Argyll & Bute Council brought about the closure of Castle Toward on the 13th November 2009. This was the culmination of seven months of intentional delays and 11 years of active negligence on the part of the Councillors who grasped this opportunity to evict Actual Reality so that they could then look to sell the premises and estate to a bidder intent on building houses, caravans and chalets, therefore negating a Scottish Executive and public backlash.
A public backlash is what the Council received in the week beginning 14th December 2009 when members of the public became aware of the closure and the dishonest, contrived circumstances surrounding it.
A social networking site group was created entitled ‘Save Castle Toward’ dedicated to raising awareness as to the closure of Castle Toward by the Council. Go to the Save Castle Toward facebook page
Throughout the 15th and 16th December, members joined in their hundreds and the campaign culminated with supporters sending mass emails to the Council’s Chief Executive, along with the Councillors scheduled to attend the Executive meeting the following day; the first meeting since the closure of Castle Toward with the issue on the agenda. It is believed that the Chief Executive’s email address crashed due to the level of communication she received in reference to this issue and yet not one response has been granted to any of the over 1000 (now at close to 4000 strong) supporters. The local newspapers were quick to detail this level of support, and are pursuing investigative pieces.
The report of this meeting naturally restricts access to full details as to the discussion surrounding Castle Toward. Minutes are given however:
Executive Meeting, Thursday 17th December 2009, Item 14
MINUTES
DECISION
… Councillor Dance, having moved an amendment which failed to find a seconder, required her dissent from the foregoing decision to be recorded …
… David McEwan and Councillors McAlpine, MacMillan, McNaughton and McQueen left the meeting prior to a decision being reached on the foregoing item.
The Council issued a statement following this Executive Meeting on Thursday 17th December 2009 as a response to the unprecedented volume of protest against the closure of Castle Toward. Below is this statement; in red are the actual sequence of events between April 2009 and the closure:
COUNCIL ACTS ON CASTLE TOWARD
Thursday, 17 December 2009 16:52
Argyll and Bute Council has taken action on its Castle Toward facility near Dunoon after serious Health and Safety concerns were raised.
The level of concern is such that the building – which has been being operated by a third party as an outdoor education centre – has not been able to be used as a residential operation since the middle of last month.
April 2009 – Problems were highlighted following a Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service (SFR) inspection earlier this year.
SFR wrote to both the building’s occupier, Actual Reality Learning and Leadership Ltd, and Argyll and Bute Council drawing attention to what it considered to be fire safety deficiencies.
At which point Actual Reality took immediate action on some of the recommendations and identified larger items for which financial provision required to be made by the Actual Reality Directors.
The Council immediately started drawing up an action plan to deal with these matters.
1st May – A meeting was scheduled between Actual Reality and the Council, whose property department representative postponed at the last minute.
6th May – After this delay and a subsequent meeting a Council representative managed to attend, Actual Reality took action to gain an estimate in order to upgrade the fire detection system.
17th June – Yet another meeting was scheduled in order to move forward with an Action Plan to implement the recommendations by SFRS, and yet again, a Council representative failed to attend, causing further delays.
2nd July – SFRS, concerned by the delays on the part of the Council, wrote to the Council to urge an answer to the Action Plan.
Mid July – Three entire months after the SFRS survey and after continual delays by the Council, a detailed Action Plan was sent to SFRS which was approved.
3rd August – The Council assured Actual Reality that Douglas Hendry would report on this in order to reach an agreement as to commence upgrading.
1st September – After numerous requests by Actual Reality and reminders as to the urgency of progress on a decision, with still no response from the Council, Actual Reality requested permission to be able to begin implementing the Action Plan and making the necessary upgrades. It was proposed that there need be no future reference to the Council on this matter, who had indicated by lack of contact that they were not taking this matter seriously. This request for permission along with subsequent reminders, were ignored.
5th October – The Council at last responded stating that Actual Reality were to ‘hold fire on carrying out any further works.’ It also assured that a report to the Council Executive by Douglas Hendry would at last declare the decision, and that this would feature in the October Executive Committee agenda. It did not.
Due to the exasperation of this situation, Actual Reality organised funds so that they themselves could meet the costs of the upgrading. This would mean that the upgrading could be done in order to comply with SFRS recommendations, in order for Castle Toward to be in complete compliance with Health & Safety, therefore allowing for the outdoor educational centre to continue functioning. The Council has never been involved in any aspect of paying for upgrading. The Council was notified of this development, and so were therefore, again, being asked permission for Actual Reality to begin the necessary works by way of urgency. This received no response.
Further to the action plan the Council’s Health and Safety section visited Castle toward last month to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment.
10th November - The Council ‘health and safety officers’ carried out a fire risk assessment at short notice, despite SFRS already having done this 7 months before; despite the Council being aware of its outcome, recommendations and the Action Plan; and similarly in spite of the latest development that Actual Reality were (and still are) able and willing to cover the costs.
During that visit, the Council’s chief Health and Safety officer recommended that the concerns were such that Actual Reality Learning and Leadership Ltd should cease residential operation to the public immediately. An instruction to that effect was given to the company the same day.
13th November – The Council ordered the immediate closure of Castle Toward because of ‘paramount concern’ for fire safety, irrespective of the facts stated above and incredibly of the Council’s own subsequent acknowledgement that its report contained serious errors and omissions. Erroneous conclusions had been made.
At the same time, other building deficiencies which have a health and safety impact on the premises were highlighted.
A report was then drawn up which states that the works which are required to bring Castle Toward up to a safe standard to permit the resumption of residential facilities to the public are likely to cost approximately £595,000.
This is the report by Douglas Hendry which the property department’s representative had assured would feature in the October Council Executive meeting, but which did not feature until after the closure was made in November.
The total cost of works to bring the property up to an acceptable standard is estimated at some £977,000.
These costs are widely disputed and it is similarly felt that the Council is over-exaggerating the costs, in a bid to influence public support over questions of public spending. However the most crucial point to be made aware of is that the Council has not been asked to meet these costs and that they have never met costs to maintain Castle Toward.
The minutes from this meeting state Susan Mair’s position:
Joint Management Committee Meeting on Monday 21st February 2000, Item 5
THE FUTURE RUNNING OF THE CENTRES
‘… made it absolutely clear that their Council had no capital monies available for repairs or works to be carried out in relation to either of the properties’
ITEM 5 (i)
‘Actual Reality will seek charitable status and assume responsibility for all of its affairs including maintenance of the properties’.
ITEM 5 (ii)
‘Actual Reality would take on the properties under a full repairing and insuring lease’.
Council officers have met with representatives of Actual Reality Learning and Leadership Ltd to discuss the position.
In the meantime, any limited use of the building and grounds by Actual Reality Learning and Leadership Ltd will be on a basis agreed by the relevant authorities.
The impact of this is that Actual Reality has been forced to amend bookings and as such the council has put bookings in jeopardy, along with staff livelihoods. Schools attending courses since the closure are at the Ardentinny Centre, which is more than suffice but not the same experience of Castle Toward, along with not being able to equate in capacity.
Argyll and Bute Council took over the ownership of Castle Toward from Strathclyde Regional Council following local government reorganisation in 1996.
Argyll and Bute Council agreed to guarantee along with two other previous Strathclyde Regional Council local governments, that Castle Toward continue as an outdoor education centre. Argyll and Bute orchestrated the dissolution of this partnership, reneging upon this guarantee in order to pursue alternative interests.
The Council’s Executive, which met today, has now agreed to continue to look into the sale of all or parts of the property – which comprise a substantial castle and various other buildings, along with some 57 hectares of land – on the open market.
This is not a recent decision. The Council has been looking to sell this property since 1996, but officially since 2003. The Council failed to state Actual Reality’s bid to purchase Castle Toward in 2008. No other bids were made and yet the Council failed to acknowledge Actual Reality’s valid and feasible attempt to purchase.
One of the prospective purchasers with which the authority will be discussing possible sale terms is Actual Reality Learning and Leadership Ltd, should it wish to pursue its interest in the property.
The Council is more than aware of Actual Reality’s wish to purchase the property. Interest has been shown directly in the form of a bid.
Argyll and Bute Council Leader, Councillor Dick Walsh, said he appreciated that many people would be disappointed by the current inability of Actual Reality to continue operating Castle Toward as a residential facility.
Councillor Walsh has made his wishes clear that he has no interest in Castle Toward functioning as a residential education facility, and that he wants the premises and estate to be sold to the highest bidder who will develop houses. Actual Reality have now been effectively evicted so that these development plans can flourish without Scottish Executive and public backlash.
“It is a very disappointing situation for all of us, but our primary concern has to be the health and safety of the people who would be staying there,” he added.
If this were true, then the Council would have acted upon the recommendations made by SFRS or allowed Actual Reality permission to do so.
“The clear advice from our experts is that the health and safety concerns at Castle Toward are such that it cannot currently continue to be used on a residential basis. That is advice which we have no option but to act on.
“Carrying out repairs on a patchwork basis is not sufficient in the current situation. These are major works of a nature such that they must be completed in their entirety before the building can be reopened for public use.
“We remain in active and ongoing discussion with Actual Reality Learning and Leadership Ltd regarding the future of the building, and will continue to do all we can to work towards a satisfactory solution.”
The only satisfactory solution is to sell Castle Toward to Actual Reality. This would mean that the Council would no longer be responsible for, or claim ownership of something which it clearly has no interest in maintaining or spending money on. Allow for Castle Toward to continue as the unique and vibrant outdoor education centre and accept that the people of Argyll & Bute and beyond want this facility, rather than letting it be sold as yet another housing development.
Here is the link to the Council’s statement: