Hi again all.

Many of you are wondering what the present situation is regarding the possible problems we were informed of that might impact on the groups future in the Corran Halls.  I can now inform you that Steevie and myself, for Spotlight, and Alistair Law from North Connel and Benderloch Players attended a meeting on 16th December at the Corran Halls.  This meeting was with representatives of the Council with a view to explaining what the proposals are and the possible impact on users.  The meeting was constructive and a considerable amount of information was gleaned and undertakings were given.

The whole scheme is being driven by the fact that the present Scottish Executive has somehow made available a pot of money specifically and only to support Gaelic related activities.  One of these activities is the provision of Gaelic Learning Centres at various locations in Scotland and Oban has luckily been identified as one of the recipients.  The proposal is to provide facilities on the first floor of the building which will not impact on users of the two halls.  This should mean that the building could be seen as having a more vibrant and constant use due to the increased foot-fall created which should be seen as a good thing.

It was however confirmed that alterations are proposed, as part of this scheme, to the back stage area which is the proposals that caused concern.  We are informed there is to be no alteration to the two small main dressing rooms but the existing laundry, toilet, shower and chair store are being looked at to create a large food preparation area.  This facility appears to be acceptable for Gaelic type funding due to events associated with the new centre and of course the Mod. Therefore because it will be in existence it will help with catering facilities for functions such as weddings which will be a useful attribute.  If this does come to fruition we have been categorically assured that this area will still be available to groups like ours for overflow dressing rooms and storage.  We also sought full assurance that there will be no reduction in the very limited floor space that we have to work with at present.

Many of you know that due to lack of past investment that working within the Corran Halls is a logistical nightmare at times but  we did ask if any of the funding available for this scheme and the income the Learning Centre will generate could be used to help resolve some of the problems that exist.  We were advised that this was outside the remit of this meeting so it is unclear how this income would be distributed.

Steevie also made the point that if extra funding was required for developments and improvements to the facilities, he was sure that Spotlight, other groups and indeed the wider community would be keen to assist with support concerts and events for the Corran Halls if asked. This was accepted by those present as being very helpful.

In the meantime we have to accept the undertakings that we have been guaranteed that we will not face any reduction in available space needed to successfully provide the type of shows expected by the residents of Oban and surrounding areas.

Steevie also asked if we could be involved in future developments of the Corran Halls and that certainly Spotlight and North Connel would be very willing to advise on stage matters where we have a wealth of people with experience both amateur and professional. This would allow plans to be made without the need of spending money on feasibility studies as our advice would be free. Again this was accepted by those present as being very helpful

We hope this update will be of help with any questions that have already arisen or might be asked and we confirm we will continue to monitor the progress of any works.

Geoff