CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT 

November 2023 

 

This report will focus on the progress we have made and significant events in the last fourteen months since September 2022. 

 

The last year has not been without challenges however there is progress with the plans to renovate and update the hall 

 

 

CHARITABLE STATUS, TRUSTEES AND MEMBERS 

 

In June 2020, the Barbour Memorial Hall achieved charitable status. We became an SCIO (a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation). 

 

Our organisation has two tiers: Members and Trustees.  

 

Our constitution explains these roles: 

 

THE MEMBERS – who have the right to attend members’ meetings (including any annual general meeting) and have important powers under the constitution; in particular, the members appoint people to serve on the board and take decisions on changes to the constitution itself. 

 

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES – who hold regular meetings, and generally control the activities of the organisation; for example, the board is responsible for monitoring and controlling the financial position of the organisation. 

 

A copy of our constitution can be found on the website: 

 

www.barbourhall.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Barbour-Memorial-Hall-Constitution.pdf 

 

 

We are entitled to 11 trustees; at present we have 9: 

 

These are:  

 

Alice Wilson (chairperson, from September 2023), Gill Lines (treasurer), Joyce Donnelly (secretary), Elizabeth Anderson, John Anderson, Lynda Anderson, Jeanna Baxter, Brenda Craik and Robert Wilson.  

 

This year two valuable Trustees have stepped down (Gerry Donnelly and Malcolm Laurie), their contribution and energy will be sorely missed. I would like to extend my thanks to both of them in recognition of their hard work. 

 

Several trustees have assumed particular responsibilities e.g. hall bookings, funding applications etc. 

 

We are now able to build the membership element of our organisation. A simple application form has been created and is available on line as well as at Barbour Memorial Hall events.  

 

We will continue to promote the benefits of membership and seek to sign up as many people in the local community that we can. We are in the process of reviewing the membership to ensure we keep contact with members and have a clear understanding of numbers. 

This community membership supports our funding applications by showing the support within the area to improve the hall for future use. 

 

In July 2023 we were successful in having the ownership of the hall transferred to the village from the descendants of the original trustees. 

 

USE OF THE HALL 

 

The Hall committee and local community has been making good use of the hall again this year after a few quiet years during and post Covid surges. 

 

The following groups meet regularly at the hall;  

Barbour Hall SCIO,  

Allotment committee 

Nith Estuary Haaf Netter Association 

WRI and  

Caerlaverock Community Association 

The local primary school makes good use of the hall and the Post Office continues to offer a twice weekly service.  

 

The Hall was used for a variety of activities, including; 

A coronation picnic on 7th May, hosting the Creative Caerlaverock three-day event on 26-28th January and Nith Life Community Visioning workshop on 1st July, the Barbour Hall table top sale on 13th August as well as the all-day Nithraid event on 2nd September and a MacMillan coffee morning on 29th September  

We were delighted to see the UCI world championships in our village and the hall provided a base for those working at the event. 

It has also been booked for private parties and used by local politicians for surgeries and we have tested the use of the hall for a warm hub and badminton club. 

 

A number of regular events have now either been restarted or introduced; 

The ever-popular soup social has taken place over winter 2022 and is currently ‘resting’ whilst renovations are taking place.  

 

The Film Club (in association with Driftwood Cinema) has continued in the winter months, with the addition at most screenings of a food truck or van. The hall is open early to allow those attending the films to also eat in the hall in a community setting. While we still have some funding from Driftwood there is a requirement for us to cover most costs going forward which means we do need  to look to increase attendance  

 

The monthly (first Sunday of the month) traditional music session has continued and is a popular draw locally, with fantastic musicians attending. 

 

 

CREETOWN INITIATIVE 

 

At the beginning of 2021 we engaged the services of Creetown Initiative Consultancy to support us with our project and to ensure we had the best professional advice moving forward with our enterprise. CIC (now trading as Barholm Enterprise Ltd) were set up to support and advise on projects designed to improve the lives of rural communities.  

 

The company came to us highly recommended and with a proven track record of success in helping projects and supporting them in their fundraising and we had an agreed plan to support us with the following: 

 

• Community Consultation (paper survey and online, plus one to one interviews). 
• Governance Study. 
• Agree capital works with us and agree costs supplied by client. 
• Develop funding strategy. 
• Develop and create a Business Plan. 
• Action the funding strategy. 

• Help the group increase capacity and long-term sustainability. 
• Increase our contacts and potential partners which would support long-term sustainability. 
• Advise us on the contractor’s selection and tender process 

 Whilst the plan was helpful, we disengaged with the company as they were unable to meet their commitments to us. In their place we have employed Kathy McMillan who is a local resident and who has extensive experience in a range of areas including shaping business plans, fund raising applications and strategic planning. Under her guidance the SCIO has made excellent progress in laying the groundwork for the future development of the hall and the community. 

 

FUNDRAISING 

Fundraising continues throughout the year, with the Trustees leading events such as the table top sale and Christmas Fayre as well as the film events. 

In addition to this we have applied for a number of funding opportunities and a report is appended to this paper. 

All activities at the hall go directly into funds with the sole purpose of benefitting the community and improving the hall.  

 

BUILDING SURVEY  

 

One of the key aims of the committee is to repair, upgrade and modernise the hall into a venue and meeting place of which the community can be proud. In recent years, there has been some significant deterioration in areas of the hall 

 

In 2020 we engaged McGowan Miller Building Consultants to carry out a building condition survey. This report was produced in October 2020 and it is worth repeating the key findings (in terms of issues requiring actions) from the report, which were; 

1. The external walls, particularly at the front, require significant remedial work due to the poor quality of brickwork and pointing. 

1. There is significant water ingress in the front left and right flat roofed outshoots which will be only partly remedied by the re-rendering of the front elevation. 

1. The old changing rooms are in a dilapidated state and there is danger of dry rot spreading to the main building. The future of this later addition to the hall is uncertain. 

1. Damage to the roof caused when the old slates were replaced by concrete tiling (a structural engineer will need to assess). 

1. To comply with the Equality Act of 2010, ramps will need to be added at all stepped entrances. 

At around the same time, we also commissioned reports on asbestos, drainage and electrics. Each report highlighted improvements required but each issue could be classed as minor to moderate and not serious. 

 

 

IMPROVEMENTS 

 

A number of discussions and consultations have taken place to ascertain the improvements that the committee and the community would like to see. Reference has been made to this in the summary above. 

 

Improvements that are decided upon will need to be done incrementally and a priority plan will need to be agreed. This work is in progress and, as previously noted, the committee has employed an independent consultant to support and lead this work and develop both a strategy and plan for the improvements and the required funding. 

This is a fundamental piece of work which will give a blueprint for future developments and which will be completed using information collected from the community and the committee  

 

There is a start to the improvement of the hall, with upgrade to the toilets underway and we are planning an upgrade to the kitchen area, including new units and easier access  

The upgrades will make the hall more attractive for use while we plan and fundraise for future developments 

 

We have also employed a cleaner, Pat McDonald, for the hall to help improve and maintain standards and her work is really obvious to committee members. 

 

COMMUNICATION 

 

Since 2020 we have worked hard to improve our communication with the community through our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/barbourmemorialhall and dedicated website: www.barbourhall.co.uk as well as leaflet drops and posters  

 

We are populating the website gradually with key documents and information. The website includes a calendar of events, a booking form and up to date news on happenings in and relating to the hall. 

 

NEXT STEPS 

 

• Continue to build the membership base in the community and harness the potential, where applicable, to supporting hall function. 
• Finalise business plan and funding strategy. 
• Evaluate the best way to ensure community involvement and collegiality at each step of the process. 
• Continue to seek ways of extending events and provision for the local community. 

 

Despite the challenges of the last few years, the Trustees believe we are making progress towards the aspiration of having a modern hall that is an asset to the community. 

 

 

A Wilson  

November2023