1st February 2010

Stonehaven Town Hall group to work through their lunch

After the success of the public meeting in November last year, Stonehaven Town Partnership has been coordinating the establishment of a group to take on the running of the Town Hall.  However, as a group of willing volunteers it’s sometimes difficult to find time.  So the first meeting of the Steering Group is to take place on Saturday 6^th February between 12 noon and 2pm in the Committee Room at the Town Hall.

Nigel King, STP Director and chair of the Interim Steering Group said:

“Work on the building is underway and now is an ideal opportunity for people who are interested in its future to help get things organised to take on the running of the facility as soon as possible after the work is finished.  There’s not long and this first meeting will look at the results for the public meeting, review the work of the interim steering group as well as the discussing the next key actions.”

“Anyone interested in helping out with the Town Hall project in whatever capacity is welcome to come along.  The only stipulation is that people come with an open mind, prepared to share their views – oh and bring a plate of food to share with your colleagues! We were overwhelmed with how many people came to the meeting and simply don’t know how many might turn up on Saturday.  Sharing food and views is a great way to get to know each-other and hopefully we’ll have a feast.”

The project page on the Town Partnership’s website is dedicated to the current work and will be updated regularly with news.  There is also a link to a survey of past, current and future users views on what the facility needs to provide.  If you are not able to come along to meetings the group are still keen to receive your thoughts by taking the few minutes needed to complete the survey.

Details of the various parts of the work are available on STP’s website at www.stonehaventownpartnership.org or by telephoning Nigel King on 01569 750273

Stonehaven - 25th August 2009
Stonehaven Town Partnership
Press Release – Town Hall Regeneration
It’s Our Town Hall – well almost!
Stonehaven Town Hall is a very valued asset for individuals and groups within the town and in the Community Council’s research “The Future of Stonehaven” was recognised as a key facility for improvement.

Earlier this year, Stonehaven Town Partnership and Aberdeenshire Council were successful in applying for funding from the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Regeneration Fund and £181,500 is being directed to a project for necessary repairs and maintenance of the Town Hall.  The longer term prospects are still being decided but the intention is for it to be handed over to the residents of Stonehaven to run themselves.

The current work programme is planned for completion in March and it is hoped that a group of trustees can take over the running of the hall soon afterwards.  A major consideration for the future of the facility is how to maximise its use and meet the needs of current and future users more adequately.

Residents’ responses to the Community Counci’s survey indicated that people were very keen to see improvements made to the Town Hall.  Improvement can only happen with the input of residents and users of the hall.  Designing, planning and implementing such improvements will take time, energy and not a little know how.  All the skills necessary are in abundance within our community and Stonehaven Town Partnership are open to suggestions about how best to work towards a sustainable future for the facility.

The first stage is to find out what the town hall could provide by way of a more useful facility in the medium term but also to think creatively about what it could achieve in the future.   A detailed project plan can be devised from this and enable the identification of what resources will be required to realise that vision.

Once the community has a clearer picture of what needs to be done the necessary arrangements will need to be put in place to effectively manage the transition to a trust and the future regeneration project.
David Fleming, Secretary of Stonehaven Town Partnership says “We fully appreciate that a lot needs done, but we also know that many hands make light work.  We know that volunteers will be required for all manner of tasks, across a wide range of skills but there are clear opportunities for people to learn new skills and meet new people in amongst all if this.  Many people will have little time to dedicate to helping out, some will have more and even fewer lots but we understand that giving everyone the opportunity to get involved will be key to ensuring the Town Hall continues to be a valuable asset to the town.”

STP is facilitating an initial session to get the ball rolling.  During this session people will have the opportunity to put their thinking caps on and work together to identify innovative and practical solutions to the use of space.  We want you to tell us what you want the Town Hall to look like, what you want it to provide as a facility and how you think we can achieve that.

This session will take place at the Town Hall on November 26th at 7.30pm.  The more people can come along the more representative the output from the workshop will be.  STP will provide the venue, the facilitators and the materials to work with, you simply need to provide your thoughts.

£181,500 Bid Success Releases Next Phase of Stonehaven Town Hall Improvements

Stonehaven Town Partnership and Aberdeenshire Council today announce the details of the successful bid to the Scottish Government Town Centre Regeneration Fund for a grant of £181,500, which will fund the next phase of improvements to Stonehaven Town Hall.

The grant will be used to upgrade the external structure of Stonehaven Town Hall making it fit for purpose and enabling greater access to the community. 

Once the building has been refurbished externally, it is planned that the Stonehaven Town Partnership will take responsibility for the building and run it for the benefit of the community as a
self-sustaining enterprise.
The work will include:

• Making the Town Hall compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act, thus greatly improving the access for disabled people
•  Replacing the failing central heating boiler
•  Improving the rainwater goods and the windows thus ensuring that the building is wind and weather-tight, and is more energy efficient for years to come
• Inspecting and, where necessary, renewing the sandstone facing and slate roofing and replacing the flat roof over the north corridor.

The Joint Project Board will now urgently seek the necessary permissions to renovate the Grade B Listed Building.  It is expected that work on site will commence later in the autumn to meet the Fund’s deadline of completion by March 2010.

July 07 
TOWN PARTNERSHIP GETS GOING

Following the inaugural meeting of Stonehaven Town Partnership (STP) in May this year the group has now grown in size. Sixteen voluntary sector organisations from the town have signed up for membership and the new Board has gained three new Directors.

The Board welcomed Trudi Clayton from the Folk Club and Martin Kasprowicz from the Folk Festival at their last meeting on the 11th July and unanimously agreed that John Cruickshank from Aberdeen and Stonehaven Yacht Club would also join them. Martin Kasprowicz was elected as Treasurer and the Board is now well on the way to opening a bank account.

STP is currently funded for initial set up costs through the European SusSET (Sustaining Small Expanding Towns) Interreg 111c project with monies being held by K&D VOICE on the Board’s behalf.

New member groups represent a wide range of interests from disability access to bowling and from allotments to activities for children.

The Partnership has welcomed the support following their launch and will continue in their aspirations to grow their numbers to include many more community groups and organisations that provide services, events, activities and support for the towns wellbeing and culture, through the work of volunteers and volunteer committees. All Directors are volunteers themselves and represent groups that are already active in the town.

Chair Gordon Ritchie said of their current developments “…”

STP will be sending out a brief survey to member groups, and groups that are on their contact list, over coming months to gain an idea about the priorities for changes within the town that groups have, building on the already comprehensive Future of Stonehaven exercise and the Tourism Marketing Plan, and to pinpoint areas of potential cooperation between groups with similar aims and desires. STP will develop its role to facilitate and support changes and projects, in partnership with others such as the Community Council, which will benefit from a collective approach.

One such project is the refurbishment of the Town Hall. STP will not take on ownership or project management of the Hall but will be leading in opening negotiations with Aberdeenshire Council to move this long awaited improvement of community facilities forward.

They are also looking at other potential projects working with sports groups and local schools to look at already identified issues relating to gaps in need and the involvement of young people in positive active citizenship.

Approved minutes from Board meetings are available on request.

If you or your group are interested in becoming a member or want further information about Stonehaven Town Partnership, please contact Gordon Ritchie, Chair, on 01569 762971, or  David Fleming, Company Secretary, on 01569 767200.