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     </style><title>Future of 7 VT working group:  Fourth meeting</title></head><body style="font-family: DejaVu Sans, Arial; background: rgb(254,250,246)">
 <div style="text-align: center">
  <h1>Future of 7 VT working group:  Fourth meeting</h1>
  <div class="byline">This informal summary by Henry S. Thompson, Convenor</div>
  <div class="byline">Held at 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on 8 February 2009, 7:30 p.m.</div>
 </div>

  <div>
   <h2>1.  Attendance</h2>
   <p>Present: Alison Burnley, Anthony Buxton, Madeleine Harding, Ken Jobling, Phil Lucas,
 Brian Mayes, Laurie Naumann, Rufus Reade,
Eileen Schott, Henry Thompson (in the clerk's chair)</p>
  </div>
  <div>
   <h2>2.  Input from the co-Manager</h2>
   <p>Looking back, at the time of the original purchase, of the projected
250,000 GBP spend planned for upgrading the building only 150,000 GBP
was spent, and again in 1993 a review suggested some major work which wasn't done.</p>
   <p>Lettings have gone down this year because of the loss of two major lettings: The Traverse, who
moved to their own premises; and the City of Edinburgh, who have cut back on external training.
Prospects this year don't look great on that front.</p>
   <p>At interview, we were asked to "be a Quaker presence", and that's what we
try to do.  Our day begins at 0745, and the Meeting
House is often open until 2130 or 2200.  Sue and Anthony average about 60hrs/week, although only
contracted for 37.5.</p>
   <p>Staff costs increased this year in part because of the necessity of allowing for holiday pay for
part-time staff (in arrears).</p>
   <p>The Buxtons' vision for 7VT is as a centre for Quakers in Edinburgh or even in Scotland.  The
increase in visibility we have worked for is part of this:  making the entry to the ground floor and
the Festival Cafe more evidently Quaker.</p>
   <p>The Festival venue doesn't actually net any money: we're closed for six weeks as far as bookings
is concerned -- if we were not a venue, we <i>might</i> get income from e.g. rehersal space
lettings.  So overall we lose money for that six weeks, even though staff costs are lower, as we have four
venue managers (Sue, Anthony, Tom and Tam [as convenor of the Festival C'ttee], one of whom is always
on duty.  Only when Tam is on do we have staff cover as well.</p>
   <p>The cooking involved in the Festival Cafe has provoked the food hygiene changes, and are leading to the upgrade.  For tea and
coffee only, we could do without the kitchen upgrade.  A redesign there would enable a new letting
space.</p>
   <p>The kitchen upgrade is currently estimated at 30KGBP, the toilets 50KGBP.  Replacing the cookers
means adding ventilation, all stainless-steel.  Decontamination requires pressure hoses, with more impact.</p>
   <p>The kitchen does not play much into the lettings business, that is, not having a kitchen would
not have much if any impact on the lettings.  Anyone who wants lunch has a buffet (usually cold)
catered in.  The refreshment business is for teas and coffees.</p>
   <p>Cooking is crucial watershed: the "no kitchen" option would still allow dishwasher(s) and fridge(s).</p>
   <p>Alternatively, consider running a cafe continuously during the year.  This would of course have
an impact on the library.</p>
   <p>We are hopeful that the Victoria Terrace pavement will be re-opened
through to George the IVth Bridge by around Easter.</p>
   <p>Opening up access to the creche directly from the library would be about 5KGBP, we could also
look at breaking the internal wall down, adding built-in cupboards and a window.</p>
   <p>The toilets refit is aiming for five lady's cubicles (plus basins), two cubicles and two urinals for the men's</p>
   <p>Basic fabric and roof are in good state.  The windows are pending.  The hall is in good state,
and proving attractive to lettings.</p>
   <p>The meetingroom itself has access issues wrt catering, and we have been trying to get most
catering done on the 1st floor -- not all groups like this.  There is no water
or drainage on that side of the building.</p>
   <p>The windows project: it should be possible to get double-glazed vertically-hinged windows in the
Meeting Room and Hall, which
would mean we could get rid of the secondary windows and have proper ventilation.  We're hoping to have
this redesign done soon so that if we must do </p>
   <p>We could service/manage more letting with existing staffing levels if we had more rooms.</p>
   <p>Heating bill for the whole building was about 8KGBP last year, some heaters lack local
thermostats.  Solar or roof-based heat exchanger might be possible.  No costings are available for this.</p>
   <p>Fire regulations are now becoming an issue:  strictly speaking the maximum occupancy of rooms
above a single staircase is 60.  A safe refuge for wheelchair uses and lift sealing are also in the offing.</p>
   <p>The overall regulatory situation means anytime we do anything, we now have to do it to the top
standard demanded by fire, safety, health etc. regulations.  We are sometimes put in a difficult
position by this, for example, with respect to young Quaker residential groups, to whom strictly
speaking we should be saying "no".  If we break the rules, and an accident happens, we will be in
serious trouble.</p>
   <p>Staffing: Tom does 3 days a week, one of which is maintenance, and he
covers for Friday (Managers' day off) and holidays.  There are a further eight
0-hours contract staff who fill the rest on an <i>ad-hoc</i> basis.  We
do lose money if we open the building for just one group who are only using the
Bow Room, for which the charity rate is 10GBP/hour.</p>
   <p>The recession may be having an impact, with things quite quiet since
Christmas, except for some weeks when we are over-subscribed.  Wednesday is the
busiest day of the week, somewhat hampered by midweek Meeting.</p>
   <p>We can't compete with the big hotels and conference centres, and we don't
try.  Our primary lettors come from the voluntary sector.  Although they have
been hit by the recession, and the shrinkage of Lottery funding consequent on
the Olympics, we are looking at some hopeful prospects as well.</p>
   <p>We do have some groups with whom we have long-standing regular bookings, although not in the form
of say an annual contracts -- there are weekly discounts.</p>
   <p>6VT have enquired about letting the Bow Room on a long-term basis.</p>
   <p>We're not in a position (as say Dundee is) to do commercial lettings of a part of the building.</p>
   <p>Possible comparators: The Methodist Church in Nicholson Square; St. Mary's RC Cathedral</p>
   <p>We are now considered a "Quaker Centre".  Manchester, Liverpool, York,
Sheffield, Manchester, Swarthmore, Woodbrooke, Oxford (but they don't come to
the meetings convened to discuss common issues) are
others.  We are the only one in Scotland.  Glasgow and Dundee do some lettings, but without the overall
approach of a Centre.</p>
   <p>There are still ways we could be making more of the building, more signage, more window displays.
We don't have a permanent place for worship, which is unfortunate.  Not enough use is being made of the
Meeting House <i>by and for Quakers</i>.</p>
   <p>Trading Company to run the business: Friends House have done that, the Priory Rooms (Poole
Street, Birmingham) have done this.  Anthony would not like to go that way:
there is real tension in Poole Street, for instance, between the needs of the
AM and the business.</p>
   <p>Dundee Property Trust own the tenement with the Dundee Meeting House, and the property agent
on the ground floor.  Laurie Naumann has just become a trustee.</p>
   <p>Deciding what the right funding/ownership/management model is depends on
what footprint we want, whether we want a presence or just a venue for Meeting
for Worship.
Setting up a trading company when we're running at a deficit seems like a non-starter.</p>
   <p>Why aren't we running more Quaker study groups here? Why aren't more of our members doing more of
their Quaker-related business here? Our regular bookings do stop us being adventurous: we could have
had the whole Middle-Eastern festival here, if we hadn't had the load of our ongoing bookings.  We
could change the way we do bookings, shift from regular slots to blocks.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
   <h2>3.  Input from the Convenor of Fabric and Maintenance
C'ttee</h2>
   <p>Ken is a Trustee as well.  Trustees have decided that no major spending commitments can be made
(except for urgent matters) until this Working Group has reported and AM has come to some conclusions.
This puts real pressure on getting recommendations and decisions out of this review exercise as quickly
as possible.</p>
   <p>Trustees have passed two things as matters of priority to F&amp;M:</p>
   <ul>
    <li> ongoing roof access above the flat (e.g. wrt
gutters);</li>
    <li>priorities arising from the quinquennial review, i.e. things which had to be done very soon, for
example some of the West windows.</li>
   </ul>
   <p>At a Quaker Centres meeting last week we heard many similar stories to what Anthony said above.</p>
   <p>The possibility of establishing some official Scotland GM use of building was explored in 1995.  The
operation of Quaker Link Scotland from 7VT also happened around then.  The appointment of an admin.
assistant to GM was at first thought of as feeding into this, but partly because of the IVS lease on
the Bow Room, and partly because of opposition from elsewhere in GM, nothing came of it.</p>
   <p>There is a danger of getting bogged down in costs, while losing sight of the benefits of the place.</p>
   <p>We have been running on low reserves since, roughly, the establishment of the Kelso Meeting
House.  We can't look at the Meeting House in isolation.</p>
   <p>Other Quaker Centres have emphasised the need to have a clear vision in service of which the
financial plans are framed.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
   <h2>4.  Questionnaires</h2>
   <p>Anthony was dismayed at the questionnaire which was headed for lettings, at a time when the
client base is delicate, indeed frightened that it might scare people off.  None of the questionnaires
included anything about who the group is and what our remit is, or included the question of vision.
Eileen mentioned that the goal was to find out more about what made people come
back, or not.  Anthony pointed out that there
already is a satisfaction evaluation for letting clients.</p>
   <p>Brian suggested that the timing might be better once we have a better sense of what path we are
going down.</p>
   <p>Anthony thought that asking about alternative visions is the best way to get people's input.</p>
   <p>Anthony recommended only having <i>one</i> questionnaire, so that the results are
comparable.  Alison agreed that many of the questions should be the same, but the some questions were
only appropriate for some groups.</p>
  </div>
  <div>
   <h2>5.  Future topics</h2>
   <p>Need a tour of the building, next time (when Rufus is here).</p>
   <p>Developing alternative visions</p>
  </div>
  <div>
   <h2>6.  Next Meeting</h2>
   <p>Our next meeting will be on Sunday 22 February, 7:30 p.m. at 7 Victoria
Terrace.  We have tentatively set Sunday 8 March, same time and venue, for the
meeting after that.</p>
  </div>

</body></html>
author	Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
date	Thu, 17 Jun 2021 22:42:15 +0100
parents	babbcab08626
children