rsof: 7vt/report.html comparison

comparison 7vt/report.html @ 38:5b5b9d5e58e7

integrate more from MH, tidy some more, not 5 yet

author	ht
date	Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:00:47 -0400
parents	f3da9d18bbea
children	c4b14e957e79

comparison

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 months of 2009.  We invited a number of people to join us to share their particular
 perspectives on the matter, solicited information from a number of different
 constituencies via questionnaires and held two open meetings for Friends and
 attenders to share with us their answers to the question "What is your vision for the Quaker presence and witness in
 Central Edinburgh for the <i>next</i> 20 years."</p>
+<p>Our conclusions can be summarised in terms of a sequence of choices, each leading
+to a situation with costs and benefits.  The primary choice is, do we stay in 7 Victoria
+Terrace, or do we leave it?  If we leave, do we
+attempt to find somewhere which provides essentially the same facilities as 7 Victoria
+Terrace, or somewhere more modest, or more than one place?  Do we look for somewhere to
+share, or somewhere of our own?  If we stay, do we reduce our use, and with it our costs, or
+do we continue more-or-less as at present, or do we try to do more?  How do each of these
+choices align with our vision for Quaker presence and witness in Edinburgh?</p>
+<p>[more, or leave it at that?]</p>
 </div><div id="history">
 <h2>3.  <a name="history">The past</a></h2>
 <div>
 <h4>Origins</h4>
-<p><i>Why did we come to Victoria Terrace?</i></p>
+<p>We moved to 7 Victoria Terrace from
-<p>We moved to 7, Victoria Terrace from
 premises at 28 Stafford Street
-some 20 years ago. The Meeting was growing and we needed more space.</p>
+some 20 years ago. At that time the Meeting was growing and we needed more space.</p>
 <p>The Meeting Room at Stafford Street was upstairs with no lift
 so access was a problem. It was an L-shaped room which made it difficult to sit
-in a circle as in 7, Victoria Terrace and you could get "lost" in the L-shape
+in a circle as in 7 Victoria Terrace and you could get "lost" at one end or the other of
-and could not hear or see the rest of the meeting.</p>
+the L-shape
+and not hear or see the rest of the meeting.</p>
-<p>The coffee room was a bit of a squash</p>
+<p>The coffee room was a bit of a squash.</p>
-<p>The children were in the basement in 3
+<p>The children were in the basement in three
 small rooms. The young people were like sardines in the smallest room. The
-créche was at the front of the building and the 5-12s at the back---neither
+crèche was at the front of the building and the 5-12s at the back---neither
-room was very big and very little room for storage.</p>
+room was very big and there was very little room for storage.</p>
 <p>There was lack of office space.</p>
 <p>Letting possibilities were minimal and the
 Meeting House was not open to all during the week.</p>
-<p><b>Still to come:</b> Cost of 7VT and its refit</p>
+<p>A property developer had approached the Meeting several times offering to purchase
+the building on very attractive terms, and after a series of Meetings for Business and
+threshing sessions the Preparative and Monthly Meetings agreed to the move, even though
+we didn't know at the time we left where our new home would be.  In the end we spent
+nearly two years at Gilles College in Marchmont, first while we found a new home, and
+then while it was refurbished for us.</p>
 <p><i>What have we gained from the move?</i></p>
-<p>We have considerably more space at 7 Victoria Terrace</p>
+<p>We have considerably more space at 7 Victoria Terrace.</p>
 <p>We have a beautiful meeting room that is
 light and airy and creates a feeling of calm and the sense that it is a place
 of worship.</p>
-<p>There are rooms that can be let out</p>
+<p>There are rooms that can be let out.</p>
 <p>The Meeting House is in a central position
-in the city, which means it is accessible to lots of people. Disabled access is
+in the city, which means it is accessible to lots of people. Disabled access has
-more difficult at present with the nearby building work going on.</p>
+been difficult lately with the nearby building work going on, but this is now completed.</p>
 <p>The position also offers lots of
 possibilities for Quaker outreach and for the Meeting House to be a Quaker
 centre.</p>
 <p>There is plenty of space for coffee and tea
 after Meeting for Worship on a Sunday and for lunch as well.</p>
 <p>There are also quiet areas for sitting and
-talking</p>
+talking.</p>
 <p>There is space for a good-sized library.</p>
 <p>The children's space is improved although
-the créche is rather dark and small and out of the way but other spaces are
+the crèche is rather dark and small and out of the way but other spaces are
 quite flexible.</p>
 <p>In the past the young people have used the
 youth café at 6 Victoria
 Terrace which provided a good opportunity for local community building.</p>
 <p>Very recently we have acquired access to
 the Scottish wild life garden in Johnston Terrace. This is very welcome for all
 but particularly for the children---a garden opens up lots of possibilities for
 fun and learning.</p>
+<p>Over the years the Meeting House has hosted many link group weekends. These have allowed young people from all over Scotland to come together for a residential weekend, to share their thoughts and feelings in a safe environment, to learn more about being a Quaker and benefit from being with like-minded young people.</p>
+<p>It is hard to quantify/evaluate just how important these events are, but speaking to young Quakers now in their twenties and thirties they say how important these events have been for their own spiritual development. If we are going to keep our young people we need to care for and nurture them. 7 Victoria Terrace is an ideal place to do this.
+</p>
 </div>
 <div>
 <h4>Building structure</h4>
 <p>
-The building was in quite a poor state when it was purchased by the Monthly Meeting.  Apart from the internal re-fitting described in 3.1 above, substantial repair work had to be undertaken to repair badly weathered sandstone on the exterior and some roof repairs were also necessary.  Urgent repair to stonework was necessary in 2007-8 to make the building safe and opportunity was taken, while the scaffolding was in place, to do general stonework improvement with a view to preventing the need for further such work for the next 20 years or so.
+The building was in quite a poor state when it was purchased by the Monthly Meeting.
-</p>
+Apart from the internal work which gave us the basic rooms layout, substantial repair work had to be undertaken to repair badly weathered sandstone on the exterior and some roof repairs were also necessary.  Urgent repair to stonework was necessary in 2007-8 to make the building safe and opportunity was taken, while the scaffolding was in place, to do general stonework improvement with a view to preventing the need for further such work for the next 20 years or so.
-<p>
+</p>
-<i>
+<div class="figure">
-[Insert room plans from publicity leaflet]
+<div class="caption">Figure 1.
-</i>
+[Insert room plans from publicity leaflet -- argh, where are these coming from?!]
-</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+<p>There follows a description of each room, working down from the top.</p>
 <ul>
 <li>
 <p>
-The second floor <b>Meeting Room</b> and its lobby are substantially unchanged, except for redecoration, since 1988.  Ceiling-mounted fluorescent light fittings started to fail during the early 2000s and were difficult to access for maintenance because of their height from the floor.  They were replaced in 2006 by suspended fittings, a year or so after the room was redecorated and re-carpeted.  The hearing loop system was upgraded in 2003 with the installation of four suspended microphones.
+The second floor <b>Meeting Room</b> and its lobby are substantially unchanged,
+except for redecoration, since 1988.  Ceiling-mounted fluorescent light fittings started
+to fail during the early 2000s and were difficult to access for maintenance because of
+their height from the floor.  They were replaced in 2006 by suspended fittings, a year or
+so after the room was redecorated and re-carpeted.  The hearing loop system was upgraded
+in 2003 with the installation of four suspended microphones, but users are not entirely
+satisfied:  apparently the microphones still pick up too much ambient noise.
 </p>
 <p>
 The high <b>roof space</b> above the Meeting Room was largely uninsulated and had been very difficult to access (except by pigeons, whose leavings littered the floor).  This was remedied in 2004 with the installation of a hatch from the lobby, a fixed steel ladder above the suspended ceiling height and an inspection platform.  Some strengthening work was done to the beams, which have a large and fragile span, the area was cleaned and blown recycled paper insulation was put in (2007).  The roof space cannot be used for storage because it lacks the necessary structural strength.
 </p>
 </li>
 Little was spent on the <b>Kitchen</b> when the building was purchased and, if it is to continue to be used to prepare food for public consumption, it is now in need of significant upgrading to meet current food hygiene regulations.  The commercial dishwasher has been replaced once and a domestic gas cooker replaced by a second commercial gas cooker.  Electric water heating has been replaced by a through-flow gas water heater.
 </p>
 </li>
 <li>
 <p>
-The <b>Bow Room</b>, accessed from the foyer by a corridor (with two steps) and with its own outside door to Upper Bow, was, for the first 20 years of Quaker ownership, let to charities (most recently International Voluntary Service) for office hours use, with the Monthly Meeting retaining the right to use it in the evenings and at weekends.  It was redecorated and re-carpeted in 2002.  IVS, who rented the room at considerably less than its commercial value, moved out in 2008 when the room became available for meeting use throughout the week.
+The <b>Bow Room</b>, accessed from the foyer by a corridor (with two steps) and
+with its own outside door to Upper Bow, was, for the first 20 years of Quaker ownership,
+let to charities (most recently International Voluntary Service) for office hours use,
+with the Monthly Meeting retaining the right to use it in the evenings and at weekends.  It was redecorated and re-carpeted in 2002.  IVS, who rented the room at considerably less than its commercial value, moved out in 2008, at which point the room became available for meeting use throughout the week.
 </p>
 </li>
 <li>
 <p>
 Little has been done to the double <b>Crèche</b> room on the first floor, except for redecoration.  This is awkward of access, through a narrow corridor which leads off the kitchen and can only otherwise be accessed from the tenement common stair. There is a lavatory off the corridor between the kitchen and this room.
 <li>
 <p>
 The <b>Foyer</b> (also not shown in the plans) is fairly spacious, but its adaptability is inhibited by two structural pillars.  The original entrance to this space, when it was a shop under the
 Original
 Secession
-Church
+Church, was in its present position under the Victoria Terrace arches.  At some point in
-, was in its present position under the Victoria Terrace arches.  At some point in the twentieth century, this had been made into a window and a new entrance made on the Upper Bow elevation.  When the decision was taken in 2002 to make the building wheelchair-accessible, it proved impossible to ramp this entrance, so the original entrance was re-opened and a stone ramp installed on the terrace. At the same time, the foyer was completely refurbished and redecorated, with the installation of a seating area, also suitable for informal meetings, and a reception desk.
+the twentieth century, this had been made into a window and a new entrance made on the
+Upper Bow elevation.  When the decision was taken in 2002 to make the building
+wheelchair-accessible, it proved impossible to add a ramp to this entrance, so the original entrance was re-opened and a stone ramp installed on the terrace. At the same time, the foyer was completely refurbished and redecorated, with the installation of a seating area, also suitable for informal meetings, and a reception desk.
 </p>
 <p>
 During the past ten years, spacious storage cupboards have been built into an alcove in the eastern end of the foyer and in the passage linking the foyer to the Bow Room.
 </p>
 <p>
-A tiled passage leads from the foyer past doors to under-stair storage and a small cleaner's cupboard to a utility area with
+A tiled passage leads from the foyer past doors to under-stair storage and a small
+cleaner's cupboard and on to a utility area with
 Belfast
 sink, in which the washing machine is now fitted.  Off this is an <b>accessible toilet</b> and a small shower room, which has in the past been used by residential groups but which is more commonly used for further storage.
 </p>
 </li>
 <li>
 <li>
 <p>
 The Meeting House interleaves with the <b>adjacent tenement building</b>, which was built about 30 years after the
 Original
 Secession
-Church.  The Boys' Brigade purchased both buildings in the 1950s and made the link through at first floor level, where the levels were very similar (the difference evidenced by the slight dip as one enters the Library from the lobby).  The two tenement flats at this level were incorporated in the main building and provide the present Library, Kitchen and Creche Rooms, while one ground floor flat provided the present Managers' Office and Bow Room. The other ground floor flat was retained by the Boys' Brigade for income and let as an office, first to a taxi company and in recent years to the 6VT Youth Cafe project.  One second floor flat was sold to the BB caretaker, who lived there until 2004, when she sold it to a member of the Meeting.  The other four flats were offered to the Meeting, which bought the fourth floor two-bedroomed flat in 1987.  The Meeting also rented a single-bedroomed flat on the third floor (Flat 3F2), which was eventually also purchased in 1995. The remaining two flats were bought by a member of the Meeting, who subsequently sold them to other local Quakers.
+Church.  The Boys' Brigade purchased both buildings in the 1950s and made the link
+through at first floor level, where the levels were very similar (the difference evidenced by the slight dip as one enters the Library from the lobby).  The two tenement flats at this level were incorporated in the main building and provide the present Library, Kitchen and Creche Rooms, while one ground floor flat provided the present Managers' Office and Bow Room. The other ground floor flat was retained by the Boys' Brigade for income and let as an office, first to a taxi company and in recent years to the 6VT Youth Cafe project.  One second floor flat was sold to the Boys' Brigade caretaker, who lived there until 2004, when she sold it to a member of the Meeting.  The other four flats were offered to the Meeting, which bought the fourth floor two-bedroomed flat in 1987.  The Meeting also rented a single-bedroomed flat on the third floor (Flat 3F2), which was eventually also purchased in 1995. The remaining two flats were bought by a member of the Meeting, who subsequently sold them to other local Quakers.
 </p>
 <p>
 The spacious <b>top floor two-bedroomed flat,</b> owned by the Meeting, is occupied by the Managers.  Some basic improvement work was done to this when it was purchased and secondary glazing has subsequently been installed in both bedrooms.  It is in reasonable order and has gas-fired central heating, but the roof is poorly insulated.
 </p>
 <p>
 <p>
 To service this building it was decided to appoint wardening staff who would be in sympathy with these aims and who would develop the use of the building along these lines.  The first warden appointed was Lise Bech, who moved in with her partner, Ian.
 </p>
 <div>
 <h4>Early developments in Meeting House use</h4>
-<p>Quaker use of the building developed well in the early years, as did community use.  A group, which included Lise saw from the beginning the opportunity offered by the August Festival Fringe to develop the use and profile of the building.  Lise was an able vegetarian/vegan cook.  She and others had ‘green' concerns and it was decided to run the Library as the ‘Rainforest Cafe' for two weeks during the Fringe, raising money for rainforest charities.  The Hall and Meeting Room were offered for exhibition and concert use concurrent with this.
+<p>Quaker use of the building developed well in the early years, as did community use.  A group, which included Lise, saw from the beginning the opportunity offered by the August Festival Fringe to develop the use and profile of the building.  Lise was an able vegetarian/vegan cook.  She and others had `green' concerns and it was decided to run the Library as the `Rainforest Cafe' for two weeks during the Fringe, raising money for rainforest charities.  The Hall and Meeting Room were offered for exhibition and concert use concurrent with this.
 </p>
 <p>There were some tensions between the wardens and the Meeting in these early years.  Mark and Anna, a young couple who were still students, were appointed to work with Lise.  They moved into the top flat and Lise into the smaller third floor flat, but this team did not work well together and eventually Lise moved out, to be replaced temporarily by a young Australian woman, Sam Graham. A support group of Friends, which included Archie Campbell and Jennie Nielson was now in place, which had the specific purpose of ensuring a Quaker profile for the building.  By 1994, they were running a rota to staff the building on Wednesdays to greet visitors, advise any who had problems and explain Quakerism.  For a few months, after Mark and Anna left, the building was staffed by these Friends with the aid of Sam and three or four other students (including Andy May).
 </p>
 <p>The warden's post was advertised before Mark and Anna left and Pat and Phil Lucas were appointed, Phil taking post in late October 1994 and Pat joining him in January 1995, the two sharing one full-time post.  Pat and Phil were asked to continue the development of community use, with a specific objective of attempting to achieve a balance between costs and income, and with the work of raising the Quaker profile of the building in the community.  They were invited to join the Festival Committee, clerked at that time by Bronwyn Harwood, which was already engaged in exploring the development of the Festival Fringe involvement.
 </p>
 </div>
 <div>
 <h4>Use of the Meeting House and income from lettings develop</h4>
-<p>Income from lettings in 1994 was about £14k.  Given stable management and the resulting improved standards of service offered to users, this grew quite rapidly with increasing use of the building.  As lettings increased, there were some small tensions regarding Quaker use during the week.  Quaker committees had been accustomed to turning up, sometimes without booking, and finding there was a room available.  They now found they had to book and then had to book longer and longer in advance to ensure a room was free.  An attempt was made to solve this problem by setting the Library apart one evening each week for Quaker use, but this (unsurprisingly) failed – the evening so reserved seldom suited the committee that wanted it – so committees and groups which were unable to plan sufficiently in advance became accustomed to meeting in homes.
+<p>Income from lettings in 1994 was about £14,000.  Given stable management and the resulting improved standards of service offered to users, this grew quite rapidly with increasing use of the building.  As lettings increased, there were some small tensions regarding Quaker use during the week.  Quaker committees had been accustomed to turning up, sometimes without booking, and finding there was a room available.  They now found they had to book and then had to book longer and longer in advance to ensure a room was free.  An attempt was made to solve this problem by setting the Library apart one evening each week for Quaker use, but this (unsurprisingly) failed – the evening so reserved seldom suited the committee that wanted it – so committees and groups which were unable to plan sufficiently in advance became accustomed to meeting in homes.
 </p>
-<p>A two tier letting charge system has been developed over the years, with a lower charge for charitable and grass-roots groups and higher charges for local and national government and commercial groups and classes.  There has been some measure of negotiation on charges , at the discretion of the wardens/managers, with, for example, new grass-roots groups being given use below the charitable rate until they became established.  An eye has been kept on rates charges by comparable buildings in the neighbourhood and there has been co-operation on this, especially with Augustine United and St Columba's-by-the-Castle.  The busyness of the building increased steadily until, for several years, it was about as full as it reasonably could be, from
+<p>A two tier letting charge system has been developed over the years, with a lower charge for charitable and grass-roots groups and higher charges for local and national government and commercial groups and classes.  There has been some measure of negotiation on charges, at the discretion of the wardens/managers, with, for example, new grass-roots groups being given use below the charitable rate until they became established.  An eye has been kept on rates charged by comparable buildings in the neighbourhood and there has been co-operation on this, especially with Augustine United and St Columba's-by-the-Castle.  The busyness of the building increased steadily until, for several years, it was about as full as it reasonably could be, from
 9 am
 until
 10 pm
 six days per week and often with Sunday afternoon and evening use as well.
 </p>
 <div>
 <h4>Quaker Link Scotland</h4>
 <p>At the time that Phil and Pat Lucas were appointed, Marion Morton was clerk of General Meeting for
 Scotland.  She was also part of the group providing a Quaker presence in 7 Victoria Terrace and she combined these two roles by doing her GM work in the Meeting House Office one day a week, providing cover for a wardens' day off.
 </p>
-<p>A GM group was now looking at developing the Quaker base and presence in
+<p>A GM group was then looking at developing the Quaker base and presence in
 Scotland, including the appointment of an administrative assistant to support the GM Clerk.  It was thought by some that this should be
 Edinburgh-based, working from 7
 Victoria
 Terrace.  Quaker Link
 Scotland
-was born.  Phil Lucas was, early in 1995, appointed to the Quaker Home Service Outreach Committee and he, followed by Pat, were appointed General Meeting Outreach Function Group conveners so one aspect of the QLS development was that the Edinburgh Meeting House became an outreach base for Scotland.  Enquirers packs were sent to Scottish enquirers from here, in consultation with QHS Outreach in Friends House.  There was thought that the Bow Room could become the Quaker Link
+was born.  Phil Lucas was, early in 1995, appointed to the Quaker Home Service Outreach Committee and he, followed by Pat, were appointed General Meeting Outreach Function Group conveners, so one aspect of the QLS development was that the Edinburgh Meeting House became an outreach base for Scotland.  Enquirers packs were sent to Scottish enquirers from here, in consultation with QHS Outreach in Friends House.  There was thought that the Bow Room could become the Quaker Link
 Scotland
 office.
 </p>
-<p>There was concern in some other Scottish Area Meetings about Scottish Quaker affairs becoming too Edinburgh based, which may have contributed to the end of Quaker Link Scotland's short life, but the fatal blow was that, when the paid administrative assistant post was advertised, the successful candidate lived on the Moray coast and preferred to work from home.  The GM clerkship at the same time moved away from the South East.  When Pat and Phil Lucas's outreach appointments came to their end, it was no longer appropriate to send enquirers' packs to Scottish enquirers from the 7VT office, (although they continued to do so for a year or two on a voluntary basis).  The last vestiges of Quaker Link
+<p>There was concern in some other Scottish Area Meetings about Scottish Quaker affairs becoming too Edinburgh-based, which may have contributed to the end of Quaker Link Scotland's short life, but the fatal blow was that, when the paid administrative assistant post was advertised, the successful candidate lived on the Moray coast and preferred to work from home.  The GM clerkship at the same time moved away from the South East.  When Pat and Phil Lucas's outreach appointments came to their end, it was no longer appropriate to send enquirers' packs to Scottish enquirers from the 7VT office, (although they continued to do so for a year or two on a voluntary basis).  The last vestiges of Quaker Link
 Scotland
 thus disappeared.
 </p>
 </div>
 <div>
 <h4>Venue 40 – the Festival Fringe</h4>
-<p>The Festival Committee introduced a tiered seating rake to the hall, turning it into a 65 seat black box theatre, for the first time in August 1995.  Use of the theatre that year was dominated by one theatre group, which was reluctant to share facilities with others.  Setting up the theatre in this way involved considerable hire costs, so the Committee decided for 1996 to take firmer control and, to recoup hire costs, to run for three weeks.  Use of the space developed over subsequent years until there were up to six shows per day, six days each week, with the cafe now open also for three weeks. The increased staffing this required was provided almost entirely from volunteers, many of them Quakers from other parts of
+<p>The Festival Committee introduced a tiered seating rake to the hall, turning it into a 65 seat black box theatre, for the first time in August 1995.  Use of the theatre that year was dominated by one theatre group, which was reluctant to share facilities with others.  Setting up the theatre in this way involved considerable hire costs, so the Committee decided for 1996 to take firmer control and, to recoup hire costs, to run for three weeks.  Use of the space developed over subsequent years until there were up to six shows per day, six days each week, with the café now open also for three weeks. The increased staffing this required was provided almost entirely from volunteers, many of them Quakers from other parts of
 Britain
 or the world, who are accommodated in Friends' homes.  Exhibitions continued to be organised in the Meeting Room, but the Local Meeting became uncomfortable with the annual transformation of this room.  Continuation of the Fringe involvement was endorsed but use of the Meeting Room for exhibitions ceased.  The Festival Committee works through the year, but a considerable proportion of the organisational work falls on the Meeting House managers.
 </p>
 </div>
 <div>
-<h4>Recent developments  </h4>
+<h4>Recent developments</h4>
-<p>Pat and Phil Lucas retired in April 2007 and Sue and Anthony Buxton  succeeded them as Meeting House managers, also sharing one full-time job.  The changes that have taken place during the past two years reflect in part their priorities for the development of the building and developments in health and safety and particularly food hygiene regulations and the way in which these have been interpreted.
+<p>Pat and Phil Lucas retired in April 2007 and Sue and Anthony Buxton succeeded them as Meeting House managers, also sharing one full-time job.  The changes that have taken place during the past two years reflect in part their priorities for the development of the building and developments in health and safety and particularly food hygiene regulations and the way in which these have been interpreted.</p>
-</p>
 <p>An early bird meeting for worship has been initiated at
 8 am
 each weekday for 30 minutes.  Use of the Meeting House kitchen has been tightened up and restricted with home-made food not permitted to be brought in or served.  The ambience of the hall and library have been improved through redecoration and new table storage.  Food and drinks (other than water) are no longer served in the Meeting Room or its lobby.  Groups using the second floor during the day and requiring refreshment come down to the Library for that purpose, usually taking the Library out of use as a place for separate meetings at those times.  The lettings calendar is considerably less busy than it was four or five years ago; this may be due in part to the difficulty of access during the building work on the terrace and in part to the current recession.
 </p>
 </div>
 <li>Contributed to/made up from Area Meeting</li>
 <li>Approximate cost, 2003-05.</li>
 <li>Approx cost incurred during 2008.</li>
 <li>Mainly architect (quinquennial review)</li>
 </ol>
-<div class="caption">Figure 1. 7 Victoria Terrace: income and expenditure 2000-8 (All figures shown are thousands of pounds)</div>
+<div class="caption">Figure 2. 7 Victoria Terrace: income and expenditure 2000-8 (All figures shown are thousands of pounds)</div>
 </div>
 <p>
 For about the first 15 years, until 2004, of its operation, Victoria Terrace covered its general running costs, there was a balance between income and expenditure. From 2005 onwards there has been a growing annual `loss'; when calculated in this way. The latter has been due to a combination of reduced income from lettings, especially in the last two years, and the cost of redecoration including new carpets, improvements to the lift, roof repairs and insulation to the property having been undertaken. There has also been an increase in staffing costs over the same period with them assuming greater responsibility for internal financial matters and providing more intensive cover from 0900 to 2200 each weekday. The deficit, ranging from £12k to £30,000 <i>per annum</i>, has been met from Area Meeting contributions from Friends and attenders. The contribution to Britain Yearly Meeting has, as a consequence, had to be reduced. Throughout the two decades it has not been possible to set aside sufficient funds for undertaking large pieces of work that regularly occur, whether major repairs or improvements.
 </p>
 <p>
 costs per letting have proved relatively high. This has been exacerbated as
 higher health and safety standards are imposed by law and the expectations of
 user groups about the service provided also increase. Furthermore there are
 both routine and one-off capital costs that have to be met both to keep the building safe, wind and watertight as well as to meet disability access legislation for properties open to the public. While the routine maintenance and repairs can be met from regular letting income, contributions from Friends and attenders and donations, specific appeals have had to be made for the redevelopment of the foyer and the Bow Room costing nearly £70,000. In 2008 the cost of the stonework repairs of about £30,000 was largely met by two legacies recently left to the Area Meeting.</p>
 <p>
-Should Victoria Terrace not have been available to us as a meeting house, it
+Lettings are not of course the only use made of the building.  Central Edinburgh Local
-might have cost the Area and Local Meetings in the region of £17k in 2008
+Meeting worships there, Area Meeting groups have meetings there, and study days and
-to have let rooms simply for the meetings, including Meetings for Worship, that
+workshops organised by Local and Area Meeting are held there.  The scale of that use
-took place in the premises. The above calculation is based on the 2008
+would have cost in the region of £17,000 in 2008, based on the current
 charitable rate that would have been charged in Victoria Terrace for the
-appropriate room. This sum represents just over half of the deficit met by
+relevant rooms and facilities. This sum represents just over half of the shortfall met by
-the Area Meeting in 2007 and 2008, and exceeds the deficit in previous years.</p>
+the Area Meeting in 2007 and 2008, and exceeds the shortfall in previous years.</p>
 </div>
 </div><div id="present">
 <h2>4.  <a name="present">The present</a></h2>
 <div>
 <h4>Building use</h4>
-<p>MfW, QGroups, lettings: rough breakdown by hours and days of week</p>
+<div>
-<p>Including information from questionnaires</p>
+<h4>Meeting for Worship</h4>
+<p>
+At present there is a meeting for worship on Sunday mornings at 11.00am which sixty
+plus people attend. After meeting there is coffee or tea in the library, and then a simple lunch (soup, bread and cheese) in the hall. Central Edinburgh is a big meeting and people value the opportunity to get to know each other better over lunch.</p>
+<p>There is a mid-week meeting for worship on Wednesday at 12.30pm which up to twenty people attend. Some people like a smaller meeting or perhaps cannot always manage a Sunday. This meeting for worship lasts about thirty minutes and is also followed by a simple lunch.</p>
+<p>People who completed a questionnaire felt the library was a good place to have this meeting for worship and lunch afterwards.</p>
+<p>People felt it was important to have a central location that is normally accessible by
+bus. The building itself is not so good for the less physically able and some people do rely on buses coming close to the Meeting House. Access within the Meeting House is good but the toilets need improving.</p>
+<p>There is also now an early bird meeting for worship on weekdays at 8.00am lasting thirty minutes. This is a small meeting, but valued by those who come.</p>
+<p>Elders are currently looking at having another meeting for worship on Sundays, either at 9.30am or Sunday evening.</p>
+<p>Children’s meeting for worship takes place every Sunday. The children meet at 11.00am for their own programme and join the adult meeting at 11.45am</p>
+<p>On the second Sunday of the month there is an all age meeting for worship held in the hall to which all are welcome. This meeting for worship is programmed, normally lasts thirty to forty minutes, and is well attended by families and other regular attenders from the meeting.</p>
+<p>We occasionally have “special” all age worship such as the welcome of new babies and
+children. This is an Area Meeting event, and others from Area Meeting come along to be
+part of this. The most recent of these took place in December 2008 and was held in the meeting room. It was very positively received. This event can only take place at 7 Victoria Terrace because of the need for a large meeting room in which to hold it.</p>
+</div>
+<div>
+<h4>Lettings</h4>
+<p>Since 2000 income from lettings has increased gradually until 2008 when there was a small decline.</p>
+<p>The main use of the Meeting House as a venue is for voluntary and community groups who want a relatively cheap but central location for one-off meetings, or a series of meetings, or one day conferences with a good ambience. (People frequently say they do not like the formal service they get from hotels). We are not in the market for corporate events.</p>
+<p>This means our clients cannot afford commercial rates that would bring us a clear profit. However the small number of rooms available limits the number of staff required for cleaning and catering.</p>
+<p>7 Victoria Terrace is not in the same league as other large Meeting Houses such as Friends House or Manchester Mount Street, to be a large Quaker centre.</p>
+<p>The Meeting House is open every day from 9.00am – 10.00pm and five hours on Sunday. The managers, Anthony and Sue Buxton, are employed for twenty hours a week each but in fact work nearer thirty-four hours a week.</p>
+<p>Tom Nisbet, assistant warden is employed for three days a week. In addition there are a number of staff working a varying number of hours a week.</p>
+<p>To give an idea of the pattern of non–Quaker lettings we have taken a recent six-week
+period and have looked at the groups who used the Meeting House and how long the lets
+were for. The two figures below summarise the results.</p>
+<div class="figure">
+<table>
+<thead>
+<tr>
+<th>Group</th>
+<th>Number of people</th>
+<th>Room</th>
+<th>Rent charged</th>
+</tr>
+</thead>
+<tbody>
+<tr><td>CAAT (charity)</td><td>10 -15</td><td>Bow  </td><td>£14.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>AVP (charity)</td><td>10 -15</td><td>Bow</td><td>£15.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Wood Craft Folk</td><td>5</td><td>Bow</td><td>£35.00 </td></tr>
+<tr><td>British Stammering Support Assoc.</td><td>10</td><td>Bow</td><td>£50.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>J. Johnson</td><td>20</td><td>Library</td><td>£62</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Soc. of Homeopaths</td><td>20</td><td>Meeting</td><td>£200 (3 sessions)</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Family Fed. of World Peace Development</td><td>0 -15</td><td>Library</td><td>£88.00 (3 sessions)</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Edinburgh Drug &amp; Alcohol Action Team</td><td>20</td><td>Hall</td><td>£105 (5 sessions)</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Blake &amp; Stevenson</td><td>4 – 5</td><td>Bow</td><td>£64</td></tr>
+<tr><td>I.A. Support Group</td><td>30</td><td>Hall &amp; library</td><td>£45.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Scottish Natural Heritage</td><td>20</td><td>Hall</td><td>£45.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Parkinsons Disease Soc.</td><td>10</td><td>Bow</td><td>£60</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Collective Gallery</td><td>10</td><td>Bow</td><td>£60.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Built Environment Forum</td><td>20+</td><td>Hall</td><td>£75</td></tr>
+<tr><td>C.E.C. Welfare Rights</td><td>4+</td><td>Room 5</td><td>£80.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Ramblers</td><td>20</td><td>Meeting</td><td>£32.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>College of Occupational Therapists</td><td>10</td><td>Bow</td><td>£50.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Fruit-market Gallery</td><td>4</td><td>Bow</td><td>£40.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Social Research Assoc. Scotland</td><td>6</td><td>Bow</td><td>£80.00 </td></tr>
+<tr><td>Scottish Handcraft Circle</td><td>20</td><td>Library</td><td>£40.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>No 2 I.D.</td><td>20</td><td>Meeting</td><td>£32.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Darfur training Committee</td><td>4 – 6</td><td>Bow</td><td>£30.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Action learning Group</td><td>10</td><td>Bow</td><td>£30.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Alzheimer Scotland</td><td>10 – 12</td><td>Library</td><td>£28.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Alzheimer National</td><td>50</td><td>Meeting &amp; Hall</td><td>£156.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>British Assoc. of drama Therapists</td><td>20</td><td>Hall</td><td>£198.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>World Development Movt.</td><td>6</td><td>Bow</td><td>£72.00</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Spiritualist Friends of Edin</td><td>4 - 5</td><td>Room 5</td><td>£82.50 (11 sessions)</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Scottish Traditional Dance &amp; Music Society</td><td>10</td><td>Hall</td><td>£27.00 (11 weeks)</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Social Enterprise Academy</td><td>8</td><td>Hall(?)</td><td>£105.00 a day</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Parkinsons Disease Soc. Stirling</td><td>10</td><td>Bow</td><td>£50.00</td></tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+<div class="caption">Figure 3. Non-Quaker groups using the Meeting House: number of people, the rooms used and the rent charged</div>
+</div>
+<div class="figure">
+<p>??? didn't get anything for this from Madeleine ???</p>
+<div class="caption">Figure 4. How long the lets were for and the number each week</div>
+</div>
+<p>It was not possible to know from the non-Quaker groups how they rated the premises. However there were over thirty groups using the building which feels very positive.</p>
+<p>It is unclear if we should or could increase income by raising the letting rates. Trustees are aware the lettings levels have fallen, especially daytime use. A possible reason for this could be greater competition in the area for the level of provision we offer. Our letting charges are comparable with other churches/halls in the area.</p>
+<p>On the plus side it is an advantage having managers on site and we
+have a good informative website.</p>
+<p>At the end of the day the staff are not here to run a business but to be the face of Quakerism in Edinburgh.</p>
+</div>
+<div>
+<h4>Festival Fringe</h4>
+<p>The use of the building for the Festival is a major undertaking (see 3.3.4). The main hall is made into a small theatre with raked seating. Several small theatre groups rent this space during the Festival.</p>
+<p>There is also the Rainforest Café that runs at the same time – from around 10.00am – 6.00pm. The income form this has increased over the years but again last year there was a drop. The main income is from the theatre lettings but the café does not make much of a profit but adds to the feel and ethos of the venue.</p>
+</div>
 <div>
 <h4>Summary of input from Quaker Groups which use the Meeting
 House</h4>
 	  <p>See Questionnaire ?? in Appendix ??</p>
 <p>People felt they were not entirely
 <li>Includes book sales, catering receipts, hire of audio-visual equipment etc.</li>
 <li>Insurance claim</li>
 <li>From the capital account (legacies) £30k and the Festival Fringe account £4k</li>
 <li>Made up by Area Meeting</li>
 </ol>
-<div class="caption">Figure 2. 7 Victoria Terrace: Revised summary of 2008 income and
+<div class="caption">Figure 5. 7 Victoria Terrace: Revised summary of 2008 income and
 expenditure, including capital project</div>
 </div>
 <p>Of the total 2008 shortfall, roughly £14,400 is owed to one-off expenditures,
 leaving only £21,200 owed to ongoing operations, that is, an improvement of
 £6,000 compared to 2007.</p>

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