St. Ninian's Hall

It's now eighteen months since this community began to address the growing concerns about the future of St Ninian's Hall. In the summer of 2006 a public meeting was held at the Isle of Whithorn as part of a region-wide consultation when Dumfries & Galloway Council gave an outline of their review of local community facilities, and explained various options open to us, one of which included closure of our hall.

The Isle's Joint Strategy Group (JSG) made up from members of the Isle's Community Council and the Isle Futures Charity, and totally committed to the retention of the village hall in the Isle, has since been working hard to find acceptable and viable solutions. As part of the consultation exercise the JSG assisted in the circulation of the Council's questionnaire. Your opinions were sought and, according to the Council, there was an 'excellent' response.

You told us overwhelmingly that you wanted St Ninian's Hall to be kept open.

The Council's survey also asked us what kind of community-based management programme we would prefer. Two types or 'tiers' were proposed, but the choices we made gave no clear indication of our preference. In the meantime the JSG has obtained the Council's 2002 survey of the hall that detailed the repairs needed to maintain it as a safe structure and prevent further deterioration.

That survey estimated costs of repairs at £37,294. A five-year plan for this work was detailed. As of 1st November 2007, only £2,379 worth has been undertaken, and that work has contributed to serious dampness under the floor space. The JSG has been pressing for the work to be undertaken, but the Local Authority has declared there are very limited funds available for the work now or in the foreseeable future.

Concerned about the current condition of the hall, the Joint Strategy Group commissioned an independent condition survey by Stranraer surveyors D.M. Hall.
Their report shows several areas of deterioration since 2002: including water ingress, dampness, and wood-boring insect infestation. In addition the building's external rendering, which in 2002 needed decoration, now requires replacement. The surveyor has said that if the remedial work and a programme of continued maintenance is not started soon the hall could be uninhabitable within 10 years.

It has proved extremely frustrating to progress discussions with the Council. The JSG, with the support of our local councillors, have however managed to reopen dialogue in the last few weeks: In October the Local Authority reiterated clearly and unambiguously that there is no funding to carry out the work required. It also accepted the surveyor's report commissioned by the JSG as to the current condition.

At this time the Council have no plans to close the hall. However, they do accept that if the work is not done they may be left with no alternative but to close it on health and safety grounds. It is their position that unless alternative funding is sourced, closure may be inevitable within the foreseeable future.The Joint Strategy Group will not stand by and permit this to happen.

From our latest survey, we would probably need from £75,000 - £85,000 to carry out repairs to bring the hall back to full condition. The only way to access alternative (including private) funding to achieve this is to form a Management Committee and take some measure of control of the hall from the Local Authority. Dumfries & Galloway Council and the Joint Strategy Group see this as an opportunity for working together in partnership, allowing us to improve facilities in the long term for everyone in the Isle.

Furthermore, the Council have intimated that our project will be a pilot for the rest of the region. Consequently some funding has been identified already and it is most likely that any reasonable requests made to D&GC will be considered.

It may seem strange but, by taking management control, we can actually gain access to other Council budgets for properties not under the control of the Council, through the Wigtown Area Committee and the Village Halls Scheme, as well as Scottish Government and European funding! Our prolonged discussions with the Council have led us to conclude that we are faced with three possible choices of action:

1. For the Hall to remain within full control of Dumfries & Galloway Council.
   The Hall's continuing deterioration and lack of available funding may well bring about closure on health and safety grounds alone. We cannot recommend this to the community.
2. For the Hall to be administered by a local Management Committee, in partnership with the Council.
   We would recommend this option as it enables us to access other sources of funding to at least bring the Hall up to acceptable standards that comply with health, safety and disability discrimination law. It also gives the community the chance to get things done the way they want them done!
3. For the community to raise funds to purchase the building and land and assume total responsibility for the facility.
   We do not recommend this course of action at present, but we should bear in mind that this could be an option at some time in the future.

Where do we go from here?

The Strategy Group feels, that should the community decide on a Management Committee approach, then in the interim they should continue the negotiations and oversee the handover. Isle Futures Charity would undertake raising the necessary funds to initially make the hall wind and water tight, and safe. After this it would discuss with the community on a long-term strategy to ensure the continued provision of our community facility. It is envisaged that representatives from the various local groups that use the hall regularly would be invited to form the Management Committee alongside representatives from the Community Council and the Isle Futures Charity.

We will need to:

1. Carry out as soon as possible a community consultation to get your opinion.
2. Your response to this consultation will determine the decision to set up a Management Committee which will then negotiate favourable terms with the Local Authority to take an appropriate measure of control of the hall.
3. Get written assurances from the Local Authority (already given verbally) that if at any time in the future the Management Committee is unable to continue, the Local Authority will resume full responsibility for the hall.
4. Source adequate funding to undertake as a matter of urgency, a full structural survey, accurate estimates of costs, and carry out the more pressing repairs, utilising local trades people.
5. Once the immediate repairs have been done, develop a programme that will consider the various options and methods by which the longer-term future of the Isle of Whithorn village hall can be assured.

A short questionnaire has been included in all copies of the latest issue of Isle News distributed to addresses in the Isle of Whithorn. To make sure every household can take part, Isle Futures has arranged for every house in the Community Council's area to receive a copy of this issue.

A Public Meeting will be held in St Ninian's Hall at 7.30pm on Tuesday 11th December to discuss the issue and answer any questions you may have.

We would like to have your completed survey forms as soon as possible after this meeting, no later than Friday 14th December, and 'posting' facilities will be available with a special box situated in the Isle Post Office.

The Joint Strategy Group has been asked to present the community's response to the January meeting of the Wigtown Area Committee.

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