Chairperson’s Annual Report 2009 – 2010

Introduction

As noted in last year’s report, that document covered a twelve month period up to the end of June 2009 although its submission was delayed until September due to the interregnum between CART Project Managers. I am happy to say that we are now more or less back on schedule and this report covers July 2009 until the end of May 2010. Not, I admit, exactly a year but well within the norm.

As the report will show, our new Project Manager, Jill Davies, has been extremely active in engaging with people in Coupar Angus and its environs to examine ways in which their groups’ activities might be developed and to promote social cohesion. I wish to thank Jill for the tremendous effort she has put into this work and to assure her that the Trustees understand that it may take some time for definitive results to be apparent.

I also wish to thank Rachel Jackson for her vital contribution to the work of the Trust in compiling and editing the Coupar Angus bulletin from home for most of this past year. As noted under Communications below, the Trust has changed the manner in which the publication is compiled. I wrote to Rachel expressing the thanks of the Trust for her work over many years and explaining why we felt we had to make this adjustment. I am glad to say that Rachel fully understood the situation and wished us well for the future.

Finally in this section I am delighted to record the agreement of Bill Ronald, another local resident, to becoming a Trustee and taking on the role of Treasurer. He has already held in depth discussions with Jill Davies to examine better ways of ensuring financial stability and seeking funding for future project work. My fellow Trustees and I are very grateful to Bill for the effort he has invested over this period to sustain the Trust and investigate funding possibilities. Equally I would like to thank Ian Mackenzie for all the work he did, both as a Trustee and our Treasurer, from 2004 until 2009 during which time his determination to ensure the Townscape Heritage Initiative happened was vital in helping to keep us on track.

Community Groups and Events

As readers of last year’s report may recall, I had not intended to mention the Horse Fair again as it was being run by a group of local people who had formed themselves into a community interest company. Sadly it is necessary to note that the event did not take place in 2010. This was due in part to several members of the group not being able to continue and the uncertainty about works taking place at The Cross which might, had they been in train in March, have disrupted the parade. There is no doubt that many local people were very sad at this unfortunate outcome, as indeed were my colleagues and I. We will monitor the situation to see what we may be able to do to ensure the event is revived in 2011.

More positively the Pride of Place Group (PoP) made even more progress during the last year and were rewarded at the Take a Pride in Perthshire Awards in September 2009 with a Gold Certificate for their overall work and the discretionary prize for Best Involvement With Schools. The latter relates to their innovative engagement with Coupar Angus Primary School which has resulted in a sensory garden, a willow wall round the outdoor classroom, assistance with tree and vegetable planting and the plans for a polytunnel adjacent to the school which are now well advanced. To cap all this the school was awarded full Green Flag status following a visit by the Green Flag Inspectors in February 2010. I appreciate that CART’s official involvement with all this is now more as an observer than a direct participant but this is exactly the kind of progress the Trust was established to develop and we are hugely encouraged by our initial involvement with the PoP and hope to be able to repeat that effect in other ways in future. Also, while they have pride in their place, we have immense pride in them and the school whose pupils and staff have achieved amazing things in a comparatively short time. It is also appropriate to note that two of our Trustees, Rona McKinnon and Bill Ronald are PoP Committee members and activists.

On the 6th of November 2009 the fireworks display in Larghan Park took place again courtesy of Blast Design. This is another event which CART helped to develop – I nearly said got off the ground – and it is most encouraging to see it being so successful. What is equally satisfying is that the event is now sponsored by many local businesses both large and small. Indeed, on this occasion there was a surplus which would have been donated to the local Fire Cadets if they had kept going. In fact the money was given to the East Perthshire Neighbourhood Watch committee to allow them to continue their programme of crime prevention and mutual support groups across the area.

In recognition of the conditions of the LEADER funding which was secured to ensure we CART had a Project Manager, Jill Davies has been making as many contacts as possible with local groups to offer them training in areas of their choice and to examine the possibility of setting up a Community Forum. The latter would be a discussion forum where local issues could be considered and solutions developed for implementation by relevant groups. It could also be helpful in improving social cohesion which is a LEADER objective.

Other related activity includes the development of a training schedule for community groups based on the contacts made by the Project Manager and assisting Churches Action for the Homeless to ensure all their allotments at Balhary, some five miles east of Coupar Angus, near Alyth, have been “tenanted”.

Projects

(a) Buildings and Townscape Heritage Initiative

In this regard I am delighted to be able to report that Ancaster Properties have successfully completed their renovation of the former Royal Hotel which is opposite the already completed former Co-op building now owned and rented by Perthshire Housing Association. There was a real feeling of achievement when the second tranche of scaffolding was dismantled from the High Street frontage of the building and everyone could see the high quality of the restoration work. It is even better to be able to report that the first flat to be completed, and which was used as a show flat, has been sold. Now we must hope that the remaining flats follow thus helping to revive the town centre.

The programme of projects dealing with the restoration of architectural detail, known as RADs, is progressing but, as we always knew, it is taking time due to the need to make sure that adjoining buildings are treated at the same time or at least in a co-ordinated way. Throughout the year there have been planning applications for several of these frontage schemes and we look forward to seeing them coming to fruition following grant applications to the THI Executive Committee. The latter body will meet as and when required to ensure these schemes can be commissioned as soon as they are ready. Happily they will include the street level frontages of the former Royal Hotel thus harmonising its appearance.

As previously reported the work to the Lodging House, one of our three Critical Project buildings, has been delayed by the failure of the main contractor. This has now been addressed and work is moving forward. It is being supervised by the Scottish Lime Centre and the work force has been trained in the application of lime wash which is crucial to the appearance and preservation of the building. The delay has been immensely frustrating for the Trust and, of course, for the tenants of the flats in the building whose lives have been adversely affected by the presence of the scaffolding for far longer than planned.

Given the extent of these works, which should become apparent over the ensuing year, CART has decided to compile and publish a town map and guide. There have been publications of a like nature in the past, especially a town walk guide and the Jewels of stone booklet published by the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust. The latter is still very relevant but we feel the need to provide something which is both informative and handy to carry while visiting the town. Once all the building restorations have been completed there will be a great deal more to see in Coupar Angus and we want to be ready to develop the visitor industry to boost the local economy.

Finally in this section I am delighted to report that the ongoing THI, which will result in some £4.7M being invested in historic building restoration in the centre of Coupar Angus, has facilitated the bid by Perth and Kinross Council to the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Regeneration Fund. The outcome was that an award of £200,000 was made for streetscape improvements at The Cross. The Environment Service already had £50,000 in its budget for this purpose so a total of £250,000 is now being invested in the scheme. Without CART’s efforts in regard to the THI this additional funding would not have been capable of being applied for.

(b) Coupar Angus Rural Renaissance

Following the great success of the redevelopment of Larghan Victory Park another facet has been added as a result of talks between CART’s Project Manager, the Pride of Place Group and one of Perth and Kinross Council’s Tree and Woodland officers. This is the planting of a community orchard in the park which took place in early Spring 2010. There are now 25 trees of differing types which, when mature, will offer a variety of fruits to the community. Arrangements for managing the orchard are being drawn up with the Pride of Place group who will hope to involve school pupils in this element of their work as well as others. Personally I am very pleased to be able to say that at the date of writing this report there has been no sign of any damage to the trees.

(c) Environmental Projects

Given the current funding stream and the achievements of the THI and park works, this section is brief this year. Indeed, the only item I can report on is the long awaited floodlighting of the remains of the Abbey beside the Dundee Road on the southern edge of the town. This may become possible through the project which Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust is currently developing to address the works necessary in the historic graveyards of East Perthshire. I have liaised with one of their Officers, Andrew Driver, who is also a member of the THI Executive Committee, on this matter. Having seen the project details, and visited several of the sites with Andrew, I was happy to provide an official letter of support for their funding bids. As far as Coupar Angus is concerned both the floodlighting of the ruins and the renovation of the Simprim Mausoleum situated close by would be included.

(d) Socio-Economic Concerns

Our Project Manager has been holding meetings with various local groups to establish their training or other needs as noted under the Community Groups and Events heading above. However, it is appropriate at this point to mention some in particular. In December 2009 several groups who provide services or activities to older adults met with Jill Davies. They included the NHS Healthy Communities Collaborative, Perth and Kinross Council’s Community Learning and Development service and members of Coupar Angus, Ardler and Bendochy Community Council. As a result CART is applying for funding to purchase a Wii and games to run on it and a PowerPoint projector and screen to allow people to participate in gentle exercise and entertainment.

In March 2010 a “taster day” was held in St. Anne’s Church Hall to allow people to try out various new pastimes such as new age kurling, Wii games, digital cameras, mobile ‘phone and the like. It was extremely successful with a good mix of age groups assisted by the presence of a number of young people from the Strathmore Centre for Youth Development (SCYD) from Blairgowrie. They mixed with the older people and conducted tutorials on the use of various technologies such as texting. Indeed, so successful was the event that the Town Hall hosted a much larger similar event at the end of May just before the AGM to which this report was presented.

As previous reports will show, CART issued a community questionnaire in 2006 which identified a number of areas of concern in the community. Principal amongst these were the need to improve the central area of the town and redevelop Larghan Park. CART’s response to these were the THI and the major refit and re-design of the park completed in 2009. To try to find out what people wish to see now another questionnaire was issued at the Town Hall taster day noted above. They will be available in other places in the town and on the website and we hope as many people as possible will respond. Once the results have been analysed we will be able to begin to plan other major project work. The questionnaire on this occasion will include sections specific to the Older Adults Activities Group and the group interested in setting up a development trust in Coupar Angus.

On the matter of trying to improve co-operation between groups, the Project Officer has reported that some progress might be made in that direction but, as others have concluded in the past, there may be more merit in assisting individual groups rather than attempting to bring them together. If one is being honest, this is largely to do with personalities and it is a matter of judgement as to whether or not more may be achieved by helping one group to develop as opposed to trying to get it to work with another.

More immediately Jill has held discussions with the Abbey Church fund raising group with a view to using the Union Street hall as a community café on Saturdays during the summer. The success of this venture very much depends upon local groups seeing it as an opportunity to both raise funds and inform the community of their activities. Time will tell if the idea takes off.

Communications

The Trust is again most grateful to Dave Scott for his work in keeping our website up to date. We have tried to provide Dave with current information to promote events in the area and to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of these. Examples of subjects given publicity include the Larghan Park and Primary School Green Flag awards, East Perthshire Neighbourhood Watch meeting dates etc., Pride of Place group bulb planting days, the plan and timetable for the streetworks improvements at The Cross in Coupar Angus and the switch on of the Illuminators’ Christmas lights. We also have a link to Coupar Angus Primary School’s own website, “what’s on” pages and an archive of old photographs of the area, a local business directory and past editions of the Coupar Angus bulletin.

The Project Manager is also working on a guide to running events in Coupar Angus which will include the redeveloped area at The Cross. It will contain information about halls, spaces to rent, who to contact and so on and will be posted on the website.

Having reviewed the financial position of the Trust it was decided that we had to seek ways of reducing the cost of the publication of the Coupar Angus bulletin and to that end it has been compiled and printed by Culross in Coupar Angus since issue 54 for April 2010. The publication now accepts advertising, which was not possible before, and this will help to offset some of the production costs. Further, discussions are ongoing with Coupar Angus, Ardler and Bendochy Community Council to see if their Coupar Angus news and our publication might be merged thus further controlling costs and ensuring sustainability.

Conclusion

As I hope is clear from the above report CART has been able to adapt to its changing circumstances and the need to support the LEADER funding objectives. Our new Project Manager, Jill Davies, has been heavily involved in these changes and I thank her for her all encompassing efforts. As usual it has not been possible to include every detail of our work herein but I hope there is enough to demonstrate our continuing relevance to the life of Coupar Angus and its surrounding communities.

A.D. Grant,
Chair of CART,
22nd May 2010.