The Committee of the Kinloch Centre Action Group received good news this week when it was confirmed that we had received a Grant from the Lottery “Investing in Ideas ” fund to cover the costs of further research and study into the proof of need for the project and its widening remit .

“The Grant was applied for just before Christmas and we have had our fingers crossed since then” said Chairman Rodger Brunton. “We will be appointing a specialist Company to carry out this research on our behalf so that the next stage of Lottery Application can be made as fully as possible.  There are two stages to go with the Application and we have been told to make our next submission as good as we can.  There are about 90 applications refused for every one approved  so its vital to do all we can to impress and give them all the information they need.  There are lots of hoops to jump through to get the level of funding we need to make the Centre a reality.  This is just another one. It’s great to see the progress being made around our site with Angus Council’s Care Cluster buildings. We hope the Centre will be the Jewel in the Crown for the Kinloch Corner . “

Rodger and Alison Paget will stand-down from their positions as Chair and Vice-Chair at the forthcoming AGM to make way for ‘fresh faces’. They will however still remain very much involved with the Group as we strive towards our goal.

Rodger said, “I was glad to be able to give out some good news at my last Committee Meeting . There a long periods where there doesn’t seem to a lot happening , but the people of the Town should know that there are folk on the Committee giving a lot of their time beavering away for the good of the Town and for no personal gain . Thanks to them all for their help and perserverance over the past  years and with putting up with a Chairman with a wicked sense of humour “

The AGM takes place on Wednesday 28th March at 7pm in the Comrie. There will be an update on the Project and all those interested are very welcome to come along.

This year’s AGM will be held on Wednesday 28th March at 7pm in the Comrie Hall. Everyone is welcome to come along when there will be an update on the project and the election of the Committee for 2012 – 2013. 

Prior to the AGM, there will be an EGM on Monday 19th March at 6.30pm in the Burgh Chambers for the purpose of making minor changes to our constitution. It is proposed to remove the need for the accounts to be audited by a qualified accountant by substituting this with the scrutiny and ratification by a suitably qualified person. The amount of money held by CCAG does not justify an expensive audit to be carried out each year. Changes to the make-up and numbers of the Committee will also be proposed. All our Members are invited to come along.

The Kinloch Centre Project latest fund-raising quiz-nite will take place at the Craws Nest Function Lounge on Tuesday 21st February at 7.30pm. Entry is £10 for a team of four. Great prizes – all welcome.

AGM 2012

The CCAG 2012 AGM will be held on Wednesday, March 28th at 7pm in the Comrie Hall. Please feel free to come along.

The Station Hotel played host to our latest fund-raising venture last Friday evening, where an enthusiastic set of punters gambled the night away (all for a good cause you understand!)  Thanks to all those who turned-up on the night and managed to raise an amazing £1100, especially Andy Gilbride and Brian McCartney who seem to know an awful lot about racing!   A special thanks to our race sponsors: REMBRAND, I AND G MOTORS, MOSSDALE CHEMICALS [ SAM RUDDELL ], SOUTAR PRESERVATION, BRUNTON DESIGN STUDIO, IAN KYDD PLUMBING and CARNOUSTIE TYRES. Not forgetting the Station Hotel for the lovely stovies.

Hopefully we will be able to repeat the laughs and lengths, noses and near things in the near future, as we sprint towards our own finishing line.

Following much debate with Angus Council, the CCAG sign-board is now firmly inplace at the site of the proposed new hub for the Town. Now no-one can now say they weren’t aware where our new building was going to be built!

Gala Day went swimmingly well with many strawberries sold and some £507 raised for our coffers. Thanks to all who contributed in any shape or form. 

A Kinloch Centre Project quiz nite is sceduled for Monday 9th May in the Kinloch Hotel. As usual there will be lots of great prizes and no-doubt tricky questions posed by our quiz-master Rodger. Other fund-raising events planned include a stall at this year’s Gala Day, a street collection and a Race Night later in the year. Details will be posted here or on Kirsty’s gate in the High Street – so keep your eyes peeled!

Last Wednesday, the meeting at the Royal British Legion Function Room proved to be a very successful night for the Carnoustie Centre Action Group in getting information out to the public on the future of the Kinloch Centre Hub. There was a considerable turn-out for the presentation of the chosen concept plan by the two young architects from Nicoll Russell Studios, Broughty Ferry who offered a fascinating insight into the thinking behind their design. They believed that the building should be oriented towards the south allowing maximum exposure to the sun allowing for the garden/ open area for public performances and community events to get the best of the weather during the year.

Ron Woomble , one of the interviewing panel impressed by their practical attitude, explains: “ The Hub would be all on one floor in order to be as compact as possible, but still able because of the flexible use of space to accommodate the whole range of community activities being looked for by the Carnoustie public. Considerable pains will be exerted to provide the building with the latest technology in so far as energy sustainability is concerned. They have certainly taken into account the current financial climate”

 Alison Paget, another member of the interviewing panel emphasising the heritage aspect of the Centre stated, ”It will be done creatively and rather than a static space allocated, it will be woven into visual displays in and around the building.”

Provision will be made for a welcoming Reception Area, an attractive cafeteria, performance areas, areas for meetings for organisations, spaces to accommodate activities for children, and more specialised areas for an IT suite, a recording studio and possibly a dance studio. Nicoll Russell Studios have generously offered to do a number of presentations to interested local groups perhaps in the library over the summer in order to engage the wider Carnoustie public in this very exciting project and build up community support for it.

Please don’t think it’s too late to have your voice heard on what YOU, the Carnoustie residents want. The plan is conceptual and will without doubt change throughout the process of completion. Make your views known by visiting our website or come along to one of the forthcoming presentations

There will soon be an information board erected at the corner of our site to remind people of exactly where we hope to open YOUR new centre in 2013

A public presentation by the Kinloch Centre preferred chosen Architects, Nicoll Russell of Broughty Ferry, will take place in the Royal British Legion Function Suite at 7.30pm on Wednesday 23rd March. Please come along and hear about the proposals and let us know what you think.

The proposed Concept Plans of all four short-listed Arcitectural practices will be on display at the Library for the next couple of weeks. Have a look and leave your comments please.

You can also comment or submit your ideas at the Our Carnoustie website by clicking on the link below:

http://ourcarnoustie.ideascale.com/

It’s still not too late to influence the design!

The Carnoustie Centre Action Group took a significant step in bringing the new Kinloch Centre Project into realisation this week.  Eight architectural practices, one from as far afield as Ireland, tendered for the chance to design a concept for an exciting new Hub for Carnoustie. This number was narrowed to four architects who made their presentations to members of the CCAG on Monday at the Burgh Chambers. Chair of the group Alison Paget  said  “all the designs were exciting and involved an enormous amount of work far beyond what had been asked for, however we felt that Broughty Ferry  Architects, Nicoll Russell Studios best met the criteria we had set. They have long experience in working with charities such as ourselves and have been of great assistance in helping with funding arrangements for similar projects elsewhere. Not only are they a prestigious local firm, they have also designed comparable buildings as far apart as Stornoway and the south of England and countless places in between. The concept design is a starting point and will be altered by other considerations as we move towards fruition.”

Jim Simpson, CCAG secretary said,  “ We finally have a tangible design to take forward to the community for further input and ideas and I would urge the people of Carnoustie to come along to a presentation by Nicoll Russell Studios at our AGM on Wed 23rd of March at 7:30pm in the Royal British Legion Hall. The Kinloch Project will serve everyone in the community for years to come and its still not too late to have YOUR say”

The chosen preferred architect’s concept designs, along with the other short-listed proposals  will presently go on display in the Town and there will be further opportunities for the general public to make their views known.

Check out more views by clicking on ‘Concept Plans’ at the top of the page

Sorry there hasn’t been much news over the past 3 or 4 weeks – the Committee has been busy though, working behind the scenes to put in place the next exciting phase of the Project.

Just before Christmas, adverts were placed for Architects to submit a tender for a design to take the Project up to Planning stage. Four Architectural practices have now been shortleeted for the final selection process which will be happening before the end of the month – so we will, at last, have a  design proposal to move forward to the local community with. This design will also form the basis of the next stage in the long and complicated process of applying for lottery funding for the Project.

Many thanks to Colin Landsburgh of the Spar and Peter Burke of Fobel for stocking and selling our merchandise over the past few weeks and to everyone else who has contributed in any way to helping us raise funds. We couldn’t do it without your support!

MORE NEWS SOON ….