Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath Carinish School Project Outline Business Plan May 2017
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APPENDIX 2 Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath Carinish School project Outline Business Plan May 2017 Carinish School project Outline business plan Page 1 APPENDIX 2 Introduction This Business Plan has been prepared for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar by Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, (CEUT), in order to secure a one year lease on Carinish School, before this Grade 2 listed, Victorian-built property suffers any enhanced deterioration for lack of maintenance. This would allow CEUT to make detailed plans in order to prepare to move our Collection from the now inadequate CnES Torlum Benbecula store into a more accessible form of Open Access Storage. This would entail: forming partnerships for the sustainable revenue and future flexible uses of the building, including developing modern apprenticeship opportunities an options appraisal an architect’s brief to include renewable energy proposals a funding plan for a potential Land Fund property purchase together with bidding for a Project Manager to oversee the refurbishment Carinish School project Outline business plan Page 2 APPENDIX 2 Background Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath, (CEUT), was formed in 1989 and has over 300 members; its activities are supported by 45 -50 very engaged and active volunteers. Its mission is to: ‘actively promote and preserve the heritage and Gaelic language of North Uist by collecting, conserving and interpreting the culture of the area, in order to inspire a wide range of lifelong learning experiences.’ CEUT runs an accredited Museum based in Taigh Chearsabhagh Arts Centre and Museum in Lochmaddy, in partnership with Taigh Chearsabhagh Trust. Here, a major exhibition is developed by CEUT members every year, as well as two shorter exhibitions within the shared gallery space. As a priority, CEUT fundraises to provide free lunches and reminiscence ceilidhs for older tradition-bearers and disabled community members to help plan the exhibitions. These are a critical element of our outreach work and, we are assured by this group, looked forward to, since they feel such events contribute to their sense of usefulness and well-being. For the past four years, volunteers have also worked with local schools and community members on various Heritage Lottery and HIE Funded projects, inspiring present and future generations through a range of exciting events and activities, linked to the annual exhibitions. These exhibitions and activities are now captured through immersive digital, 3D and virtual reality processes and installations in partnership with St Andrews University, ‘Smart History department, who have helped us establish the website http://ceut.scot/ As well as offering its accredited Cùrsa Inntrigridh as part of CEUT’s range of activities, Sabhal Mor Ostaig’s oral history website Guthan nan Eilean also maintains and curates our longer, bilingual oral histories. This year CEUT has been awarded charitable status and become a SCIO, (SC047186) in preparation for funding bids to develop the former school premises. CEUT’s Carinish School subgroup is responsible for developing the project. Carinish School project Outline business plan Page 3 APPENDIX 2 Forward Plan CEUT’s Vision, as stated in its Forward Plan of 2015, was: ‘To have our Collections at the heart of a new Open Store and Bilingual Learning Room within Taigh Chearsabhagh, which will exploit digital media and new technologies to increase access and to raise the profile of Heritage.’ Most of CEUT’s collection is currently stored in the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Torlum Museum Store on the neighbouring island of Benbecula, twenty miles away from Taigh Chearsabhagh. For over a decade, CEUT, has been seeking more suitable premises to store these collections. There have been undoubted advantages to the existing arrangements of shared storage space adopted by CEUT, but the logistics of a collection stored at a distance, difficulties of access to the store, limitations on visits by the public, the inability to display the majority of the collection and the deteriorating state of the building at Torlum are proving now to be substantial barriers to activity. CEUT plans to continue to maintain the Museum at Taigh Chearsabhagh and to create one major exhibition a year, whilst considering the development of a second, multi-functional space for the separate storage and display of its collections, since there is no available space for these at Taigh Chearsabhagh or for meetings during the day. The initial plan was to develop storage at Taigh Chearsabhagh, and indeed in 2015 CEUT was awarded Scottish Regeneration and Comhairle funding, to be shared with South Uist’s Kildonan Museum’ and Uist Wool, towards an extension. However, sadly, issues of planning could not be resolved within the timescale available and the monies were then divided between the remaining two partners. With the merger of North Uist primary schools into one site in 2016, Carinish School became available, and is in an ideal location to allow public access to CEUT’s artefacts. If CEUT was to be successful in purchasing and developing the school, this would allow us to rehouse our Collection more accessibly and transparently and also to develop innovative programmes of learning, Gaelic and community engagement. CEUT’s Aims within its Forward Plan 2015 1. To ensure increased collections care and access to the collections 2. To develop and extend bilingual learning opportunities and education relating to our collections and North Uist’s culture and history 3. To raise the profile of CEUT and heritage within Taigh Chearsabhagh and the wider community 4. To embed digital awareness within CEUT Carinish School would seem to be the ideal location for CEUT to continue to fulfil these aims, especially the first two of these. In the meantime we have already managed, as an organisation, to travel some considerable way towards the second two aims. We have been actively raising our profile within Taigh Chearsabhagh. As a voluntary organisation, and although a joint founding partner of the original Taigh Chearsabhagh, heritage was Carinish School project Outline business plan Page 4 APPENDIX 2 perceived to be very much the ‘poorer relation’ to the Arts activities, funded as they have been through Creative Scotland. CEUT’s profile is gradually being boosted within the building through three years of successive funding from: • the Heritage Lottery, for digital and school-based outreach work, • the Gaelic Innovation Fund of HIE, • other small funding, e.g. story telling projects, the Festival of Museums and • Luminate Central to this has been our active partnership with St Andrew’s Smart History project. Digital awareness is now firmly embedded within the ways we promote and record our learning and activities. Our Junior Comann Eachdraidh numbers 50 members, whilst our volunteers have benefitted enormously from St Andrews training sessions. Grey heads bent over X boxes, helping visitors with our digital installations, (once the youngsters had helped them to understand the intricacies) are the order of the day here. Carinish School project Outline business plan Page 5 APPENDIX 2 Development Proposals It is expected that the development of its own open store would allow CEUT to bring more of its rich collection of objects to the fore and provide flexible use of space for: • heritage community and learning activities/ events • family history and quality digital resource • Gaelic language and learning • provision for visitors, researchers, partner universities Actions so far 1. Museums, Galleries Scotland Small Projects Funding Awarded in May 2016, this enabled us to employ CMC Associates to appraise the suitability of the school as a base for our Collection. Its conclusions stated: ‘Carinish School is well suited to the needs of CEUT in many ways. The building would provide more than enough space to absorb all the functions required for the storage, open storage and display of collections, and for a higher level of interaction with visitors.’ Detailed plans and costings were included in this report and its author, Mike Spearman, proposed a 3 year development cycle: • first year preparation and community consultation • second year conversion and construction works • third year generation of partnership income/activities, movement of artefacts, launch of summer season. He also strongly recommended that we develop a vision for the whole building, rather than plan for a piecemeal development. 2. Registering our interest in Carinish School The moment the school became available in September 2016, CEUT declared to CnES its initial interest in acquiring the premises. The Development Sub Group has received CEUT’s minuted decision to carry these plans forward. 3. The School House In the latter part of 2016 the attached schoolhouse became available for sale and CEUT, on the advice of its Museum Mentor, Catherine Gillies, decided to register an interest in purchasing this also, within the Land Fund bid. This would enable CEUT to have a regular source of revenue in the future through offering a self-catering property for rent. Carinish School project Outline business plan Page 6 APPENDIX 2 4. Mentoring Support through the Brick Project In September 2016 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Susan O’ Connor, Senior Advisor to the Princes Regeneration Trust, and CEUT to enable her to provide five days of mentoring, through this Heritage Lottery funded project, to help CEUT establish its business plan, architect’s brief and funding strategy. CEUT has so far benefitted from the first two days of this free support. 5. Working with e-Sgoil To help fulfil our aim to educate and inspire present and future generations through a wide range of lifelong learning experiences, CEUT intends to work with the recently-created e- Sgoil to bring it’s wealth of historical and cultural material to a wider audience and create employment opportunities. E-Sgoil is a flexible education and learning service operated by the Education Department of CnES. Using digital technology, it’s primary purpose is to broaden the range of educational opportunities across the Western Isles by sharing teaching resources, best practice and opportunities for collaboration between schools and other organisations.