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Company Number SC293116
- Charity Number SC36956
In
late 2005 it became increasingly obvious to the WITPG management
committee that the number of vehicles coming into the possession or care of
the organisation meant that the Western Isles Transport Preservation Group
would need to look towards acquiring a large building to store, renovate and
maintain vehicles. There was also a need for premises to house
transport related artefacts, photographs and documents, as well as an
administration base and a museum or display space to allow greater access to
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| The front area of the
new museum building after the removal of a derelict portakabin
building |
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Initially, the organisation looked at obtaining some land for a new build at
the Creed Enterprise Park, which was considered to be located fairly central
and near the high density population area of Stornoway and its ports of
entry.
An
inquiry was made to the landowners, the Stornoway Trust, for the lease of
some land on the Lochs road, opposite MacAulay Farm. The proposal was to
develop this in partnership with the local Pony Club, which was looking for
an arena space and building for its own purposes.
The
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)
was also interested in leasing part of the building and a pit lane for
statutory vehicle inspections, with the agency having exclusive access to
the facilities for one week in every four. The commercial rental income
from the VOSA lease was seen as crucial to the sustainability of the
building development. VOSA subsequently found an alternative base for its
operations and withdrew from the proposals. Further examination of the
business plan led to WITPG withdrawing its Creed Enterprise Park proposal
for this new building.
Other
options were also considered at this time, but none of the properties on the
market that were in the target area were suitable for the organisation’s
needs. |
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In
January 2009, WITPG learned about an alternative large building coming onto
the market, and following a meeting to discuss the matter the Group agreed
to put a bid together to purchase the property (a former fish processing
factory in Marybank), subject to appropriate funding being secured.
Following a meeting with the sellers, a price was agreed and a 5%
non-refundable deposit was paid after a brief fundraising period, with a
deadline of end September 2009 agreed for the sale transaction to be
completed.
Work
then began on the daunting task of compiling and submitting a Lottery
application with the aim of securing funding to support the purchase and
renovation of the building. This required a huge voluntary effort by WITPG
members and supporters, as well as invaluable support from local Community
Coordinators, who had been asked to assist with this work.
The
Lottery application required that various building related conditions be
met. These included: obtaining ‘change of use’ Planning Permission;
preparation of an Energy Study report; an electrical test being carried out;
a structural engineer’s report being prepared in relation to the proposed
upper floor development; obtaining letters of support for the proposals, and
completing the application on deadline. |
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This bid required a huge effort by the WITPG committee, and the
unselfish support of Jane MacIntosh, the Community Co-ordinator for the
Broadbay area, proved to be crucial to the organisation in satisfying
the demanding Lottery bid process. To meet the funding application
deadline of 20 August 2009, the team worked well into the evening of the
last day before submission, with WITPG secretary Calum MacLennan
personally delivering the bid on time to HIE headquarters at Cowan House
in Inverness.
Unfortunately, this bid was unsuccessful on the grounds that sufficient
support for the proposals within the community had not being adequately
proven. However, the building’s sellers decided to extend the sale
deadline by six months to 31 March 2010.
With a new deadline in place, and funding commitments proving to be
incredibly difficult to obtain from funders and supporting agencies,
there were many anxious moments as WITPG desperately tried to meet all
the conditions that were being placed on it.
WITPG
Chairman James MacLeod enters the proposed new museum building after
collecting the keys from the agents
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Eventually, the various funding sources were in a position to make good
on their earlier offers of grant assistance. Finally, the WITPG
management committee collected the keys for the premises from the
solicitors on 1 April 2010, and the new owners entered the building to
take ownership later that day.
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| Work has
been done to clear away partitions around the front entrance
area |
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| Some of the
old concrete block partitions within the former fish
processing factory have been demolished leaving lots of
rubble to be cleared |
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The previous owners
– a salmon farming company – had vacated the building and left it
complete with all the machinery and equipment it had used in its fish
processing operations and office functions. The first stage of
remodelling the building was removing much of this bespoke industrial
plant and returning it to a more functional space. This work required a
huge effort on behalf of the committee, including: |
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Removing equipment; |
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Remodelling parts of the building; |
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Raising outdoor ground levels and building ramp access to new roller
shutter garage door size (4.5m x 4.5m). |
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Disposing of old portakabin adjacent to building; |
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Demolishing existing concrete block partitions to make larger, More
practical, interior spaces; |
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Remodelling some of the former administration and office spaces to
provide suitable accommodation for WITPG’s proposed multi-use museum,
workshop, admin offices, meeting and training rooms and other areas for
public use or lease. |
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Once the renovation
work on the building is completed, the proposed WITPG Centre should
include: |
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Museum
& display areas |
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Meeting and training rooms |
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Reception and administration area |
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Kitchen
and cafeteria facilities |
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Toilet
and washroom areas that will comprise Male & Female toilets, Accessible
toilets, Baby changing facilities. |
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High
ceiling workshop section for raising/hoisting large commercial vehicles. |
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Storage areas |
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Workshop, storage and maintenance spaces for leasing to other
organisations. |
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Substantial parking areas for museum vehicles and visitors |
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The
development offers potential for further development of archive and
artefacts rooms on an upper floor of the building |
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In
order to maximise the energy efficiency of the new transport centre, the
energy research enterprise, Greenspace, carried out a related study and are
undertaking a heating and energy efficiency development plan for the
proposed museum.
WITPG
is extremely grateful to the dedicated and hardworking band of volunteers
and supporters who have gone out of their way to assist with the
refurbishment and repair work that has been carried out since the
acquisition of the building. Although a lot of work remains outstanding at
this stage in the development (April 2011), we are confident that with the
support of volunteers, participating agencies, and professionals when
required, this work will be completed satisfactorily and the full benefit of
the new WITPG Centre will soon be realised.
Because of the huge
voluntary effort that WITPG has benefited from, labour costs have been
minimal to date. However, material costs can be burdensome, and therefore
active fundraising and monetary and material donations are gratefully
received.
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click images to
enlarge |
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As of May
2011, we now have a concreted ramp to the vehicle access door.
Calmax Construction Ltd carried out this work to a very high standard.
Although we are now seeing progress, there is plenty spaces for
volunteers. You don’t need any special skills: just bring plenty of
enthusiasm and elbow grease. If you feel you could spare an hour or two,
contact any committee member for details.
Our tenants, Stornoway
Rowing Club are making great progress with their boatbuilding venture
and are on course to meet their target for a race meeting in Portsoy.
This project is being prepared for a television programme to be shown on
BBC Alba in the near future. We wish them all the best in their sea
trials and in their future competitions.
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ABOVE LEFT: The new concrete ramp and vehicle
access door. |
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LEFT: A new boat being built at the Museum by the
Stornoway Rowing Club. |
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The principle aims
of WITPG with this development is to deliver a museum that will be: |
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A centre
for the motoring enthusiast |
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An
accessible base for motoring enthusiasts and the wider public to meet
socially |
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An
interesting and educational place for the visiting public |
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Able to
provide a significant tourist attraction for visitors to the Hebrides |
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A light
industrial workshop, garage & storage space, admin and meeting place
that will be available for rent to the public. |
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A
training centre in the community without discrimination, particularly in
offering training and support to those wising to acquire skills and
experience in the restoration of vehicular transport. |
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A
desire to ensure that the museum and transport centre will become
self-sustaining in as short a time as possible. |
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| WITPG are extremely
grateful to the following for their support in the purchase and renovation
of our new museum and workshop: |
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Hugh FraSer
Foundation |
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Stafford Trust |
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