THE CORNHILL 0N TWEED CENTRE

March 2020

Rationale for establishing a company

• company established with one director - Martin Devon (MD) and two members - David Richmond (DR), Elizabeth Devon (ED acting secretary);
• MD and ED attended the Alnwick Funding Fair. They spoke to various funding organisations including The National Lottery Community Fund, Awards for All, The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the NCC Community Chest. The latter intimated that money would be available;
• company letterhead and an email address were organised;
• ED wrote emails to possible tenants for the units (refer to status report below);
• draft of Heads of terms agreed with Cornhill Parish Council (CPC).
• Local Needs Analysis was written by members of CPC.

March status report for CPC

April, May, June 2020

(little progress because of lockdown caused by Coronavirus pandemic)

• ED produced a digital plan of the building from the only very poor photocopy available;
• MD divided the building into 6 rentable units, a community space and toilet block; The approximate sizes of the units were calculated and a rough idea of rental charges was added.
• efforts were made to identify further directors and members - Duties of Company Director;
• ED sent further emails to the possible prospective tenants for the building. However, no-one was able to commit because of the pandemic although two of the units were provisionally reserved.

April status report for CPC
May/June status report for CPC

July 2020

• two more directors were appointed, William Carrington (WC) and Stephen Wright (SW);
• discussions were held by Barbara Richmond (BR) with Iain Hedley (IH) representative from NCC;
• following Iain’s suggestions, the company’s Articles of Association were amended by MD according to NCC criteria and returned to Iain. Later these were formally adopted
• ED began to draft ‘Policies and procedures’; these have yet to be finalised and agreed by the Board.

August 2020

• ED wrote this website so that the members of the Board and of CPC would have easy access to all the documents without the need for printing them out. The site is password protected;
• ED continued writing drafts of the Policies and Procedures;
• MD discovered that both the electricity and water had been permanently disconnected from the school in April/May 2018 around the time of Gleeson’s plans for development. It is not clear who authorised this but it will involve extra expense for re-connection, probably involving digging up the road. On August 4th, MD spoke to both SP Networks and Crown Energy. Ella Johnson from the latter was the most helpful; she will prepare provisional costing for reinstatement of electricity and will liaise with Northumbrian Water.
• Fire safety - On August 4th, MD contacted Peter Brayley, NCC building control surveyor. In the loft spaces, fire curtains suspended over the walls between units will be sufficient. As each unit has an exterior door, doors to the central area need not be fire doors.
• Schedule of Works for the initial conversion of the former school to rentable units was constructed (MD). No structural work is needed. Closing off Units 3 and 4 will cut daylight in the central public area so MD will allow for some Velux-type roof lights.
• MD marked the route of the electricity connection on a plan and sent it to Crown Energy. Usually small premises are connected to one phase of electricity but the school has three. The 10mm² cables can each carry 60A giving a total capacity of 45kVA which is sufficient for all the units.

Site meeting, 7th August  present: IH, MD, BR, DR, ED and Stevie Lackenby (SL), a local builder. IH provided the key to the building. MD and SL surveyed the whole using the plans and MD’s specifications. SL will provide a cover price for the refurbishment.
IH noted that, once more, illegal entry had occurred with smashed bottles etc. He noticed a hatch to the roof space had been opened and wondered if access had been via the roof. He will report this to NCC and the police who took fingerprints from the bottles the last time this happened.

Company meeting, 11th August - Minutes of the meeting. Oliver Wright was appointed as a director of the company on 13th August.

PC meeting, 13th August  This was a closed meeting for PC members only to discuss how CCAL meets the evaluation criteria. These criteria were written by the PC in August 2019 to assess potential partners for the development of the school site. Chair of the PC pointed out that not only must CCAL satisfy the requirements of NCC but also of the PC. Report from that meeting was circulated to the company members. Many of the queries raised could have been answered at the meeting by a representative from CCAL.

14th August  MD measured all the outer doors of the old school and sent the dimensions to Crawfords Joinery Ltd in Berwick for an indicative price for replacements.

Structural report  MD updated the report he wrote for the CPC’s Prospectus in August 2019.

Cover price for refurbishment  MD wrote an estimated cover price for the project.

CCAL’s Proposal to develop Cornhill First School building  A formal proposal for the development of the school building was written and finalised on 22nd August. All directors’ comments were incorporated and also CCAL’s responses to CPC’s feedback from the meeting on August 13th.

Extra points to add to the Proposal
• Internet provision: the village is fortunate in having level 2 fibre-optic facilities giving a download speed up to 70Mb/s. It is possible therefore to share this, with simple ethernet hardware between the units, at a basic cost of around £7 per month per unit.
• add designated car parking spaces for the disabled.

28th August Iain Hedley, representing NCC, met members of CCAL for a virtual ‘Strategy Day’ meeting. The purpose of this meeting was for Iain to ascertain that the company has all the correct documentation and procedures in place to be able to take on the CAT with CPC. There were drawbacks to a virtual meeting and forms which CCAL members would normally have filled in at the time and which would then be analysed by Iain will have to be done at a second meeting.

September 2020

4th September The second virtual ‘Strategy Day’ meeting was held. CCAL offered a solution to acquiring the freehold; Iain said this should be included in the CAT application form. There was some discussion about SWOTs. CCAL members show a varied and comprehensive set of strengths. Steve pointed out that a major weakness is that the company has no proven track record. He also commented that with the transfer of the building, CCAL would look for a capital injection from NCC or one of its funding arms.

9th September The third and final virtual ‘Strategy Day’ meeting was held. Iain presented the results of the completed governance and skills forms. The ten aspects where someone in the company should take the lead were discussed and all were agreed easily.
The Strategy Sessions Report was sent by Iain on 22nd September.

17th September - quotation of £18991 for reinstatement of the electricity was received. The cost of re-connecting the water is not yet known. Electricity and water were “permanently” disconnected in 2018. Gleeson Homes were proposing to buy the site for development. That company instructed Scottish Power networks to “permanently” disconnect the electricity supply. “Permanently” is emphasised as it implies destruction of the connections, not merely de-energising the supply cables. SP Networks’ Terms and Conditions assume that any applicant has the agreement of the owner either of the land or the premises.
In this context, Cllr Glen Sanderson was asked to investigate what actually happened. It appears that NCC gave permission to Gleeson Homes on condition that it was at Gleesons’ risk in the event that the sale did not proceed, which, of course, it did not.
CCAL will therefore approach Gleeson Homes through NCC to recover the the costs of reinstatement.

21st September CCAL sent the company responses on the CAT application form to the Clerk of CPC plus thirteen attachments. All of this will be required by the CPC in order for it to complete the CAT form by the end of September. Letters of support for the proposal are being received by ED. They will all be compiled and sent to the CPC as another attachment. Several versions of the letters of support document have been sent to CPC as more letters of support were received. These are available on request.

CCAL members were pleased to hear that the CAT form was sent to NCC by their deadline of the end of September.

October, November 2020

10th November - virtual CPC meeting. The status report for October and up to 9th November was prepared and circulated to CCAL members and the members of the former Cornhill Community Action Group whose activities are now under the umbrella of CCAL. It was presented at the meeting.

16th November - Iain raised a query from the NCC panel who are considering the CAT application. With CPC and CCAL members agreement, MD sent a revised version of the Heads of Terms to the Parish Clerk in response to the query. This was sent to Iain on 16th.

December 2020

9th December - The CPC received a letter from Iain Hedley to say that outline approval of the transfer of the school to CPC has been agreed subject to satisfactory negotiations about terms with Strategic Estates. Outline approval

18th December - A CCAL meeting was held via zoom. The minutes were finally agreed by January 11th 2021. Minutes of meeting

January 2021

13th January - A company status report from 9th November to 13th January was reported at the CPC meeting - Status report

February 2021

18th February - A CCAL meeting was held via zoom. The minutes were agreed by email. Minutes of meeting

March 2021

2nd March - Following queries from both Steve and William, Paul Urwin, Head of Strategic Estates, NCC, apologised for the delay and sent proposed Heads of Terms to the PC.

4th March It was decided to change the meeting scheduled for 8th March to 4th to discuss the Heads of Terms - minutes. A final response was sent from the PC on 23rd March.

10th March A company status report from 13th January to 10th March was reported at the CPC meeting - Status report

16th March The PC received a letter from Reuben Morgan from NCC confirming the grant from Councillor Roderick Lawrie of £19,000. MD wrote a reply which was sent from the PC on 23rd March.

April, May 2021

20th April Tony Kirsop, Community Regeneration manager, from NCC submitted our application to change CCA from a limited company to a charitable incorporated organisation. Forms were filled in and explanations of the project sent.

2nd May Heads of terms agreed by Paul Urwin, Senior Surveyor, Strategic Estates, NCC. NCC has made formal applications to Gleesons for the reconnection of services. Paul Urwin has instructed NCC’s solicitor to prepare a draft transfer which will be forwarded for comment.

4th May - ongoing NCC Planning department was contacted about the change of use. Negotiations are taking place.

19th May Confirmation was received that CCA is now a CIO which should make it easier for us to obtain funding. The former directors and members of the company are now trustees of CCA. With the agreement of the directors, CCAL will now be dissolved. Agreement was subsequently obtained. Please note - reference should now be made to CCA and not CCAL

20th May A CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting - Status report

June, July 2021

7th June ‘pre-application’ for planning was made to NCC to determine whether CCA needs planning permission in the context that the use has been determined by a public meeting and ratified by CPC. Acknowledgement from NCC stated that the matter was passed on to the North Area Team and a reply was to be expected by 5th July. This was delayed because there was no precedent for a change of use from a school. At first, it seemed that separate planning applications would be needed for each unit but until the building is refurbished and advertised, the future tenants are not known. The refurbishment cannot be carried out until we have the CAT and that cannot be formalised until we have planning permission.

23rd June The application to dissolve Cornhill Community Action Ltd was accepted by Companies House.

7th July Bank of Scotland/Lloyds Group finally agreed to our CCA charity bank account. This should be set up soon.

15th July CCA status report was submitted at the CPC meeting - Status report

27th July Formal planning application sent to NCC. The problem was solved by the agreement that the project was a ‘minor development’.

August 2021

17th August AL sent the completed charity bank account application forms to Bank of Scotland/Lloyds group. The bank account should be active in about five weeks.

September 2021

7th September The formal draft transfer was received by CPC from Paul Stevens, Solicitor, NCC Legal Services.
9th September A CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting - Status report
13th September Results from NCC Planning department due - delayed as waiting for a report from ‘Ecology’
13th and 14th September The Cornhill Centre flyers were distributed around Cornhill and Donaldson's Lodge. All comments received are being recorded by ED and sent to CPC.
15th September MD finished reading through and making notes on the draft transfer received from NCC. The notes were sent to Mark Pentecost of Sanderson. McCreath and Edney, solicitors, and to CPC
MD received notification from Paul Stevens of NCC that the Secretary of State has given approval for the CAT.

October 2021

4th October Results of Pre-Planning Application received. It is 26 pages long but its conclusion states that “Having considered the content of your enquiry, I can summarise that the principle of the development would be acceptable. The proposals are considered to be in accordance with the development plan. In the event that a planning application is submitted, it would be likely to be looked upon favourably.” With the approval of CPC, MD will go through it all.

26th October CCA trustees meeting was held via Zoom - Minutes

November 2021

3rd November A meeting was arranged with Paul Smith (electrician in Cornhill) to discuss the possibility of changing the school's old oil boiler for ground or air source heating. Paul has been involved with the installation of a number of these and said that the costs both of installation and running are too high to make it viable. Electricity bills can be anything between £12 and 18,000 per quarter. With air source, if the temperature drops below 5°C, then no heat can be extracted and immersion heaters take over.
8th November After much negotiation, many emails and telephone calls, MD submitted the final Planning application.
9th November Because nothing had been heard from Bank of Scotland/Lloyds Group, AL contacted them to be told that no application had been received (sent in August); it must have been lost in the post. AL then contacted Royal Bank of Scotland and sent in application forms.
11th November Iain Hedley from NCC took the key to the school to SW (as chair of CPC)
11th November A CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting - Status report.
Cornhill Events Team, CET report was also given. A great deal of work has been done on the Festive Lights for the village this year.
12th - 19th November MD made a detailed appraisal of the work needed at the school. Much equipment and many exercise books have been left. In fact the place is in an appalling mess following Gleesons investigations searching for non-existent asbestos. On Iain's advice some of the usable items have been offered to Norham school. Many contractors have been contacted and those interested came into the building to assess the work.
22nd November ED, Teresa Culbertson and Joan Manuel met at the school and started sorting out all the material that had been left. They sorted it into items suitable for Norham School (agreed with Iain Hedley of NCC), items for charity and odds and ends which Chrissy Caley can use with the children in her after-school club. Over the next few weeks, these items were gradually removed and re-distributed.
27th November An application for approval under the Building Regulations was sent to NCC.
29th November The various documents needed for the ‘plan’ element were sent to NCC Building Control
30th November A CCA update was sent to the trustees.

December 2021

3rd December MD put together the complete estimates received for the various aspects of the conversion work and sent them to SW.
8th December Colin Hardy advised by email that he understood that Gleesons had agreed to re-connect the services subject proper costing. Paul Urwin thought a site meeting of the various parties would be a good idea but did not set a date.
31st December MD found on the NCC website two planning documents containing conditions on the planning approval. He sent a response to this to SW and the parish clerk. and subsequently to our planning officer and to Colin Hardy.

January 2022

6th January MD sent copies of the updated response to the planning officer and to Colin Hardy.
10th January MD sent a request for information about the capacity of the Cornhill electricity supply to SP Energy Networks.
13th January A CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting - Status report.
19th-21st January Prospective tenants came to look at the units. Units 1, 4 and 6 were definitely booked. We have already a definite booking for unit 5.
27th January Because of the new bookings and the need to start the refurbishment work as soon as possible, an extraordinary meeting of CPC and CCA trustees was held to resolve various problems, (refer to PC notes from the meeting). No decisions could be made about giving instructions to the builder to start work in March or about ordering the joinery which is on 3 months delivery from order.
28th January MD contacted the chief planning officer and was able to resolve the problem about the wording of ‘village green’ instead of ‘open space’ in the application. MD also obtained a price for re-connecting the electricity and water and sent this to Paul Urwin so Gleesons could be informed.
31st January CPC received formal notification that planning permission has been granted.

February 2022

4th February AL was informed by Nat West that our application for a bank account has been refused so a great deal of time and effort has been wasted. We shall now consider one of the online banks as none of the so-called ‘High Street’ banks is interested.
5th February MD contacted Jim Manuel who agreed to trace out the school's electrical wiring as no diagram is available.
7th February
• MD heard via Paul Urwin (NCC Strategic Estates) that Gleesons have agreed to pay the cost of re-connection of the electricity and water services up to a cap of £5000.
• MD has requested formal quotations from SP Energy Networks and Northumbrian Water for the re-connection of electricity and water respectively.
• Subject to written confirmation by Gleesons, the solicitors can now be instructed to proceed with the conveyance to CPC for completion on 28th February.
• Building Control has been notified of the proposed building start date of 1st March.
• Steven Lackenby, General Builders, has been asked to plan to start the building work on 1st March.
• WRM joinery have been asked to reserve a manufacturing slot for delivery as soon as possible after 1st March.
• The two prospective tenants who are time-constrained have been advised of the start date.
18th February MD received a letter from Northumbrian Water acknowledging receipt of his application for re-connection on 14th. More information was requested which MD provided.
26th February MD wrote the formal Head lease between CPC and CCA and the formal Commercial Lease between CCA and the tenants. These were circulated to CPC and the trustees.

March 2022

2nd March MD met the builders on site and went through the works giving them more copies of the plans and works schedule. Work began outside. ED will keep a photographic record of progress; the photos will be displayed on the Cornhill Centre website in a photo gallery.
3rd March MD heard from SP Energy Networks that the cost of re-connecting the electricity will be £18,500. Gleesons has been informed.
5th March Local resident has offered the use of a digger plus driver free of charge. Thank you!
8th March Having listened to the noise made by a compressor used by one of our prospective tenants, it was decided that it was too noisy for a residential area. Sadly, we cannot accept the booking for unit 4 unless a satisfactory solution can be found.
10th March CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting; Status report.
15th March Quotation received from Northumbrian Water - £3,379
16th March Andy Fulton from NW came to look at the situation with a plan which bore no apparent relationship to what is on the ground. MD suggested that we dig both sides of the entrance drive to locate the mains water supply. As it appears to be already within the property, the element for road closure in the quotation may not be relevant. MR met David Mulvey, electrician from Etal, on site. He will start first fixes on Tuesday 22nd and continue with rearrangement of the fuse boxes
17th March The builders have now filled in and repaired about 60 holes where damage had taken place while searching for asbestos in a building that was built after its use had been banned (?)
20th March IC borrowed a digger and dug a hole to locate the water main. He was successful, filled in the hole and marked the line of the pipe.
22nd March MD gave the plumber instructions
25th March Reluctantly, building work was stopped until we have the electricity and water supplies re-connected. We also need a bank account and more funding to continue the project.
28th March Even though building work should have stopped, the joiner was working at the school.
29th March Emails from Mark Pentecost and Michael Gilroy to say that NCC has agreed to pay the costs of re-connection of electricity and water and the transfer can now be finalised.
30th, 31st March MD finalised the Cornhill on Tweed Centre lease for both tenants and started a proposed head lease between CCA and CPC.

April 2022

4th April MD met plumber on site and outlined the work required. Later MD clarified with the Chief Building Control officer that changes in Building Regulations do not apply retrospectively.
6th April David Mulvey, electrician, carried out the first fix of hall and toilets lighting and removal of redundant lighting in unit 6.
12th April Cameron Binnie from Tillmouth Farm collected the oil tank from the school - saves us from arranging its disposal.

May 2022

5/6th May Clerk for CPC wrote to Glen Sanderson, Leader of NCC County Council, asking about the non-payment for re-connection of water and electricity. More mails were received and payment was promised for both by 11th May.
6th May Bank account with Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed.
10th May CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting; Status report.
13th May CAT completed, three years after it was offered. CORNHILL PARISH COUNCIL NOW OWN THE SCHOOL BUILDING AND THE PLAYING FIELD
16th May CCA held its first AGM - AGM minutes
26th May MD met Northumbrian Water's Regulation Inspector on site. Details of extra charges were sent to Michael Gilroy of NCC.
30th May MD contacted Cockburn Water and Drainage Services of Kelso with a view to doing the work required.

June 2022

MD pursued the electricity and water connections.

July 2022

Electricity re-connection: Despite payment by NCC having been made in May, nothing has happened. On enquiry, MD was told that the contracts manager has been instructed by the operations manager to proceed.
Water re-connection: MD met a representative from Northumbrian Water on site - they discussed how to proceed.
6th July Colin Hardy informed us that Steve has been successful in securing £4000 from NCC‘s Community Chest.
13th July CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting; Status report
14th July MD received communication from SP Energy, John Turnbull, Project Manager, to say that work will start on the re-connection of the electricity supply on 10th August and the connection will be made on 16th August.

August 2022

10th August SP Energy started re-connection of the electricity supply.
15th August ED submitted our annual return to the Charity Commission.
15th August MD applied to National Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to repair the church windows.
30th August National Lottery ‘Awards for All’ have agreed to give us a grant of £10,000!
31st August CCA meeting - Minutes Note that two new trustees were appointed, Chrissy Caley (CC), for liaison with the Village Hall and Maggie Read (MR), responsible for the tenants,

September 2022

3rd September Old ‘holding’ website allowed to lapse. Updated site now live with url of cornhillontweedcentre instead of cornhillcommunityaction.
7th September CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting; Status report
22nd September Building work continued to remove partitions in Unit 6 and to make space for an external door.
27th/28th September After contacting all the local suppliers for an electricity supply, MD finally found Yu Energy which would agree to supply the Centre.
end of September MR set up Facebook and Instagram social media outlets for the Cornhill on Tweed Centre

October 2022

15th October Major clean-up by eleven volunteers took place in the hall and units 2 and 3 ready for the arrival of our sheep (part of the Northumberland Illuminated Arts Trail). Because there was still no electricity, a generator (kindly lent by one of our volunteers) was used to run vacuum cleaners and a kettle for refreshments. The sheep’s ‘pen’ in the quiet room was decorated ready for her arrival on 18th.
20th October Electricity connected - two years and two months after MD noticed it had been permanently disconnected.
22nd October - Open Morning and Naming the Sheep About 40 locals attended and it was successful.
26th October CCA meeting - Minutes

November 2022

4th November Plumber sealed all the pipes ready for water re-connection.
9th November CCA status report was given at the CPC meeting; Status report
13th November - Craft Fair Organised by MR. Great success with a possible booking of Unit 4.
17th November Unit 2 definitely booked.
30th November Sheep’s ‘pen’ dismantled.

December 2022

5th December The new external doors were delivered and the joiners started work again. The new locks also arrived. All the external doors were fitted and most of the locks by 15th December when work ceased.
15th December Four new toilets were delivered to the Centre.

January 2023

First week of January MD made minor clarifications to the lease agreement between the tenants and the charity. This was circulated to the prospective tenants Lease - tenants and charity
The agreement between CPC and CCA was also drawn up. In fact this agreement was overlooked by members of both CCA and CPC and was signed (back-dated) on March 22nd
9th January Minutes of trustees' meeting.
11th January Status report for CPC meeting.
12th January Representative from Northern Energy measured area for new gas tank (site of old oil tank) and discussed installation with MD. Eventually this will hold bio-propane.
17th January Leases signed for Units 2, 3 and 5
25th January Lease signed for Unit 4.
end of January DR organised the fire extinguishers, fire blanket and First-Aid kit.

February 2023

During the month Joiners, plasterers, electricians and plumbers were all working at the Centre. Many of the tenants started decorating their own units.
17th February Lease signed for Unit 6.

March 2023

1st March Minutes of trustees' meeting. These give an updated account of progress to date.
3rd March Cockburn’s (for Northumbrian Water) started to dig up the pavement at the entrance to the Centre from St. Helen's Gardens to connect the water supply.
8th March Status report for CPC.
During the month Decorating of the community areas. Decorating continued in the units. The electrician continued to work.
11th March 16 people arrived to tidy up the area around the Centre. Hedges were trimmed, trees cut down and an enormous trailer filled with debris. Grateful thanks to all the volunteers.
20th March Cockburn’s plus a rep. from Northumbrian Water arrived to check the water pressure. They returned on 21st to take the reading. Later in the day, they chlorinated the water and on 22nd returned to take samples.

April 2023

3rd April Charlie Brownlow started work in unit 5. We had to hire a Portaloo as we still have no water at the Centre.
14th April Water was finally connected but no-one would connect the pipe to the building. It's not Northumbrian Water's job, Cockburn's didn't want to know and our plumber said he did not have the right tools. In the end a retired plumber who was helping with work in unit 4, offered to do it.
20th April Flood in Unit 4 from a pipe that had not been sealed. It had been boxed in by the builders so all that had to be dismantled. MD repaired the damage for the tenant.
24th April Problems continued with the water connection but at least there were now flushing, usable toilets. A pressure regulating valve was fitted. MD suspects it is not the solution.
Refuse collection organised.
25th April Request for furniture for the hall. Over the next few days we were given a dining table and 4 chairs, a carpet, two more tables and 4 chairs, two Regency-style chairs plus a leaflet-type bookcase.
28th April The new floor was laid in the toilet block.

May 2023

1st May Even though a Bank Holiday, the Centre was open with Petal n Paint open for business. Quite a lot of people came to look.
9th May Five businesses were now open.
16th May Fibre broadband installed - access point fitted in hall on 26th May.
24th May CCA held its second AGM Minutes. An ordinary CCA trustees’ meeting was held after the AGM Minutes.
25th May Status report for the APM of CPM. Status report for ordinary meeting of CPM.

June 2023

1st June With the agreement of all the trustees, Mj Broadhurst was appointed as Health and Safety trustee for the charity.
10th June Open Day in Unit 2 and external decorating started. Ongoing problems with broadband connection - part of wireless router failed.
19th June Hoval boiler ordered.
27th June Lawsons cleared the boiler rooom of all the rubbish.
28th June Northern Energy fitted the gas tank.

July 2023

11th July Redpath Recycling collected the remaining aluminium kitchen equipment.
12th July 23rd report for CPC meeting - Status report
20th July Mj started her free Tai Chi Qi Gong classes outside on the grass; about 35 people came.

August 2023

2nd August John and Joanne Taylor signed the lease for Unit 1. The plan to run a rum and gin distillery growing botanicals on the village green.
8th August Hoval boiler was delivered
Trustees' CCA meeting was held at the Centre - Minutes.

September 2023

13th September 24th report for CPC meeting - Status report
22nd September MD met David Lawson (Denis Lawson Ltd) at the boiler house to discuss the heating. In June, it was promised that the heating would be finished by the end of September.
Lawson’s workman started but lost the key so could not finish the job. This loss was very lucky for the Centre as MD soon discovered that the work he had done was incorrect.

October 2023

2nd October No communication with David Lawson.
3rd October ED sent the Centre's Information Folder to MR and MjB. It is as complete as it can be at this time and gives contact details etc for the charity, trustees, various services etc.
4th and 5th October MD dismissed David Lawson from the job. Reasons were sent to the trustees and to the Chair and Clerk of CPC. Reasons for dismissal. Darren Paxton of Kelso was asked to finish the job.

November 2023

2nd November - thermostats were fitted to all fan convetors and a frost thermostat fitted in unit 2
2nd November Three framed photographs have been donated to the Centre as a thank you for Mj's free Tai Chi Qi gong sessions. Two are by Basia Bogacka - ‘Autumn Colour, Ladykirk’ and ‘Glowing Pines, Cragside’ and one by Julie Riley, ‘Walking the Walls.’
20th November Trustees’ CCA meeting was held at the Centre - Minutes.
20th November Darren Paxton assembled flue for boiler - by 28th November boiler was firing.
During the month, the boiler control system was built and a schematic diagram inserted into the Information folder

December 2023

6th December Engineer from Hoval commissioned boiler.
19th December Darren Paxton resumed work in boiler room. All up and running before Christmas.

January 2024

Faulty radiators replaced in units 2 and 6 - finally got access to bank accounts. Grant from Foyle Foundation, £5000, principally for unit 1.

March 2024

Water heater installed for toilets and two local heaters fitted in unit 1 but not yet electrically connected. Problem with hall lights tripping out was resolved.

May 2024

CCA AGM was held on 28th May - Minutes.

October 2024

29th October Trustees meeting - Minutes.

November 2024

A Parish Council meeting was held at the Centre; the trustees were invited.
It was decided later that £400 should be given to the CPC to help with grass and hedge cutting. This will come from the Community Fund held by CCA.

January 2025

The water heater was fixed in the toilet area.
The boiler was reconfigured and now operates in the corect mode.
Mark finished the top of the boiler flue.

February 2025

18th February Trustees meeting - Minutes

March 2025

4th March Trustees meeting - Minutes
13th March report for CPC meeting - Report