rsof: 7vt/report.html comparison

comparison 7vt/report.html @ 51:f019f69ec28c

edits from Andrew Farar, contributions from John Phillips

author	ht
date	Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:05:19 -0400
parents	34171276efb3
children	2218c7c0b6f4

comparison

equal deleted inserted replaced

-:34171276efb3
+:f019f69ec28c
 tr.ti td {padding-top: 6pt}
 thead.r th {text-align: left}
 @media print {body {font-size: 11pt}}
 @page {orphans: 2; widows: 2;
 @bottom {content: counter(page)}
-@top-right {content: "2009-06-06"}
+@top-right {content: "2009-06-16"}
 @top-left {content: "Victoria Terrace Working Group Report"}}
 @page:first {
 @top-left { content: normal }
 @top-right { content: normal }
 @bottom { content: normal }}
 <div style="text-align: center">
 <h1>Report to Area Meeting from the Future of Victoria Terrace Working Group</h1>
 <div class="byline">Alison Burnley, Madeleine Harding, Phil Lucas, Brian Mayes,
 Laurie Naumann, Rufus Reade,
 Eileen Schott, Henry S. Thompson</div>
-<div class="byline">6 June 2009</div>
+<div class="byline">16 June 2009</div>
 </div>
-<div class="toc"><h1>Table of Contents</h1><ul class="naked"><li><h2>1.  <a href="#intro">Background and introduction: The remit of the working group</a></h2></li><li><h2>2.  <a href="#exec">Executive summary of work and conclusions</a></h2></li><li><h2>3.  <a href="#history">The past</a></h2></li><li><h4>3.1.  <a href="#origins">Origins</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.2.  <a href="#structure">Building structure</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.3.  <a href="#use">Outline history of building use</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.4.  <a href="#fin_hist">Outline financial history</a></h4></li><li><h2>4.  <a href="#present">The present</a></h2></li><li><h4>4.1.  <a href="#pres_use">Building use</a></h4></li><li><h4>4.2.  <a href="#pres_fin">Building finances</a></h4></li><li><h2>5.  <a href="#future">The future</a></h2></li><li><h4>5.1.  <a href="#options">Practicalities</a></h4></li><li><h4>5.2.  <a href="#vision">The Vision</a></h4></li><li><h4>5.3.  <a href="#concl">Conclusions</a></h4></li><li><h2>6.  <a href="#appendices">Appendices</a></h2></li><li><h4>6.1.  <a href="#remit">Appendix A: Remit from Area Meeting</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.2.  <a href="#quests">Appendix B: Questionnaires for different user groups</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.3.  <a href="#open">Appendix C: Summary of contributions from open meetings</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.4.  <a href="#friends_use">Appendix D: Friends’ use of 7 Victoria Terrace in 2008</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.5.  <a href="#refs">Other sources</a></h4></li></ul></div><div id="intro">
+<div class="toc"><h1>Table of Contents</h1><ul class="naked"><li><h2>1.  <a href="#intro">Background and introduction: The remit of the working group</a></h2></li><li><h2>2.  <a href="#exec">Executive summary of work and conclusions</a></h2></li><li><h2>3.  <a href="#history">The past</a></h2></li><li><h4>3.1.  <a href="#origins">Origins</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.2.  <a href="#structure">Building structure</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.3.  <a href="#use">Outline history of building use</a></h4></li><li><h4>3.4.  <a href="#fin_hist">Outline financial history</a></h4></li><li><h2>4.  <a href="#present">The present</a></h2></li><li><h4>4.1.  <a href="#pres_use">Building use</a></h4></li><li><h4>4.2.  <a href="#pres_fin">Building finances</a></h4></li><li><h2>5.  <a href="#future">The future</a></h2></li><li><h4>5.1.  <a href="#options">Practicalities</a></h4></li><li><h4>5.2.  <a href="#vision">The Vision</a></h4></li><li><h4>5.3.  <a href="#concl">Conclusions</a></h4></li><li><h2>6.  <a href="#appendices">Appendices</a></h2></li><li><h4>6.1.  <a href="#remit">Appendix A: Remit from Area Meeting</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.2.  <a href="#quests">Appendix B: Questionnaires for different user groups</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.3.  <a href="#open">Appendix C: Summary of contributions from open meetings</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.4.  <a href="#friends_use">Appendix D: Friends use of 7 Victoria Terrace in 2008</a></h4></li><li><h4>6.5.  <a href="#refs">Other sources</a></h4></li></ul></div><div id="intro">
 <h2>1.  <a name="intro">Background and introduction: The remit of the working group</a></h2>
 <p>In August and October of 2008, South East Scotland Area Meeting
 "considered the history and prospects for the Quaker Meeting House at 7
 Victoria Terrace".  The end result was the creation of a "short-life working
 group", requested to report back to Area Meeting in June 2009.  The group
 might play in that future, and the costs and benefits of alternative ways
 forward in this regard.</p>
 <p>This report has three main sections, organised chronologically, covering
 the history of the Quaker ownership of 7 Victoria Terrace, its current
 situation, and a range of possibilities for the future.  These are preceded by
-a brief ‘executive summary’ of our work and its conclusions, and followed by a
+a brief executive summary of our work and its conclusions, and followed by a
 collection of background material.</p>
 <p>Throughout our work we have not seen it as our task
 to make any overall recommendations, but rather to gather the information
 necessary to support Area Meeting as it seeks answers.  We feel strongly that it is for Area
 Meeting, gathered in Meeting for Worship for Business, to discern the right way
 <h2>2.  <a name="exec">Executive summary of work and conclusions</a></h2>
 <p>The working group met a total of twelve times throughout the first five
 months of 2009.  Over th course of thos meetings we invited a number of people to join us to share their particular
 perspectives on the matter:</p>
 <ul>
-<li>Alastair Cameron and Don Stubbings, who briefed us on Area Meeting’s perspective;</li>
+<li>Alastair Cameron and Don Stubbings, who briefed us on Area Meetings perspective;</li>
 <li>John Phillips, Area Meeting Treasurer;</li>
 <li>Anthony and Sue Buxton, Meeting House Managers;</li>
 <li>Mark Hutcheson, Clerk of Area Meeting Trustees;</li>
 <li>Ken Jobling, Convenor of Area Meeting Fabric and Maintenance Committee.</li>
 </ul>
 Meeting House was not open to all during the week.</li>
 </ul>
 <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
+we didnt 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>There are also quiet areas for sitting and
 talking.</p>
 <p>There is space for a good-sized library.</p>
-<p>The children’s space is improved although
+<p>The childrens space is improved although
 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
 <p>
 The building was in quite a poor state when it was purchased by the Monthly Meeting.
 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>
 <div class="figure">
-<img src="MR_floorplan.jpg" style="border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Meeting Room" width="220pt"/>
+<img src="MR_floorplan.jpg" style="width: 150pt; border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Meeting Room"/>
-<img src="Hall_floorplan.jpg" style="border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Hall" width="220pt"/>
+<img src="Hall_floorplan.jpg" style="width: 150pt; border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Hall"/>
-<img src="Library_Crech_floorplan.jpg" style="border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Library and points north" width="220pt"/>
+<img src="Library_Crech_floorplan.jpg" style="width: 150pt; border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Library and points north"/>
 <div class="caption">Figure 1. Meeting Room, Hall, Library and Kitchen and Crèche</div>
 </div>
 <div class="figure">
 <img src="Foyer.jpg" style="border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Foyer"/>
-<img src="Bow_Floorplan.jpg" style="border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Bow Room" width="150pt"/>
+<img src="Bow_Floorplan.jpg" style="width: 100pt; border: 0" alt="Plan of 7 Victoria Terrace Bow Room"/>
 <div class="caption">Figure 2. Foyer and Bow Room</div>
 </div>
 <p>There follows a description of each room, working down from the top.</p>
 <ul>
 <li>
 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.
 </p>
 </li>
 <li>
 <p>
-There are <b>two mezzanine floors</b> (not shown in the plans) in a flat-roofed extension behind the main building.  The upper of these, above first floor level, houses <b>toilets</b>.  The women’s toilets, which house two lavatory cubicles and two wash hand-basins, were upgraded in 1996.  There is one small lavatory room for men.  The lower floor has one toilet room with a single lavatory and hand-basin (and for much of the 20 years housed the washing machine).  Adjacent to this is a <b>small room</b>, known as the teenagers’ room during early Quaker occupation, when there were a number of teenagers in the Meeting.  This is now known as Room 5 and is used mostly for one-to-one meetings; it can accommodate only four or five at most.
+There are <b>two mezzanine floors</b> (not shown in the plans) in a flat-roofed extension behind the main building.  The upper of these, above first floor level, houses <b>toilets</b>.  The womens toilets, which house two lavatory cubicles and two wash hand-basins, were upgraded in 1996.  There is one small lavatory room for men.  The lower floor has one toilet room with a single lavatory and hand-basin (and for much of the 20 years housed the washing machine).  Adjacent to this is a <b>small room</b>, known as the teenagers room during early Quaker occupation, when there were a number of teenagers in the Meeting.  This is now known as Room 5 and is used mostly for one-to-one meetings; it can accommodate only four or five at most.
 </p>
 </li>
 <li>
 <p>
 The <b>Foyer</b> (also not shown in the plans) is fairly spacious, but its
 <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 and on to a utility area with
+cleaners 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>
 <p>
-The <b>managers’ office</b>, situated between the foyer and the Bow Room, is
+The <b>managers office</b>, situated between the foyer and the Bow Room, is
 quite small, with room for a single person to work.  It has a timber-barrelled ceiling installed in the 1950s, when this style was in vogue.
 </p>
 </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
+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
+the main building and provide the present Library, Kitchen and Crèche
-Rooms, while one ground floor flat provided the present Managers’
+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
+Boys Brigade for income and let as an office, first to a taxi company
-and in recent years to the 6 Victoria Terrace 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>
+and in recent years to the 6 Victoria Terrace 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 net result of all this is that of the six flats on the stair, one is owned
-by the Boys’ Brigade, three are in private (Quaker) hands, and two are owned by the
+by the Boys Brigade, three are in private (Quaker) hands, and two are owned by the
 Area Meeting:</p>
 <ul class="naked">
-<li><a name="The_spacious_top_floor_two-bedroomed_flat"><b>The spacious top floor two-bedroomed flat</b></a>
+<li><b>The spacious top floor two-bedroomed flat</b>  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.</li>
-  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.</li>
+<li><b>The third floor flat</b>  Currently occupied by the assistant manager, has, for most of the past 20 years been occupied by Meeting House staff.  There was a period in the late 1990s when it was not required for this purpose.  It was then refurbished, refurnished and let for income until it was again required for staff.  Gas-fired central heating was installed in 2004.</li>
-<li><a name="The_third_floor_flat"><b>The third floor flat</b></a>
-  Currently occupied by the assistant manager, has, for most of the past 20 years been occupied by Meeting House staff.  There was a period in the late 1990s when it was not required for this purpose.  It was then refurbished, refurnished and let for income until it was again required for staff.  Gas-fired central heating was installed in 2004.</li>
 </ul>
 </li>
 </ul>
 </div>
 <div id="use">
 <h4>3.3.  <a name="use">Outline history of building use</a></h4>
 <p>
 The principal reasons which led to the decision to purchase the Victoria Terrace building were:
 </p>
 <ol>
-<li> The Meeting had grown in size and included a significant number of families with children.  A more suitable Meeting Room was needed, with separate spaces for children’s and teenagers’ groups, for the serving of refreshments and for social activity.</li>
+<li> The Meeting had grown in size and included a significant number of families with children.  A more suitable Meeting Room was needed, with separate spaces for childrens and teenagers groups, for the serving of refreshments and for social activity.</li>
 <li>A suitable building in a central location would enable the Meeting to serve the community by providing meeting rooms, primarily for charities and grass roots organisations.</li>
 <li>A central location would enable both Quakers and others to access the building easily, whether by public or private transport, and would give Quakers a higher profile in the city.</li>
 </ol>
 <p>
 To service this building it was decided to appoint wardening staff who would be
 these lines.  The first wardens appointed were Lise Bech and her partner, Ian Ramsey.
 </p>
 <div>
 <h4>Early developments in Meeting House use</h4>
 <p>Quaker use of the building developed well in the early years while Ian and
-Lise were wardens, as did community use.  A group, which included Lise and Ian, 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 Ian 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.
+Lise were wardens, as did community use.  A group, which included Lise and Ian, 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 Ian 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>After Ian and then Lise left, Mark and Anna Twinam-Cauchi, a student couple, were wardens for a short while.  When they left, a rota of volunteer keyholders was set up to open up, service organisations renting rooms and welcome callers. A support group of Friends, which included Archie Campbell and Jennie Nielson was put in place, with 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.
 </p>
 <p>Phil and Pat Lucas were appointed as wardens in late 1994, sharing a
 full-time post.  They were asked to continue the development of community use,
 </div>
 <div>
 <h4>Use of the Meeting House and income from lettings develop</h4>
 <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 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
+<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 Columbas-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>
 <p>Facilities and equipment have been steadily developed over the years, with digital projector, laptop computer and wireless internet availability now added to the familiar flipcharts, TV and DVD player and overhead projectors.
 </p>
-<p>Increase in the use of the building necessitated an increase in staff and it was particularly important to ensure continuity of standards of service during the managers’ absence on holidays and days off.  There has been a deputy warden/manager appointed for the past 12 years or so and this has usually been a residential post, with the appointee occupying the smaller flat.  Deputy managers have included Andy May, Doug Kline, Finn Pollard, Philip Davies, Mary Woodward and Tom Nisbet.  Additional staffing, all paid, has been provided by members of the Meeting and by students, also usually attenders or members.  The role title of the wardens was changed to managers some 7 or 8 years ago, this job title more accurately reflecting the managerial responsibility the post now carries.
+<p>Increase in the use of the building necessitated an increase in staff and it was particularly important to ensure continuity of standards of service during the managers absence on holidays and days off.  There has been a deputy warden/manager appointed for the past 12 years or so and this has usually been a residential post, with the appointee occupying the smaller flat.  Deputy managers have included Andy May, Doug Kline, Finn Pollard, Philip Davies, Mary Woodward and Tom Nisbet.  Additional staffing, all paid, has been provided by members of the Meeting and by students, also usually attenders or members.  The role title of the wardens was changed to managers some 7 or 8 years ago, this job title more accurately reflecting the managerial responsibility the post now carries.
 </p>
 </div>
 <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
-General Meeting work in the Meeting House Office one day a week, providing cover for a wardens’ day off.
+General Meeting work in the Meeting House Office one day a week, providing cover for a wardens day off.
 </p>
 <p>A General Meeting group was then looking at developing the Quaker base and presence in
 Scotland, including the appointment of an administrative assistant to
 support the General Meeting Clerk.  It was thought by some that this should be
 Edinburgh-based, working from 7
 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
+contributed to the end of Quaker Link Scotlands 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 General Meeting clerkship at the
-same time moved away from the South East.  When Pat and Phil Lucas’s
+same time moved away from the South East.  When Pat and Phil Lucass
 outreach appointments came to their end, it was no longer appropriate
-to send enquirers’ packs to Scottish enquirers from the 7 Victoria Terrace office, (although they continued to do so for a year or two on a voluntary basis).  The last vestiges of Quaker Link
+to send enquirers packs to Scottish enquirers from the 7 Victoria Terrace 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>
 <p>The Festival Fringe involvement started in the very early days and owed much to the enthusiasm and skill of Lise Bech (in the kitchen/cafe) and Ian Ramsey (developing the use of performance and exhibition space).  When they left, a Festival Committee clerked by Andrew Farrar and Bronwyn Harwood took up the development (amid some difficulties as they did not have the support of the new wardens) and the cooking skills of members of the local Meeting were co-opted.  It was at this time that voluntary staff from without the area were first brought in.</p>
 <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, in order 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.
+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>
 </div>
 <div id="fin_hist">
 <h4>3.4.  <a name="fin_hist">Outline financial history</a></h4>
 <p>The Monthly Meeting sold the previous Meeting House premises in Stafford
 Street in 1987 and bought Victoria Terrace, a listed building, and one adjacent
-flat in West Bow, for £138,000 with the sale proceeds.  (An further flat
+flat in 6 Upper Bow, for £138,000 with the sale proceeds.  (An further flat
-in West Bow was purchased in 1995 for £25,000).  A fund raising appeal and
+in 6 Upper Bow was purchased in 1995 for £25,000).  A fund raising appeal and
 a contribution (for stonework) from Historic Scotland covered a further
 £360,000, which was used for external repairs, complete internal remodelling, purchase of furniture and
 equipment, as well as common repairs to 6 Upper Bow.</p>
 <p>From the outset it had been intended that the new Meeting House, given its central position and the variety of rooms available, should become a community resource and, additionally, be able to generate an income to help offset management and maintenance costs.</p>
 <p>
 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 difference, ranging from £12,000 to
-£30,000 <i>per annum</i>, has reduced Area Meeting’s contribution to Britain Yearly Meeting. Throughout the two decades it has not been possible to set aside any funds as a provision against future requirements, whether major repairs or improvements.
+£30,000 <i>per annum</i>, has reduced Area Meetings contribution to Britain Yearly Meeting.</p>
-</p>
+<p>For some time the Area Meeting has each year tried to set aside some money as a reserve for use for
+its buildings.  It had built up a considerable reserve by the end of the
+1990s but decided to use this in its entirety for the purchase of the new
+meeting house in Kelso.  All legacies received by Area Meeting since then
+have been set aside in a reserve fund, and this, together with a special appeal for
+extra funds, permitted us to
+undertake the foyer development work and, most recently, during 2008, the restoration of the
+building's stonework.  The reserves are currently low as a result of that
+recent expenditure.</p>
 <p>
 Given the limited number of rooms that are available to let, the management
 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
 at the time of purchase, Central Edinburgh Local Meeting
 pays Area Meeting for its use of the building on Sundays, at a rate originally
 set at half the charitable letting rate.  This decision has been reviewed on
 several occasions, and the rate is now more than half the charitable rate,
 being approximately £65 for each Sunday, or £3,300 per annum (see Figure 6).</p>
-<p>Appendix D shows an estimate of the cost of Friends’ use of 7 Victoria
+<p>Appendix D shows an estimate of the cost of Friends use of 7 Victoria
 Terrace during 2008, based on the full charity rate.  If we subtract from the
 total shown there of approximately £17,000 the amounts which Area Meeting
 reclaim from Central Edinburgh
 Local Meeting (£3,300) and the Festival Fringe (£4,000), the
 remaining £10,000 represents 35–40% of the gap between income and
 expenditure in 2007 and 2008.</p>
-<p>Referring to Figure 3, what this means is that up until 2005, Area Meeting was getting a very
+<div>
+<h4>Summary</h4>
+<p>Referring to Figure 3, what this means is that up until 2005, Area Meeting was getting a very
 substantial amount of worship, meeting, outreach and function space for free, that in
 2005 it paid the charitable rate for that space, and thereafter has been paying
 what is only now approaching a commercial rate for that space.  Any
 consideration of the impact on the Area Meeting of moving out of 7 Victoria
-Terrace must consider this perspective very seriously.</p>
+Terrace must consider this perspective very seriously.</p></div>
 </div>
 </div><div id="present">
 <h2>4.  <a name="present">The present</a></h2>
 <div id="pres_use">
 <h4>4.1.  <a name="pres_use">Building use</a></h4>
 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 0800 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 0930 or Sunday evening.</p>
 <p>Children’s meeting for worship takes place every Sunday. The children meet at 1100 for their own programme and join the adult meeting at 1145</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
+<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>
+<p>In summary, many varied activities happen around and in connection with
+Meeting for Worship, requiring both large and small rooms and benefiting from ancillary facilities such as the library
+and kitchen.</p>
 </div>
 <div>
 <h4>Lettings</h4>
 <p>Since 2000 income from lettings has increased gradually until 2008 when
 there was a small decline.  A major contribution to this was the loss of two
-major ‘clients’: The Traverse Theatre, who moved to their own (new?) premises,
+major clients: The Traverse Theatre, who moved to their own (new?) premises,
 and the City of Edinburgh, who cut back on external training.</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 ambiance. (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 0900 to 2200 and five hours on Sunday.
 to us suggests they are responding admirably to this challenge.</p>
 </div>
 <div>
 <h4>Festival Fringe</h4>
 <p>The use of the building for the Festival is a major undertaking (see in section 3.3). 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 1000–1800. The income from this has increased over the years but again last year there was a drop. The main income is from the theatre lettings. Although the café does not make much of a profit it adds to the feel and ethos of the venue.</p>
+<p>There is also the Café that runs at the same time—from around 1000–1800. The income from this has increased over the years but again last year there was a drop. The main income is from the theatre lettings. Although the café does not make much of a profit it adds to the feel and ethos of the venue.</p>
 <p>The Festival Fringe activity is an Area Meeting activity, organised by
 an Area Meeting committee.  Area
 Meeting both bears the cost of lost lettings during August, and the increased
 wear-and-tear that being a venue entails.  Area Meeting also determines the
 division of any profit between itself and designated charities.</p>
 stillness and worship.</p>
 <p>It is necessary to meet at Victoria Terrace
 to do practical tasks and allows access to resources.</p>
-<p>The building is ideal for young people’s
+<p>The building is ideal for young peoples
 link weekend---there is no other Quaker building in Scotland
 that is big enough. We do need to nurture and care for our young
 people if we are going to keep them involved with Friends.</p>
 <p>People did feel they could meet elsewhere
 if necessary. Occasionally they did so out of choice for practical reasons such
 as babysitting.</p>
 <p>The overall room size, location, comfort
-and facilities are considered to be good.</p>
+and facilities are considered to be good.  The building is ideally placed for outreach.</p>
 <p>Some Quaker groups had a problem booking
 rooms for the times they requested and asked if there could be some priority
 booking for Quaker groups.</p>
 <p>The service offered by meeting house staff
 is very good.</p>
-<p>Ideally placed for outreach</p>
 </div>
 </div>
 <div id="pres_fin">
 <h4>4.2.  <a name="pres_fin">Building finances</a></h4>
 <p>
-The table below summarises the 2008 income and expenditure and demonstrates the dependency on lettings and members and attenders’ contributions for income. As far as expenditure was concerned, 2008 was what could be considered a fairly unusual year with elements of one-off capital expenditure on the stonework and the fees for the architect’s quinquennial technical review of the property that we have to have to plan for its future maintenance.</p><div class="figure">
+The table below summarises the 2008 income and expenditure and demonstrates the dependency on lettings and members and attenders contributions for income. As far as expenditure was concerned, 2008 was what could be considered a fairly unusual year with elements of one-off capital expenditure on the stonework and the fees for the architects quinquennial technical review of the property that we have to have to plan for its future maintenance.</p><div class="figure">
 <table>
 <thead>
 <tr>
 <th/>
 <th> Notes </th>
 <td class="t d">-36.0</td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
 </table>
 <ol>
-<li>Includes services, cleaning, equipment and furniture purchases and architect’s fees</li>
+<li>Includes services, cleaning, equipment and furniture purchases and architects fees</li>
 <li>Building work—external stonework</li>
 <li>For the meeting house and specifically building work</li>
 <li>External £47,400 and Central Edinburgh meeting £3,300</li>
 <li>From the capital account (legacies) £30,000 and the Festival Fringe account £4,000</li>
 <li>Made up by Area Meeting</li>
 that for 2007.</p>
 <p>A number of modifications and improvements have been suggested, or are
 indeed required in some cases, about which decisions need to be taken in the
 near future:</p>
 <ul class="naked">
-<li><a name="Windows"><b>Windows</b></a>
+<li><b>Roof access</b>  Access to the roof above the flat, for example
-  Some of the windows on the south-west side of the
+for gutter repairs, is very difficult and needs to be improved. This work will be carried out shortly.</li>
-building urgently require repair or replacement and insulation needs to be improved.</li>
+<li><b>Windows</b>  Some of the windows on the south-west side of the
-<li><a name="Roof_access"><b>Roof access</b></a>
+building urgently require repair or replacement and insulation needs to be
-  Access to the roof above the flat, for example
+improved. A plan is being drawn up for their phased replacement and this is
-for gutter repairs, is very difficult and should be improved at some point.</li>
+currently being costed.</li>
-<li><a name="Kitchen"><b>Kitchen</b></a>
+<li><b>Kitchen</b>  Health and safety requirements have stipulated
-  Health and safety requirements have stipulated
 improvements to the kitchen likely to cost in the region of
 £30,000 if cooking is to be undertaken and offered for sale, for
-example in conjunction with the <i>Rainforest Café</i> at
+example in conjunction with the Café at
 the time of the Festival Fringe.  Lower-cost options with reduced facilities
 are also possible.</li>
-<li><a name="Toilets"><b>Toilets</b></a>
+<li><b>Toilets</b>  These are not up to the standard of the rest of the
-  These are not up to the standard of the rest of the
 building.  Plans for extending and improving them have been costed at around £50,000.</li>
-<li><a name="Creèche"><b>Creèche</b></a>
+<li><b>Crèche</b>  Plans for re-structuring the crèche rooms and
-  Plans for re-structuring the creèche rooms and
 their access to come directly from the library have been costed at around £5,000.</li>
-<li><a name="Heating"><b>Heating</b></a>
+<li><b>Heating</b>  It has been suggested that the heating for the
-  It has been suggested that the heating for the
 building should be upgraded or replaced, possibly involving a shift to
-renewable sources.</li>
+renewable sources, building on work done some time ago by an Environmental
+Improvement group.</li>
 </ul>
 </div>
 </div><div id="future">
 <h2>5.  <a name="future">The future</a></h2>
 <p>Against the background of the information presented so far, we now turn
 <li>Would we look to own our own premises (build/refit/share)?</li>
 <li>Or hire (Sole tenant/share)?</li>
 <li>One venue (central, or not?) or several?</li>
 </ul>
 	  <p>One of the prime motivations for leaving Stafford Street was that though
-central it was not ‘visible’ to the public; it had no lettings of rooms, no
+central it was not visible to the public; it had no lettings of rooms, no
 display windows and no involvement in the Festival. If these still matter they
 would be requirements for in any candidate alternative premises.</p>
 <p>If we decide to sell Victoria Terrace in order to buy, lease or
 even share somewhere else it would probably be necessary to sell at least
 one of the
-two flats as well.  7 Victoria Terrace was valued at only £160,000 <i>before</i> the current slump
+two flats as well.  7 Victoria Terrace was valued at £385,000 in
-in property prices, at which time the two flats together were valued at closer
+November of 2007 (<i>before</i> the current slump
-to £300,000.  The official rateable value (reflecting a fair-market annual
+in property prices), at which time the two flats together were valued at £370,000.  The official rateable value (reflecting a fair-market annual
 <i>rental</i> value) for 7 Victoria Terrace is £14,600, which is
-broadly in line with, or a little below, the £160,000 valuation.</p>
+rather low in terms of the £385,000 valuation.</p>
 <p>We explored the cost of moving elsewhere.  Minimum accommodation for our own use only would be:</p>
 <ul>
 <li>1 Meeting Room</li>
-<li>1 Children’s Room</li>
+<li>1 Childrens Room</li>
 <li>Library</li>
 <li>Kitchen (for heating up only)</li>
 <li>Lavatories</li>
 <li>Office (?)</li></ul>
 <p>Preferably, for our own needs and possible lettings or sharing,
 we would be looking for:</p>
 <ul>
 <li>2 Meeting Rooms</li>
-<li>2 Children’s Rooms</li>
+<li>2 Childrens Rooms</li>
 <li>Kitchen (for cooking)</li>
 <li>Library</li>
 <li>Lavatories</li>
 <li>2 Committee rooms</li>
 <li> Office</li>
 Portobello, Trinity/Granton, Leith Walk/London Road or around Cameron Toll and the
 Commonwealth Pool.</p>
 <p>If we could find no suitable venue for our exclusive use we might share with, say,
 7th Day Adventists, a play group, an Open Door or community hall that was not required
 on a Sunday.</p>
-<p>However, it would be necessary for us to be the ‘chief’
+<p>However, it would be necessary for us to be the chief
 occupants if we wish to be able to
 arrange mid-week or evening meetings, and have some say over publicity displays and
 lettings.  We would probably want to be in charge of lettings, including festival events
 such as poetry readings, plays, small musical events, and so on. We would not have a
 café, but might offer light refreshments and have an exhibition on walls
 presence of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish offices of financial, church and
 corporate bodies, such as Christian Aid. This would enable us to present our Quaker
 witness to these bodies and to the general public, including the large numbers of tourists
 and visitors to the city. However, it cannot be assumed that Friends in Scotland outwith
 Edinburgh would be happy to recognise us as a Scottish Quaker Centre. Indeed, there
-are Friends in the Area Meeting who do not have any feeling of ‘ownership’ of 7
+are Friends in the Area Meeting who do not have any feeling of ownership of 7
 Victoria Terrace nor any sense of involvement in its activities. It is also the case that not
 all members of Edinburgh Central welcome the disruption and disturbance arising from
 our Festival activities.</p>
 <p>Overall, we feel that most people have been positive about staying in Victoria Terrace
 because it is central and visible, available and open. Such doubts as were expressed were about finance and
 <ol>
 <li>Visibility is key—the Meeting as part of the community—inclusive of both those within and outside Quakers.
 </li>
 <li>A home not only for the Quaker community but also for those with whose principles and activities Quakers are in harmony.
 </li>
-<li>Our building’s shop windows make us unusually visible—they encourage people to come in and make it clear what you are getting into.  This and our openness to the community are unusual for a religious building and have helped change the attitude of others to Friends.  We need to value and develop this.
+<li>Our buildings shop windows make us unusually visible—they encourage people to come in and make it clear what you are getting into.  This and our openness to the community are unusual for a religious building and have helped change the attitude of others to Friends.  We need to value and develop this.
 </li>
 <li>Building could be more of a focus for Quakers in
 Scotland, perhaps having an office from which Quakers can speak to the Scottish Parliament.
 </li>
 <li>An expression of our responsibility and values—care for the environment, peace etc—a focus for us speaking out from a spiritual base.  We have responsibility to use our facilities for the community.
 Westminster, which will probably push
 Scotland
 towards independence.  This will present a great opportunity for Scottish Quakers to dialogue with Scottish law-makers (freed from the influence of English bishops).
 </div>
 <div class="ndli">
-It’s difficult for some groups which share our values to find meeting space here.  Can we look at ways of using our space more flexibly to increase availability.
+Its difficult for some groups which share our values to find meeting space here.  Can we look at ways of using our space more flexibly to increase availability.
 </div>
 </div>
 </li>
 <li>Could Friends not be encouraged to give more or ways be found to raise more money to ensure we can keep 7VT open?
 </li>
-<li>Early Friends often worshipped out of doors or in each other’s homes.  Our meeting for worship is the most precious things we have to share with others.  I would worry if the Meeting had to move out of central
+<li>Early Friends often worshipped out of doors or in each others homes.  Our meeting for worship is the most precious things we have to share with others.  I would worry if the Meeting had to move out of central
 Edinburgh
 but would not be happy if we had to increase commercial use of the building to keep it open.
 </li>
 <li>I am a member of another organisation given a building which it can no longer afford to run.  This has brought the organisation close to collapse.  Our expenditure on the building must not be allowed to outrun our income.
 </li>
-<li>I’m grateful that the question we are addressing today does not mention the building.  I hope we can think away from the building.  Remember that George Fox referred pejoratively to churches as ‘steeple houses’.
+<li>Im grateful that the question we are addressing today does not mention the building.  I hope we can think away from the building.  Remember that George Fox referred pejoratively to churches as steeple houses.
 </li>
 <li>Responsibility for a property takes time and energy as well as money.  Not having this responsibility frees up this time and energy.  Ownership of a building is OK only if this is kept in balance.  Losing the balance will have a negative impact on the core purpose of the community.
 </li>
-<li>Remember this building’s enormous capacity for outreach, especially during the Fringe but also throughout the year.  This is not reason enough for keeping it, but it is must not be forgotten.
+<li>Remember this buildings enormous capacity for outreach, especially during the Fringe but also throughout the year.  This is not reason enough for keeping it, but it is must not be forgotten.
 </li>
 <li><div class="ndl">
 <div class="ndli">
 This Meeting spent 50 years in
 Stafford Street, 25 of which were spent deciding to move out, a period during which South Edinburgh Meeting was spawned.
 <div class="ndli">
 Use of rooms by community groups is very patchy—Wednesdays are booked long ahead, Fridays are very quiet.
 </div>
 </div>
 </li>
-<li>A Meeting is not the meeting house, it’s the people.  I have been to other Meetings too, but I joined Friends because of the people.
+<li>A Meeting is not the meeting house, its the people.  I have been to other Meetings too, but I joined Friends because of the people.
 </li>
 <li>Temporary closure of terrace has made access very difficult for some.  I hope account is taken of this in judging pattern of use.  This meeting house is a precious home and a beautiful place—would deplore it if we moved from city centre to a tucked-away corner somewhere.  Decision taken while at
 Stafford St
 to move to a building which would be well used by the community—this is a real pleasure.
 </li>
-<li>Struggle with ‘the vision thing’.  But my vision is that I want to keep coming to ‘church’—it’s fundamental to my life.  We have reconstructed the work of the ‘hireling priest’ in our own distinctive way and the ‘steeple house’ by a functional building that meets our needs.  No need to be apologetic about being like other churches in this regard.  It tells people that we are here—part of this city’s spiritual space.  My vision therefore is of a place as well as a spiritual community.
+<li>Struggle with the vision thing.  But my vision is that I want to keep coming to church—its fundamental to my life.  We have reconstructed the work of the hireling priest in our own distinctive way and the steeple house by a functional building that meets our needs.  No need to be apologetic about being like other churches in this regard.  It tells people that we are here—part of this citys spiritual space.  My vision therefore is of a place as well as a spiritual community.
 </li>
-<li>Meeting doesn’t need to be tied to a building.  Quality of Dunblane Meeting didn’t change as it moved from place to place.
+<li>Meeting doesnt need to be tied to a building.  Quality of Dunblane Meeting didnt change as it moved from place to place.
 </li>
 <li>Maybe here in
 Edinburgh
 our work does involve using this building—providing a meeting place for other groups may be part of our witness (as long as we can).
 </li>
 is available for droppers in (and out).  Would be sad if all Meetings were dispersed and small—would make building an inclusive community to bring on the new generation difficult.
 </li>
 <li>(After invitation to hear from South Ed Friends, who use a space not their own):
 Good to have a place where displays can stay up all the time—we miss this.
 </li>
-<li>Emphasis on wider vision important.  Strong base to enable Friends to cope with all the rapid changes in society and to promote ‘good lives’ within and around the community.  Rental decline may not last (cf what has happened at Friends House).
+<li>Emphasis on wider vision important.  Strong base to enable Friends to cope with all the rapid changes in society and to promote good lives within and around the community.  Rental decline may not last (cf what has happened at Friends House).
 </li>
 <li>Could worship happily in a very small Meeting but this building has built up a powerful significance for people all over
 Scotland,
 Britain
 and even the world.  This space is very precious and we have a responsibility for it.
 </li>
-<li>I belong to a small Meeting in a rented building—difficult to make one’s presence known.  The presence of the Meeting House—there for all of us in
+<li>I belong to a small Meeting in a rented building—difficult to make ones presence known.  The presence of the Meeting House—there for all of us in
 SE Scotland—helps to take us out of our insularity and remind us we belong to a wider Quaker community.  Very important for raising our profile and it is a home to come to.
 </li>
 <li>This Meeting and the meeting house have enriched my life spiritually and helped me strengthen my witness in the world.  Vision is to keep strengthening the spiritual life of the community and from here to continue to take it out in witness.  This needs to be even more focussed than it is.
 </li>
 </ol>
 <li>It is not just the adults who are concerned about the future of the property.  When one of the Friend’s children heard about the possibilty a move from 7VT there was an expression of ‘disbelief and sadness’.</li>
 </ol>
 </div>
 </div>
 <div id="friends_use">
-<h4>6.4.  <a name="friends_use">Appendix D: Friends’ use of 7 Victoria Terrace in 2008</a></h4>
+<h4>6.4.  <a name="friends_use">Appendix D: Friends use of 7 Victoria Terrace in 2008</a></h4>
 <dl>
 <dt><b><a name="January_2008">January 2008</a></b></dt><dd>
 <ul class="naked nolabel">
 <li>AM £224.50</li>
 <li>LM £91.50</li>
 </dd>
 </dl>
 <p><b>Subtotals for the year</b>: </p>
 <ul class="naked">
-<li><a name="Area_Meeting_festival"><b>Area Meeting festival</b></a>
+<li><b>Area Meeting festival</b>  £6548.00</li>
-  £6548.00</li>
+<li><b>Area Meeting other</b>  £2123.50</li>
-<li><a name="Area_Meeting_other"><b>Area Meeting other</b></a>
+<li><b>Local Meeting Meeting for Worship</b>  52 x £100 = £5200.00</li>
-  £2123.50</li>
+<li><b>Local Meeting other</b>  £1151.00</li>
-<li><a name="Local_Meeting_Meeting_for_Worship"><b>Local Meeting Meeting for Worship</b></a>
+<li><b>General Meeting</b>  £420.00</li>
-  52 x £100 = £5200.00</li>
+<li><b>Mid-week Meeting</b>  52 x £27.50 = £1430.00</li>
-<li><a name="Local_Meeting_other"><b>Local Meeting other</b></a>
-  £1151.00</li>
-<li><a name="General_Meeting"><b>General Meeting</b></a>
-  £420.00</li>
-<li><a name="Mid-week_Meeting"><b>Mid-week Meeting</b></a>
-  52 x £27.50 = £1430.00</li>
 </ul>
 <p><b>Grand total for the year</b>:£16,873</p>
 </div>
 <div id="refs">
 <h4>6.5.  <a name="refs">Other sources</a></h4>

Mercurial > hg > rsof

comparison 7vt/report.html @ 51:f019f69ec28c