. The problem, he says, is a culture where property speculation and land ownership as a form of wealth creation has become entrenched in the media and politics. Wightman argues politicians have failed to be adequately independent, allowing vested interests able to effectively control policy debate. “This is where we need strong political leadership,” he says, adding that “on many occasions” Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead “appears to be little more than almost a paid employee of the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland…because he’s strongly advocating the farming interest.” He continues: “So farmers effectively dictate farming policy, foresters effectively dictate forestry policy, fishermen effectively dictate fisheries policy, and they do that by capturing the political process, capturing the minister, dominating the process. In many cases the majority of things they are talking about are very complicated; no one really understands crofting law, no one really understands the intricacies of agriculture support, no one really understands the intricacies of the Common Fisheries Policy, etc. So, understandably, very few other people join in. I think it’s the role of government, of Parliament, to lay out the public agenda in all of this. But I think this government has got far, far too close to these producer interests.” Wightman says that by emphasising consensus and trying to reconcile completely divergent economic interests, too often the Scottish Government’s approach to land reform issues lacks conviction. The ultimate goal, he says, should be to dramatically reduce the cost and increase the availability of land. Denied an adequate say in the formulation of land management decisions and public policy, people’s economic opportunities are stymied……

Author: Stephen Naysmith, The Herald, 23 Sep 2011

 MORE than two-thirds of Scotland’s credit unions will disappear over the next decade, according to a veteran of the sector, with many smaller companies being forced to merge or go out of business.

John Patton, who is secretary of the Scottish League of Credit Unions, believes a range of pressures will make it hard for many of the not-for profit community finance cooperatives, which offer an affordable alternative to high-cost borrowing on the high street, to survive. 

Writing in a personal capacity in today’s Herald Society page, he claims that only 40 of Scotland’s 130 credit unions are likely to remain in 10 years’ time.

The Herald reported earlier this month that the Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank were both looking at ending free banking for credit unions. Other pressures include a lack of strong support from the Scottish Government, reductions in support in kind from Scottish councils and rapid technological change, Mr Patton says.

Of the moves by banks, he writes: “Previously, when the sector was highly profitable, they happily allowed free banking services for credit unions which were not competitors in any real sense.

“The new levy will seriously erode any surplus revenue in small credit unions and I expect the impact will trigger merger discussions to pursue economies of scale.”

Mr Patton claims many countries including Canada and the US have already seen a drastic rationalisation of credit unions, which Scotland’s 130 credit unions have yet to endure.

“By the end of a long, delayed rationalisation process, I expect around 40 will remain. While many credit unions will close or merge, those that remain will have increased membership and a wide range of 21st century services on offer,” he says.

While changes to the law which will affect credit unions later this year will help some, it will increase the pressure on some smaller unions, he argues. 

“It will free those credit unions with appropriate resources to attract members from beyond their normal constituency and to offer additional services such as interest paying accounts. In effect, for many of the smaller credit unions, it may mean additional work with little tangible reward,” he says.

Mr Patton criticises some credit unions for lacking sufficient board-level expertise in computer literacy, business planning and accountancy skills, adding: “For years, trade bodies have tried valiantly to increase skill levels among volunteers but they have been defeated by the pace of change.” 

The SNP, while supportive of the concept of credit unions, has not been as overtly sympathetic as Labour was in the past, he claims. Meanwhile, councils are increasingly warning credit unions they must be self-sustaining, he adds. “For a sizeable minority, this is not a realistic option,” he said.

A spokesman for the Association of British Credit Unions said ease of use was more important than overall numbers. “Over the last ten years the number of credit unions in Britain has been reducing, but at the same time the number of people with access to a credit union has greatly increased as common bond sizes have grown and new areas have gained access to services,” he said.

“What matters is not how many credit unions there are, but how easy it is for people to access the services. Innovations such as the Credit Union Current Account and the Credit Union Prepaid Card make it far easier for credit union services to be accessed, and the potential link up with the Post Office network will bring credit union services closer to every community.”

1. The campaign to bring the Birks Cinema in the Perthshire town of Aberfeldy back to life 

“For years, all you heard about was cinemas closing, but now it’s a different story. As someone who loves film, I’m excited by the idea that the town where I was born could soon have world class cinema right on its doorstep. The Birks Cinema has my backing, and I hope it has yours too.” 

Alan Cumming, our Patron.

Now that digital technology makes small local cinemas viable again, the charity Friends of the Birks Cinema aims to transform the Birks into a STATE OF THE ART community run cinema and café bar to entertain both residents and visitors and help put heart back into the town:

• A digital system for showing of up to date movies, including 3D, and a wide ranging programme tailored to different interests and age groups

• Capacity for live broadcast links – sports, opera and other events from around the world 

• A café-bar open to all from morning to late evening 

• A venue for live performance and special events 

This lively new addition to the Square will, it is hoped, be equally attractive to young and old alike. As a community run enterprise, it will provide jobs and training, and by returning a much-loved Aberfeldy landmark to its original purpose, it will undoubtedly boost local businesses, bringing residents and visitors into town more frequently. The Birks Cinema has been standing empty in Aberfeldy’s central square for several years – a sad corner of this beautiful Perthshire town. 

The Friends of the Birks Cinema in Aberfeldy have been pledged £658,620 from the Scotland Rural Development Programme. Despite a massive financial boost, the group behind plans to regenerate a Highland Perthshire cinema have said there is “still a mountain to climb.” The money is half the amount needed to carry out the project, which will breathe new life into the disused 1939 building, in the town’s central square.

However, the Friends must match the funding by the end of the year if the ambitious plan is to become a reality. Chairwoman Charlotte Flower said, “This is a magnificent gesture of support for the whole area. A new cinema at the heart of our community will be great for everyone who lives here and everyone who visits and, by adding to the attractions of Highland Perthshire, it will benefit local businesses too.”

Although the SRDP grant announcement is reason to celebrate, Ms Flower has cautioned that it does not make the reopening of the cinema a certainty.

She said, “If we can’t find the remaining sum needed to carry out the work, the SRDP offer will be withdrawn.

2. Phoenix rises from ashes as Oban cinema is saved

Angus Howarth, The Scotsman 21 September 2011

OBAN’S only cinema has been officially saved by locals – with the help of celebrity friends. 

A community group yesterday completed the £165,000 purchase of the building that has lain empty for more than a year. It is a 100-mile trip to the next nearest cinema.

The Phoenix picture house in the Argyll town is in the ownership of the town’s residents after a nationwide fundraising campaign attracted investment from locals and people throughout Scotland.

Community efforts to buy the building were backed by Social Investment Scotland, Artemis and other organisations, while almost £35,000 came from the local community.

Other investment came from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which awarded £50,000 towards the purchase price.

A fundraiser to help reopen the cinema next week is expected to see Dame Judi Dench interviewed by Clive Anderson in a castle. 

The Duke of Argyll has agreed to host the event at his ancestral home, Inveraray Castle. The actress and talk-show host are patrons of the cinema as they are both regular visitors to Argyll.

Other patrons include Robbie Coltrane, Tilda Swinton, John Hannah and Dougray Scott.

Author: Michael Blakley, Edinburgh Evening News, 30 September 2011

A PUBLIC consultation costing £10,000 into plans for an outdoor swimming pool, arts village and garden festival at Edinburgh’s waterfront is to go ahead – despite the city council today announcing it has sold the land to someone else.

Council-owned development firm Waterfront Edinburgh has sold the historic Walled Garden site in Granton – which community groups wanted to use for the Granton sur Mer project – to THI Healthcare Development for £1 million.

The company has confirmed it will use the 3.5-acre site off West Shore Road that includes the walled garden to create a care home for the elderly.

But the Granton Community Partnership (GCP) – the group behind the Granton sur Mer project – has refused to concede defeat on its vision for the site and will launch a public consultation, funded by a £10,000 lottery grant from Awards for All, on Monday.

The consultation will include two advertising billboards near the walled garden site reading “Land gifted to the community”, which has led to city leaders accusing the group of lying to the public.

Ross McEwan, project manager at Art in Architecture, which is leading the GCP, said: “We are being provocative by saying they have gifted us land.

“They have told people there is a planning application in for a care home when there isn’t so if they can do that then we can do this.”

And he insisted that he won’t give up on his hopes for the site as the sale to THI is subject to it gaining planning consent.

He said: “We will carry on because this is subject to planning and, if anything, this makes us even more determined.

“Their plans are completely inappropriate for that site and will not do anything to progress the regeneration of the waterfront. If anything, it will regress the regeneration of the waterfront.”

It has been claimed that the Granton sur Mer project could have attracted up to 250,000 people a year to the area.

But Cllr Tom Buchanan, chair of Waterfront Edinburgh, criticised the group’s claim about the land being gifted.

He said: “That is not provocative – that is telling a non-truth. I can be provocative in saying something but I would not put out an advert that is telling an untruth just to get a reaction.”

He also said that the council has “a legal duty” to secure the best value for the site.

THI is currently drawing up plans for a site and will have to submit a full planning application.

Carl Lewis, chief executive of THI Healthcare Development, said: “THI is proud to be able to bring life back into the Walled Garden site through its regeneration proposal for this and the adjoining site and thereby to be a part of the regeneration renaissance of the Edinburgh Waterfront.”

Easdale Island was once the centre of a thriving Scottish slate mining industry, so it is only fitting that one of the disused quarries forms a perfect arena for the World Stone Skimming Championships.

The Championships were started in 1983 by former Easdale resident Albert Baker, and then lay fallow until they were resurrected in 1997 by Eilean Eisdeal as a fundraising event.

The championships are held every year and now attract over 300 contestants from around the world and many spectators. Anyone of any age and any level of skill can enter the championships. 

Each competitor is allowed 3 skims using specially selected Easdale slate skimming stones. For a skim to qualify the stone must bounce at least twice – it is then judged on the distance achieved before it sinks. 

The World Stone Skimming Cup is presented to the over-all winner, and the Sea-fari Salver for the best women’s skim. There are also slate medals going to the best junior skim and 2nd and 3rd runner-up in each category. 

2002 saw the launch of a new award, ‘the Bertie’, named after Bert Baker, the event’s founder. This is presented to the Easdale Islander who skims the furthest. In 2008 the Old Tosser category was introduced for those entrants who have reached the experienced and veteran heights of no longer being in their 50s. 

The competition is accompanied by children’s entertainment; a barbeque; craft stalls with music throughout the day. On the preceding evening the Community Hall hosts a pre-skim bash with live music. 

Official Rules of the World Stone Skimming Championships

• Skimming stones must be no more than 3 inches in diameter and formed naturally of Easdale slate

• To qualify, the stone must bounce at least twice before sinking and stay within the designated lane as marked by the buoys

• Skims are judged on the distance thrown rather than the number of bounces

• The judges’ decision is final

World Stone Skimming Championships website at www.stoneskimming.com

The competition is split into Ladies, Men, Junior Boys and Girls and Under 10s Boys and Girls categories. There is also the Old Tosser category for those entrants who have reached the experienced and veteran heights of no longer being in their 50s!