Probing Questions Raised Through Youth Initiative Funding Considerations

Firstly there is the very general issue of inclusiveness and sharing which is relevant to so many local activities - from use of the river to use of Victoria Park, the Birks Cinema and the Locus Centre. With a small population and limited resources it is essential that the physical resources we have are open to effective use by as wide a constituency as possible with no one use being detrimental to others.

Locus Building

That leads on to a specific resource, namely the Locus Centre. This building bang in the centre of town should be a thriving hub of everything to do with the Community of Aberfeldy. It was a most imaginative concept and had a very great deal of money spent on it whereby it should provide everything the community could wish for. Whenever I go into it I am depressed by the lack of buzz and activity and there seems to be no effort made to actively market or manage it or engage with the community to make them aware of what is available and to find out how they would like to use the marvellous facilities.

I would like to propose that the Locus Centre re-engages with the community by

* first of all being much more open about how it is owned,
* what the aims and objectives are of the owner,
* how those aims and objectives are being promulgated, and
* what facilities are available at what cost.
It would also be good for there to be regular reports on progress and publication of accounts and names of people involved. It was, after all, public or charitable money for the most part that funded its creation, so it is not unreasonable for the public to require to be kept informed.

Policing

My final issue is the lack of Police presence and their manifest failure to have any engagement or connection with the community. Whilst I cannot profess to be in Aberfeldy that much what I have seen when I am there and what I hear from people who are there regularly, leads me to believe that a Policeman is as rare on the street as a grouse is on the hill. They may be seen occasionally in a vehicle or at the police house but that doesn’t achieve a relationship with the community and makes them as remote as a Mumbai call centre. I am sure PC Russell Burgess has good intentions, but it is leadership and the system that is seemingly blind to what really needs doing.

Active Partnership Needed

Our Family Foundation has a prime commitment to grant aid disadvantaged young persons and education, and we would like to continue to support the youth initiative which we founded. But we want to do so not in isolation, but in active partnership with other organisations representing all ages and activities who can share resources.

In all the locations I have mentioned – the River, Victoria Park, The Birks Cinema and the Locus Centre plus the Old Town Hall and soon the Library, there is the ability to harness those resources for every age group and every interest. What is needed is a willingness on the part of all specific interests to think inclusively.

Locus Response
The board of Locus was pleased to respondas follows:
The Locus Centre is owned and managed by Locus Breadalbane Ltd - a registered charity - whose properly recorded accounts are, of course, open to anyone interested and publicised at our Annual General Meeting which is of course open to the public.
The current Board of Directors are Mrs. Kate Conway (Chair), Mr. Anthony Blythe, Rev. Irene Miller and Mr. David Grieve. The Company Secretary is Mr. Colin Liddell of J & H Mitchell.
The aims and objectives of Locus Breadalbane are exactly the same as Mr. Campbell is promoting in his article - namely the co-operative development of all or any local community projects, needs and interests and we are grateful to see him adding his voice to this cause.
To those ends the conversion of the building (graciously gifted to the community through Locus Breadalbane Ltd. by the former Congregational Church) to a then much-needed state of the art Information Technology facility was proposed, and we were delighted to receive Lottery funding to facilitate same.

Struggle

However, it is not generally recognised that such funding is only given for capital investment - such as the conversion itself - and there is no further available funding whatsoever for administration, marketing, maintenance or other expenses.
Locus Breadalbane Ltd, in common with all other voluntary and community organisations, has consequently had to struggle for further finance and has only in the last year or two begun to see even a small profit from our office rentals. This profit, by our constitution, must be and is ploughed back into our aims and purposes. We have never had any spare money for serious marketing of the building and we have been very dependent on our local news sheets, notice boards etc who have given us sterling service, but whose providers will be first to admit are not necessarily always given the attention they deserve by many in the community. We have also been largely overtaken by the development of IT in other quarters.
In addition Perth College, whom we had hoped would make their premises in the Locus Centre the hub of out-of-school education in our Upper Tay Area, were, by their own financial constraints unable to do so. Heartland fm, for whom we created a radio studio also have the same problems and were unable to take the studio up.

Current Users
The following organisations are currently using the Locus Centre: Highland Perthshire Community Partnership; Highland Perthshire Youth Initiative; Visit Scotland Tourist Information Centre; A local business promoting a major interest in the area; The Film Society; The lona Worship Group; The Citizens Advice Bureau; Tai Chi and other classes; Various clubs and associations use the auditorium as meeting place.
We were also happy to provide a place of worship for the Roman Catholic Congregation whilst their church was being rebuilt and to another relegious organisation. The Mental Health Services have put on a training conference in the Locus Centres recently and we would hope to see more of that sort of use by the Council and other agencies. The auditorium lends itself well to this sort of conference. Various fund-raising events by local organisations have also been held. The small offices have been rented by a number of persons needing temporary accommodation.
The original intention of the auditorium was to facilitate speakers from elsewhere ‘coming to Aberfeldy’ via the webcam network to enable small conferences, seminars etc to take place here in Highland Perthshire. This concept has not appeared, as yet to catch on and we are now promoting the use of the auditorium for non technological meetings and have provided tea and coffee making facilities for that purpose. This is not in competition but to supplement other small meeting places in Aberfeldy. We have ourselves recently embarked on providing a series of monthly public lectures, but uptake has been very limited.

Availability

A full list of facilities and equipment for hire, with costs, along with auditorium hire charges - with reduced rates for local voluntary and charitable organisations - is available from our office in the building which we share with HPCP.
The office on the first floor recently vacated by Perth College is available for long term rent.
We are only too pleased to welcome people to the centre but as we do not have a full time staff it may seem nothing is happening but as you can see from above we are endeavouring to reach out to everyone as much as possible and we would be delighted for more people to make use of this community building. Locus would also welcome some new Directors to help us develop the building for the community further. How about it Mr. Campbell?

NOTE:

An Open Evening will be held in the Locus Centre from 7.00pm on Thursday 21 September for people interested in learning more about the background, ownership and use of the Locus Centre