Please reply to: Roger Blackwell Willowbank Pennyghael PA70 6HB

01681 704 245 [email protected]

17 October 2008

Application for Funding from the Capital Receipts Budget by the Pennyghael Development Association Ltd.

Dear Mr MacDonald

On behalf of the Pennyghael Development Association Ltd (PDA), we write to you as Secretary of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee to request funding.

¾ An award from you of £7,000 now will help unlock a further £8,000 from the LEADER Partnership at its December meeting. This will enable us to prepare a business case and architects plans for the redevelopment of the Community Centre at the heart of the . ¾ A further £5,000 will enable us to make immediate and urgent repairs to preserve the fabric of the building whilst we raise the necessary funds for redevelopment over the next 12 months.

Background For the past 25 years the Pennyghael community, acting as an Association, has operated the former local school as a very successful community hall, leased from and Bute Council. The Pennyghael Development Association Ltd (PDA), formed as a sub-committee of the Pennyghael Community Association in 2000, latterly became a limited company and a registered charity. After the Community Association was served notice to quit in 2004, the PDA was successful in raising the funds to purchase the Community Hall from the Council at an overall cost of £95,000. Title was obtained on 30th March 2007, with a view to redeveloping the property as a multifunctional community & heritage centre for the south of Mull.

The existing building is in a very poor state of repair. A recent survey conducted on our behalf to determine the extent of likely work needed also revealed the presence of Asbestos in parts of the building.

Following a recent meeting of Cllr Walsh, Bruce West and Douglas Hendry with Colin Mclean (HIE) who was acting on our behalf, we were pleased to learn that they were very supportive of our plans, and recognised the importance of the community hall in the area, and recommended we approach the Area Committee for match funding for the LEADER application and critical repairs.

Social Enterprise Development Immediate attention is needed to make the building weatherproof and stop further deterioration so that it can continue to be used by the community for fund-raising activities. Whilst the Pennyghael Community is going to fund a proportion of these from our limited funds, a contribution of £5,000 would help maintain the hall as a function venue for next year or so.

The PDA is seeking support to develop a Community Centre to a modern and sustainable specification, using the Hall as its starting point. Our vision is for an inclusive, multi-purpose facility that capitalises both on the unique scenic setting of the community hall location and on the 250,000+ visitors to the island that pass through Pennyghael every year. In so doing, an expanded programme of activities and facilities can be provided, both for visitors and the local community, in a financially sustainable way. At a recent public community meeting, there was unanimous agreement that the Directors should ask for the assistance of the Mull and Community Trust (MICT) in moving this project forward, which has been done.

In consequence, the PDA, with assistance from MICT and HIE, is applying to LEADER for grant monies to allow the first stage of the project to be undertaken. The aim of Stage 1 of the project is the professional preparation of a detailed Business Plan, backed up by market research, information from other similar operations and community consultations. The plan will contain details of the proposed facilities, their potential income, and the overall running costs, with the target of defining a self financing community facility run as a sustainable social enterprise. This will allow the preparation of detailed architectural plans for the redevelopment of the Hall as a Community Centre, together with applications for planning permission and building warrants. Once this has taken place, the PDA will be in a position to apply for funding to assist with the redevelopment, taking the project to its second stage.

Summary Funding Request The Directors of the PDA respectfully request funding from the Capital Receipts Budget for the following: 1) A grant of £7,000 towards the costs of Stage 1 of the project, which together with £1,000 provided from the PDA and the Community Association, will secure a match-funding grant of £8,000 from the LEADER programme.

2) A sum of £5,000 to allow some immediate repairs both to preserve the existing structure, making it wind and water-tight over the coming winter, and to provide the means to allow the existing building to continue to be used for further fund-raising by the community.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Fiona Brown Chair Roger Blackwell Vice-Chair

On behalf of the PDA and members of the Pennyghael community