The Kintyre Forum

Forum members will remember that last year Strathclyde Building Preservation Trust (SBPT) concluded an Options Appraisal for the Old Courthouse in Bolgam Street. Since that time, Argyll & Bute Council have been working to secure an end use for the building and we at SBPT are now working alongside the Council to develop a project that will see this very important B listed building complex repaired and brought back into use as small business units with the hall open for public events. We hope to combine the café at 10 Longrow South into the scheme and thus to open up the Old Courthouse courtyard to the public.

This will be a challenging project to pull off and there are no guarantees that we can make it work so we need all the help we can get from the people of Campbeltown and Kintyre. At this time we are putting a business case together for the project and we are seeking expressions of interest in the end use and looking for local people to sit on a steering group for the project. Do you think that you or your organisation might be able to use a small office in the centre of Campbeltown? Would you like to be able to book an office with broadband or meeting room by the hour? Do you need secure storage space for your group’s records? Would your group like to use the hall for meetings, gatherings or rehearsals? Or would you be able to give some time to help progress the project?

If you would like to come and have a chat about the project, please do. Sarah MacKinnon the Chief Executive of SBPT will be in the Burnett Building on Wednesday 2 March between 09.30 and 12.00 and would like to meet you.

This is reminiscent of the Inveraray Jail situation, where a very successful end result has been achieved, although this was achieved through the history of the building. Where are the businesses to use the "small business units", and where would they be located?

Thanks for posting this SBPT. Really interesting to read this is still progressing.

With regards

SBPT wrote:If you would like to come and have a chat about the project, please do. Sarah MacKinnon the Chief Executive of SBPT will be in the Burnett Building on Wednesday 2 March between 09.30 and 12.00 and would like to meet you.

The problem with this (and seems to happen with a high proportion of events, seminars, meetings etc) is that it is during the day when many people are working. Is there an on-line form where views can be submitted or are you happy for people to air views direct on here that will be used as part of your development of the Project?

Regards

KFN

Thanks for the responses we have already had. Please feel free to put your thoughts on the Forum site, we are happy for all ideas to be shared but if you want to contact us direcly, please e-mail conservation@sbpt.org.uk.

Thanks,

Sarah

Surely disabled access will be a problem for the building?

I can appreciate that it has history but no one has ‘bothered’ about it for decades.
The last time I was in it was over 30 years ago, with the intent of using it for recreation purposes, and it was unsafe then.

We already have the town hall millstone which appears to have been predominately, in recent years, used mainly for coffee mornings.