No significant impact from 27K funding cut to Community Centre

Graham Marsden stated on Wednesday night that the 27K cut in funding from Highland Council would have no significant impact on the Community Centre.
Graham Vine of West CC had asked: "If this would be the thin end of the wedge once the ALOs get going."
Our one and only LibDem Councillor, sitting next to Laurie, in reply to Cllr Vine told the meeting: "The income for this building is enough to ensure that it continues to fund the maintenance and all the other things it requires to do."
Later in the short discussion he said: "It is amazingly popular and a fantastic asset to Nairn."

Nairn's New Arts Centre?

Speculation tonight on NairnMatters.com:

'We have just observed that the striking Community Centre logo has been removed and the building is now called Nairn Community and Arts Centre. We wonder why the change?' Why not pop over and have a read.

The Sheena Baker Inquisition

Tonight Sheena didn’t mess about. She got straight down to business, asking the status of the Council’s loan to the Community centre in regard to the refusal of the Sandown planning application.
Sandy Park replied that there was no change in the status of the loan, a sum in excess of £2,000,000 pounds. At the time the Sandown Lands were the only asset that could be offset against the loan.
Sheena was worried that the debt was being run up even more but according to Sandy the debt was in fact static. Sheena then expanding to take in comments reported in the Nairnshire on the behalf of Mark Cummings of the PR company Invicta that had been employed by the developer. William Gilfinnan told the meeting that there was nothing in the background that wasn’t know about and reiterated that the developer had three options. Earlier he had stated that the developer could appeal, resubmit the application or walk away.
Sheen persisted with her questions, she wanted to know if given the new circumstances if the Highland Council could write off the the loan. Sandy replied that he thought that the Council would expect the money back and if the council were to consider what she had suggested then he believed that they would be very reluctant to do that.
William Gilfinnan on the behalf of the council stated that the asset was still there and it was a marketable commodity.

It was good to see Sheena in action again, she quite often is prepared to ask difficult questions of the local powers that be.

A tale of two community centres

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