Mercurial > hg > rsof
view 7vt/report.xml @ 31:eb6844b9d4a4
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| author | ht |
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| date | Sun, 31 May 2009 17:30:05 -0400 |
| parents | 2921dc0465f3 |
| children | c62ef1450b11 |
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<?xml version='1.0'?> <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="../../../lib/xml/doc.xsl" ?> <!DOCTYPE doc SYSTEM "../../../lib/xml/doc.dtd" > <doc> <head> <title>Report to Area Meeting from the Future of Victoria Terrace Working Group</title> <title><emph color="red">DRAFT: contains contributions received through 17/5</emph></title> <author>Alison Burnley, Madeleine Harding, Phil Lucas, Brian Mayes, Eileen Schott, Henry S. Thompson</author> <date>31 May 2009</date> </head> <body> <div> <title>Background and Introduction: The remit of the Working Group</title> </div> <div> <title>Executive summary of work and conclusions</title> </div> <div> <title>The past</title> <div> <title>Origins</title> <p><emph>Why did we come to Victoria Terrace?</emph></p> <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> <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 and could not hear or see the rest of the meeting.</p> <p>The coffee room was a bit of a squash</p> <p>The children were in the basement in 3 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 room was very big and 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><name>Still to come:</name> Cost of 7VT and its refit</p> <p><emph>What have we gained from the move?</emph></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>The Meeting House is in a central position in the city, which means it is accessible to lots of people. Disabled access is more difficult at present with the nearby building work going on.</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> <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 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> </div> <div> <title>Building structure</title> <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. </p> <p> <emph> [Insert room plans from publicity leaflet] </emph> </p> <list> <item> <p> The second floor <name>Meeting Room</name> 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. </p> <p> The high <name>roof space</name> 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> </item> <item> <p> The first floor <name>Hall</name> had served as a gym during the Boys Brigade years and, except for redecoration, was substantially unchanged when we upgraded the building. Ceiling-hung scaffold bars for the suspension of theatre lighting and curtains were installed in 1995, from which theatre loudspeakers are also hung, with a transverse bar, wired for lighting, added some years later. The blue and yellow colour scheme of 1988 was replaced by a two-tone green scheme in 1997, when some of the wooden wall-barring, a gym feature, was removed, and this was replaced in turn by a neutral buff colour scheme in 2008, when a storage cupboard was added in the passage linking this room to the Library. </p> </item> <item> <p> The <name>Library</name> has been largely unchanged during the past 20 years apart from twice being redecorated and once re-carpeted. A decorative stained glass window has been added, given by Nancy Selkirk in memory of John, her husband, and made by their son. </p> </item> <item> <p> Little was spent on the <name>Kitchen</name> 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> </item> <item> <p> The <name>Bow Room</name>, 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. </p> </item> <item> <p> Little has been done to the double <name>Crèche</name> 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> </item> <item> <p> There are <name>two mezzanine floors</name> (not shown in the plans) in a flat-roofed extension behind the main building. The upper of these, above first floor level, houses <name>toilets</name>. 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 <name>small room</name>, 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> </item> <item> <p> The <name>Foyer</name> (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 , 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. </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 Belfast sink, in which the washing machine is now fitted. Off this is an <name>accessible toilet</name> 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> </item> <item> <p> The <name>managers' office</name>, situated between the foyer and the Bow Room, is quite small and has a timber-barrelled ceiling installed in the 1950s, when this style was in vogue. </p> </item> <item> <p> The Meeting House interleaves with the <name>adjacent tenement building</name>, 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. </p> <p> The spacious <name>top floor two-bedroomed flat,</name> 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> The <name>third floor flat</name>, 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. </p> </item> </list> </div> <div> <title>Outline history of building use</title> <p>QVS, (not) GMfS, Venue 40, AM and GM groups, Commercial/charitable letting; Wardens and Managers timeline</p> <p> The principal reasons which led to the decision to purchase the Victoria Terrace building were: </p> <list type="enum"> <item> 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.</item> <item>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.</item> <item>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.</item> </list> <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> <title>Early developments in Meeting House use</title> <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> <title>Use of the Meeting House and income from lettings develop</title> <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> <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 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> </div> <div> <title>Quaker Link Scotland</title> <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 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 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 Scotland thus disappeared. </p> </div> <div> <title>Venue 40 – the Festival Fringe</title> <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 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> <title>Recent developments </title> <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>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> </div> <div> <title>Outline financial history</title> </div> </div> <div> <title>The present</title> <div> <title>Building use</title> <p>MfW, QGroups, lettings: rough breakdown by hours and days of week</p> <p>Including information from questionnaires</p> <div> <title>Summary of input from Quaker Groups which use the Meeting House</title> <p>See Questionnaire ?? in Appendix ??</p> <p>People felt they were not entirely dependant on Victoria Terrace but for meetings it was felt to be accessible, convenient and the "right" place to meet. Good access by public transport.</p> <p>Disabled access is difficult at present but will improve when the building work on the Terrace has finished.</p> <p>Victoria Terrace was felt to be "our spiritual home". Meeting there creates, through the silence, an atmosphere of 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 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.</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> <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> <title>Building staff and management</title> <p>AM, Trustees, Fabric & Maintenance, [Managers' support group?]</p> <p>Managers, Ass't Mgr, as-required staff</p> </div> <div> <title>Building finances</title> </div> </div> <div> <title>The future</title> <div> <title>Practicalities</title> <div> <title>Stay in Victoria Terrace</title> <div> <title>Do Less</title> <p> One option would be to do less than at present. That could mean reducing the hours that the building is open </p> <p>   </p> <list> <item> The Meeting House office is open 9.00 to 5.00 daily </item> <item> The building is currently open to the public from  9.00 a.m. to 9.30/10.00 p.m. Monday to Friday depending on bookings and 9.30 to 5.00 p.m. on Saturday depending on bookings </item> <item> Sundays – 10.00 -3.00 for Quaker use. Bookings may be taken for 3.00 to 5.00 p.m. </item> </list> <p> Several staff work flexibly to cover these periods. </p> <p> Reasons for reducing the opening hours : reducing costs- heating, lighting and staff cover and reducing wear and tear on the fabric of the building </p> <p> Reasons for not reducing opening hours: reduced lettings and reduced income, </p> <p> reduced facilities for Quakers and non-Quakers using the building and reduced opportunities for outreach. </p> <p> Note - Lettings are down on previous years and staff costs are higher. </p> <p> Hospitality, information and outreach: the Meeting House is centrally located and attracts many visitors – reduced opening hours would limit contact with the public, it may affect bookings if enquiries are not answered in person (rather than on-line or by leaving a message on an answer-phone) and may reduce first-timers coming to Meeting for Worship. </p> <p> Other alternatives – all of which would reduce costs, reduce income and contact with the general public, visitors, newcomers and passers-by therefore reducing outreach opportunities. </p> <list> <item> Reduce activities to Quaker activities only – this would reduce opening hours and lettings and increase costs per capita. </item> <item> The Rain Forest Café - the café could go and/or drinks and snacks alone could be provided for visitors. </item> <item> The Meeting House as a Festival Venue – events/opening hours could be reduced and income would be reduced. </item> <item> Reduce or cancel Christmas lunch and other social activities involving the preparation of food and serving of food and drink. </item> </list> <p> It is clear from our initial consultations that radical changes would change the nature of the Meeting and affect the users of the building. </p> </div> <div> <title>Steady On</title> <p> The meeting could continue to be open for Quaker and non-Quaker activities but we could look for savings and raise money to meet the cost of essential maintenance and upgrading of facilities. </p> <list> <item> The kitchen does not meet Health and Safety standards to prepare and serve meat to the public. An alternative is to serve vegetarian food only and ask for donations from the public. </item> <item> We could plan for the future to include a schedule of works - upgrading basic facilities - the windows, toilets, heating and consider what is required to improve the layout of the rooms and food preparation facilities as they affect members of the meeting and lettings. </item> </list> <p> The group looked at selling the building, renting premises and relocating to the outskirts of the city and these are not viable options. </p> </div> <div> <title>Do More</title> <p> The Quakers and non-Quakers who responded to our questionnaire and Worship Sharing sessions said they value the building, its central location and what is available in the Meeting House. Successive Meeting House Managers have continually improved the appearance of the Meeting House. Doing more in the Meeting House and with the Meeting House could include </p> <list> <item> Offering more activities/learning opportunities on Quaker concerns to Quakers and non-Quakers </item> <item> Offering more activities/learning opportunities on Quaker Faith and Practice and other aspects of Quakerism–past and present </item> <item> Becoming an information centre on Quakers in Scotland </item> <item> Becoming a national resource for Quakers in Scotland </item> <item> Becoming a centre for groups sharing similar values. </item> </list> <p> There are probably many more visions for the Meeting House and a strategy for fund raising on a larger scale would need to be put into operation. </p> </div> </div> <div> <title>Leave Victoria Terrace</title> <list> <item>Own premises (build/refit/share)</item> <item>Hire premises (Sole tenant/share)</item> </list> <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 display windows and no involvement in the Festival. These would therefore be looked for in any alternative</p> <p>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 also the two flats. [see sections ]</p> <list type='enum'> <item>Minimum accommodation for our own use only would be: <list> <item>1 Meeting Room</item> <item>1 Children's Room</item> <item>Library</item> <item>Kitchen (for heating up only)</item> <item>Lavatories</item> <item>Office (?)</item></list></item> <item>Preferably, for our own needs and possible lettings or sharing, we would be looking for: <list> <item>2 Meeting Rooms</item> <item>2 Children's Rooms</item> <item>Kitchen (for cooking)</item> <item>Library</item> <item>Lavatories</item> <item>2 Committee rooms</item> <item> Office</item> </list></item> </list> <p>A central location would be in the area bounded by High Street to Queen Street and Queensferry Street. to Leith Street.</p> <p>Alternatively, we might have more that one Meeting House to replace Victoria Terrace; this would mean no central Edinburgh Meeting. Possible areas would include 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' occupants in order that we can arrange mid-week or evening meetings, and have some say over publicity displays and lettings. We would wish 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 other those of the Meeting Room.</p> </div> </div> <div> <title>The Vision</title> <p>What do we want: summary of options, from our discussions and open meetings</p> <p>From the returned questionnaires and the discussions we have had it would seem that the majority of users of the premises would prefer to remain in Victoria Terrace if this is financially possible. </p> <p>It is felt that we should be in the centre of Edinburgh for a number of reasons, such as the 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 recognize us as a Scottish Quaker Centre. Indeed, there 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. The doubts are about finance and the Festival.</p> </div> <div> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>How the practicalities and the vision fit (or don't). What does AM do next. . .</p> </div> </div> <div> <title>Appendices</title> <p>Material we've gathered (what do we keep back?)</p> </div> </body> </doc>