According to reports in The Scotsman today there are plans to close down the Tollbooth in Kirkcudbright. Has anyone heard anything about this?
"A BUILDING where American navy founder John Paul Jones was imprisoned could be closed by a cash-strapped council. The 17th century Tolbooth in Kirkcudbright is used by Dumfries and Galloway Council as a tourist attraction. The building could be closed as facilities in the town are combined in the town hall. Officials believe they could save up to £120,000 a year and generate extra cash by selling off unused buildings and handing the Tolbooth back to the Kirkcudbright Common Good that owns it."
Posted by MARK MACLACHLAN on behalf of The Commonty
http://rpu.dumgal.gov.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/committee_reports/024133.pdf
ReplyDeleteYes the proposal is to close it ! see link above
The Stewartry Area Meeting to further this action is this Wednesday 20th April in Kirkcudbright 10am at Daar Road Council Offices
PLEASE ATTEND to show your support against this cost cutting excercise or comment here if you cannot attend but wish to register your views
This document is heavy going...is the idea to close the Tolbooth and the public toilets and invest in the Town Hall as an Art Gallery, Visitor Centre and loo?
ReplyDeleteOn the surface this looks like another one of these 'top-down'projects that councils often specialise in. It has frighteningly strong echoes of the early attempts to get the 'showcase' thing off the ground in Dumfries ie trying to start a community/art hub from the point of view of a 'building' rather than an 'activity'.
Have artists and galleries etc in Kirkcudbright been consulted about these plans?
As someone who only knows the Kirkcudbright scene from the outside it seems to me that spreading artistic activity around the town is more in keeping with the culture of the place than attempting to concentrate it all in one place?
Maybe it is a case of testing the water locally to see if the creative community might consider taking a more active role in running the Tolbooth (if it is owned by the Common Good then rent/rates should not be a big issue)?
I am an artist who lives in Kirkcudbright . I have had 2 exhibitions in the Tolbooth and a third planned for later this year. I can state that I do not know of any artist or gallery who have been consulted on the matter of the Tolbooth closure. I find it incredible that a town promoted as ARTISTS'Town should have a council that proposes its closure. Instead of messing about with footfall figures they should actively start promoting it , a sign outside saying that there is a cafe there would be a start.
ReplyDeleteI've just spent a LONG time writing a comment about this, only for it to vanish into the ether before I could post it. Sorry! I'll have another go when I've got the time.
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it the Council pays a rent to the Common Good Fund but is also responsible for the maintenance of the building. It is run so inefficiently that they can't cover the costs of urgent repairs needed on one of the towers. Rent paid to Common Good is around £3000- £4000 a year. If it is handed back to the Common Good surely a co-operative of artists could cover the rental as long as it was on a normal rental basis where the landlord/owner was responsible for structural maintenance of the building. As to storage of 'junk'from the Town Hall - the upper floor of the Town Hall is already used as a store so that's where any extra junk should go and in any case is there anything worth keeping?
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to the proposals for a new gallery at the Stewartry Museum?
ReplyDeletePainted so many times, Kirkcudbright Tollbooth has become a symbol of the town a way no other building has. Its loss as an arts venue would be almost tragic - if nothing else was on offer.
ReplyDeleteWhile as an obvious landmark and hub, the story of the Glasgow Boys and all it tells is passable but the internal plan of the building is a just bit quirky. I was never sure they had the audio visual and gallery space quite right and while it met the needs of visitors some decades ago, the volume of tourists now seeking the ‘art experience’ are just not catered for. The story could certainly be refreshed and better presented and the increased gallery space offered by the converted Town Hall would be more in keeping with modern needs. This would also free up the Tollbooth and the Visitor Centre as more intimate galleries, run privately or as artist collectives.
I do hope Linda will get the time to post on this as her voice in Kirkcudbright’s arts scene has been so important in the past.
Agree with above but Johnston Primary School was going to be a new gallery too. Third venue might come off. Certainly hope so.
ReplyDeleteKirkcudbright was where I "landed" when i arrived in Scotland, and when i found the Tolbooth it was one of the places that most seemed to stand for the "Artists' Town" and the character of the place. I've exhibited there in several solo exhibitions and as such it was a great "showcase" opportunity and made me feel a real part of the community to be sharing my work there with everyone. It's pity it has been unpromoted in many respects - even much needed simple signage outside has been hindered by health and safety aspects of it being almost in the entrance to the Academy, but nothing much else has been done to highlight its position and it s treasures (as far as have noticed, so you could assusume passing visitors would also miss it).I was told that putting signage on the building was nt allowed either as it s listed..but is it better to close it then? This has been a lamentable waste of a strong feature of Kirkcudbright, and now this is to be compounded by just closing it. I think it's quite unacceptable, especially if local folk have nt been consulted.
ReplyDeleteI think opening up more space in the town hall would be fine, and the comment above about the audio visuals etc has a point. Keeping the Tolbooth as a gallery should nt be prevented by making changes; it would be such a waste.
This is great - a first for Kirkcudbright - i dont think the Council has ever had a consultation-by-blog before.
ReplyDeleteAll noted - tho maybe you are being a bit hard on the poor old council! The Common good would not thank the Council for handing it back and making the common good responsible for all the upkeep. these old buildings cost squillions to keep wind and watertight, and it's not common good money that does it.
People have been telling me how valuable they found the exhibition space - life changing in some cases. So i'm sure the consultation will throw up the need for that function.
Keep talking
Jane many thanks for commenting. What's needed is an overhaul of the Common Good. A catalogue of knowing what belongs to the people, not just in Kirkcudbright but region wide and publicising the contents might be a good start.
ReplyDeleteWhat is of paramount importance is the clarification of exactly how much it costs to operate the Tolbooth and also appreciate its iconic and indirect financial contribution to the town. Inspection of the alleged yearly costs buried in the report presented to the Stewartry Area meeting make interesting reading...why did the author of the report choose to lump all the expenses of holding the Summer Exhibition with the Tolbooth costs and also not make it clear which costs belong where,,,resulting in an apparent much larger cost attributed to the Tolbooth ?
ReplyDeleteThe consultation was also to have been last week with no notice given. Fortunately it is now due for mid May when there will be the opportunity for us all to question the figures and the logic that visitors to the town want a "one stop shop" to appreciate what The Artists' Town has to offer.....who agrees?
Hi Colin – and everyone else posting on this issue
ReplyDeleteI have just re-labelled all the material on the blog related to the Tollbooth and wider Kirkcudbright. All of this can now be accessed under the label ‘Kirkcudbright Tolbooth’ on the main menu at the top of the right hand margin.
When we first conceived of the idea of The Commonty, this was exactly the kind of issue that we had hoped the blog might be of use for to our community.
It is great to see Linda Mallett contributing a new post on the subject of buildings in Kirkcudbright. Linda was one of the founder members of The Commonty and so has the ‘keys’ to the blog – meaning that she is able to start new posts.
I am sure that you guys are beginning to get organised locally for the next stage of the ‘consultation’ on arts provision in Kbt – please do think of The Commonty as one of the tools at your disposal for this. If you are setting up an action group then do use the network to advertise for interest and as you progress maybe use us to keep the wider region informed about how you are doing and call in expert help for particular jobs etc. From experience the Cooncil etc listen better to groups than individuals - if it is useful for you to use The Commonty as a group supporting your efforts (we have 130+ members now) then we can discuss ways of doing this.
As Linda is already able to post material on the blog – maybe she could be the link person between your activity on the ground and wider Commonty?
These are difficult times and there is definitely a danger that individual parts of arts infrastructure get picked off – only by keeping our wider community informed of developments across the region can we make the case to the ‘powers that be’ that ours is a complex and interconnected ‘industry’ and nothing should be considered in isolation……together we are stronger!
Cheers
matt
Yes, I would be happy to act as an information link between Kirkcudbright activites and the Commonty. But I should warn this doesn't mean I'm offering to 'lead' anything! My current position is that I can see something of where everyone is coming from, but have no particular axe of my own to grind. I would, though, like to see the energies and ideas of Kirkcudbright focussed into positive arts outcomes for the town.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Latest news following The Stewartry Area Committee meeting this week 15th June is that our elected members have "recommended NOT to include The Tolbooth Art Centre in the integrated facilities project in the Town Hall and to receive a further report on enhancing the services provided within this facility with due consideration to the suggestions provided during the engagement process "( when 96% of people who attended said they disagree with the Council proposal for the Tolbooth)
ReplyDeleteQuite a result I think and a measure of what can be done when we become truly involved in matters and make our voices heard!
Thats not the end of the debate re The Town Hall of course. Some of the other decisions will doubtless continue to be debated. Keep watching this space!
Congratulations to Colin and everyone else who managed to raise their sensible voices above the babbling of our misguided council officials and councillors.
ReplyDelete