FALKIRK COMMUNITY TRUST ANNUAL REPORT 2018-2019 THANK YOU THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS SUPPORTED THE WORK OF THE TRUST DURING 2018/19 EITHER THROUGH A GRANT AWARD, SPONSORSHIP OR PROVIDING IN KIND SUPPORT Agnes Watt Trust Falkirk Allotment Society Hugh Fraser Foundation Scottish Enterprise Association of Independent Falkirk and District Arts & Imperial War Museum Scottish Fire and Rescue Museums Civic Council INDY Cinema Group Service Barns-Graham Charitable Falkirk & District Twinning Inner Forth Landscape Scottish Library and Trust Association Initiative Information Council (SLIC) Barony Player Falkirk Delivers Into Film Scottish Swimming Big Ideas Falkirk Council JTH Charitable Trust Screen Education Big Lottery Fund Falkirk Environment Trust Kinneil Bike Trails Edinburgh Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway Falkirk Football Club Lawn Tennis Association sportscotland Bo’ness Community Bus Fans Group Panel LEADER Stirling Council British Association of Falkirk Local History Maddiston Community Stirling University American Studies Society Growing Association Sustainable Thinking British Film Institute Film Falkirk Schools Charity Museums Galleries Scotland Audience Network Board Scotland Tapside Coffee Company Central Scotland Green Fife Cultural Trust National Library of Scotland Tennis Scotland Network Trust Film Archives UK National Lottery Heritage Tern TV Confucius Institute for Film Hub Midlands Fund Tesco Bags of Help Scotland Film Hub North East NHS Forth Valley Tesco Bo’ness Corbie Inn Film Hub Scotland Objective Media The Scottish Government Creative Scotland Fine Stripe Productions Paths For All The Smith Art Gallery & CVS Falkirk Forestry Commission Persimmon Homes Museum De Montfort University Forth Environment Link Police Scotland The Woodland Trust Developing the Young Forth Valley College Rediscovering the Antonine Trust for Conservation Workforce Friends of Kinneil Wall Volunteers Digital Cinema Media Friends of Muiravonside Revive Falkirk University of Glasgow (DCM) Country Park Richmond Park Hotel VisitFalkirk EB Scotland Goethe-Institute Glasgow RJM Sports West Lothian Council Edinburgh Sculpture Graeme High School STEM Scottish Ambulance Service Young Start Lottery Fund Workshop Grid Iron Scottish Book Trust Zero Waste Scotland Edinburgh University Historic Environment Scottish Canals EventScotland Scotland 2 CONTENTS PAGE 1 THANK YOU ..................................... 2 2 CONTENTS ....................................... 3 3 WELCOME ........................................ 5 4 INTRODUCTION .............................. 6 5 WHO WE ARE ................................... 8 6 HIGHLIGHTS .................................... 10 7 RESULTS AT A GLANCE ................. 11 8 MEETING OUR OBJECTIVES ......... 12 9 PARTICIPATION ............................... 14 10 MOTIVATION .................................. 25 11 VENUES .......................................... 30 12 PARTNERSHIPS ............................. 36 13 GOVERNANCE ............................... 41 14 TRADING ........................................ 42 15 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ........ 44 16 OUR VENUES & SERVICES .......... 46 Falkirk Community Trust Suite 1A, The Falkirk Stadium, 4 Stadium Way, Falkirk, FK2 9EE T: 01324 590900 | E: [email protected] | www.falkirkcommunitytrust.org Registered Charity No. SC042403 | Falkirk Community Trust is limited by Guarantee | Company Registered in Scotland no. 400657 Falkirk Community Trust gratefully acknowledges the support of Falkirk Council. Front cover picture of Duncan Scott at Grangemouth Sports Complex. 3 XXX “The Hippodrome won ‘Best Cinema Experience in Scotland’ from nominations made by hundreds of members of the public.” 4 WELCOME “Delivered more with less” During the past year, Falkirk Community Trust has been A major highlight of the Although we face delighted to receive some very prestigious awards year was the completion of challenging times ahead I demonstrating strong and innovative leadership and our first phase of business believe that our community excellence in customer service. growth projects. Creating facing Board with the new opportunities for support of our funders, Both the CEO Today Awards and the European Business children, we opened the partners, management team Awards recognised the strong leadership of our Chief Great Mariner Reef Soft Play and staff are well placed to Executive, Maureen Campbell who “delivered more with at the Mariner Centre and shape the organisation for less”, achieving significant increases in income and visitor with the support of local the future. numbers despite a substantial reduction in funding from the clubs we transformed a Council. sports centre into a state- of-the-art gymnastics venue The Hippodrome won ‘Best Cinema Experience in Scotland’ catering for all levels of from nominations made by hundreds of members of ability and ages. the public. We were particularly proud that the Scottish Hospitality Awards judges were impressed by the friendly The Trust also welcomed welcome and quality of customer service. the commitment from the Council to support the Callendar House, winner of ‘Tourist Attraction of the Year’ planned next phase of in 2018, was nominated again and came a close second. business growth at the Another highlight for staff at Callendar House was securing a Mariner Centre and at hard won VisitScotland 5 star rating. Well done to everyone Stenhousemuir Gym. involved in these successes. David White During the year we said Chairman A main focus for the Board in 2018 was the development of farewell to our past a new five year Business Strategy to set a strategic direction Chairman and a number of for the Trust that takes us through to 2024. The Strategy Directors and I would like accepts that we are transitioning towards playing a more to thank them all for their facilitating role in the community, expecting that we will soon support and commitment be operating with much less funding and from fewer venues. to the work of the Trust. We also welcomed two new We need this Strategy to enable us to plan for a reduction Directors who will bring a of £5.5m of funding from Falkirk Council over 5 years. This wealth of experience to the is a considerable challenge needing effective collaboration Board. with the Council. During 2018, we worked with the Council on a shared vision that will underpin continued work on joint identification of savings over the course of 2019/20. 5 INTRODUCTION “Increased collaboration and partnership” It has been a year of We continue to work on a day to day school estate to optimise their use as increased collaboration basis across the Trust with a wide range community assets. and partnership with of clubs and organisations that form the others to commence bedrock for community participation Whilst much of our focus is on providing working through a in culture and sport, and we hope that services to communities we also play a process of change. many of these groups might consider key role in sustaining tourism in Falkirk increasing their involvement in future and the Trust is a business member of With Falkirk Council we operations. the VisitFalkirk tourism partnership. Our developed a joint vision most valuable asset in delivering visitor and principles for working In our Business Strategy we identified services is our staff and we continued to effectively together. The the need to introduce smarter ensure that key frontline staff received Council is an essential contracting and borrowing routes World Host training. As a result I am funder and stakeholder and to make greater use of strategic proud to say that staff are regularly as well as owner of the frameworks and partnering with leisure praised in visitor feedback for their venues we manage. Our developers. With welcome support friendly and attentive service. relationship is one of from the Council we made use of shared endeavour not this new approach to begin to take Excellent progress has been made in only for our mutual benefit forward the next phase of our business both broadening the range of volunteer but importantly to engage growth plans at the Mariner Centre opportunities we offer and growing the and inspire local people and Stenhousemuir Gym. We also number of volunteer hours delivered. to lead more healthy and commenced exploration of potential A profile of Care Words in this report is active lives. opportunities for modernisation and just one example of how volunteers from income growth at the area’s principal Falkirk’s communities are enhancing As we seek to ‘do more sports centre in Grangemouth. people’s quality of life. Of course as with less’ the need for a local charity everything we do is effective partnership These income generating plans are vital for the benefit of healthy and active and collaborative for us because we face a £5.5 million communities in the Falkirk area and this approaches with a wider reduction in funding over the next five remains our primary focus. range of organisations years. However it will take more than becomes more critical. introducing new business opportunities I am delighted that to make up for this level of reduction a productive new and so we must review how we best relationship with two and most efficiently deliver services to gymnastics clubs communities. We are doing this within led to the opening of the context of strategic community Carron Gymnastics planning and will be developing a five Centre and its new year business plan to outline the actions shared management that will be required. An early