Attendees: Dayal, Karen, David, Kate, Elena,

Feasibility 

• Update on conversation with Glenn at Big Issue Invest re the REACH fund
  • ACTION: Make a decision about incorporating

Fundraising

AHF viability application

• Use as a way of refining vision / programme / timeline
• ACTION: each read through the questions and write notes 
• DAVID as coordinator of this application

List of key costs:

• Building condition
• Valuation 

Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) for council documents

• It was decided to get legal advice about the requested NDA

Roles and Organisational Structure

• Appointments were agreed: Kate Swade becomes chair of TGCC
• Future team session planned to understand ways of working
• Development of working groups or ‘work streams’ as a way to manage communications, governance, fundraising, and business plan/architectural feasibility. Might help to mobilise newly interested community members for specific tasks, increasing internal capacity.
• Need to decide on an organisational structure
  • Incorporation as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) or company limited by guarantee with charitable status considered.
  • Maybe fiscal hosting in interim.
  • Possible partnership with other organisations as formal stewards for the building as a longer-term governance safeguard discussed

️ Meeting with Council Representatives and Letter of Support 

• Focus on obtaining a letter of support and clarifying if the group is the preferred buyer or if the property will go to market.
• Formal Heads of Terms might take longer

Community Engagement

• Want to work on planning workshops and outreach efforts to maintain visibility and involvement with the community.
• Plans include distributing posters, email updates, etc.

Business and Feasibility Planning

• Initial attempts to draft a document combining vision statement and business plan discussed. Borrowing templates from similar projects.
• Importance of developing an accessible version of the business plan with estimates of refurbishment costs, area schedules, and floor plans.

️ Valuation and Building Survey

• Need for a building valuation ASAP and condition survey to inform fundraising and grant applications.
• Current quotes discussed (valuation at approximately £2,000, surveys ranging between £3,000-£5,000).
• Funding options: director’s loans, crowdfunding.
  • Potential support from funders or trusts to cover initial survey costs.

Funding Applications and Strategic Prioritisation

• Upcoming funding deadlines included ‘Common Ground’ (deadline 21 Nov) and ‘Haringey Carbon Fund’ (deadline 28 Nov).
• Emphasis on applying for accessible funding that supports community capacity building, not solely the building acquisition or refurbishment.
• Agreed importance of prioritising shorter-term achievable funding rather than long-term uncertain streams.

Action items

• Work towards valuation
• Set up Directors loan agreements
• Set up fortnightly meetings, including online
• Develop communications plans including posters and email updates to maintain community support and visibility.
• Plan small workshop before Christmas for community.
• Put together timeline – in Miro board
• Start application for Common Ground
• Contact Stour Trust
• Provide sketches and floor plan CAD files and PDF; reconcile measurements; review schedule and other parts of plan
• Set up meeting with councillors
• Keep on working on business plan

Attendees: Dayal, Elena, Kate, Karen, Julia, David

Notes

Engagement:

• Current strategy relies too heavily on WhatsApp; need a mailing list and public meeting notes for broader reach and transparency.
• Previous meeting minutes were inconsistently published, Karen to update

Meeting with Council:

• Met with Capital Projects and Properties Director and Head of Property Non-Residential and Disposal Lead;
• Council’s position: Building is not formally an Asset of Community Value; disposal by end of financial year (March). A six-month “informal” moratorium offered for group to raise funds and/or prepare a proposal.
• Council seeks best market value, no discount for social value. This will be a significant financial challenge.
• Proposed monthly meetings. Confirm and establish.
• Council offers a freehold sale, not a lease, with no ongoing relationship. Limits our ability to trial and test.
• FOI request for building condition survey was refused, citing sensitive information.

Building usage:

• Council will consider community workshops only if linked to vision/business planning, not for general activities.
• Discussed managing security costs with United Guarding; no fee waiver yet.
• Plan and book monthly workshops in the building; invite experts.

Fundraising and business plan:

• Require business feasibility study and business plan to secure large capital funding.
• Recommended engaging expert consultants (Kate to reach out to contacts) for business plans etc.
• Architectural Heritage Fund feasibility grants are a potential source of funding, but application is 8-12 week.
• Need a clear vision document with updated event photos and tangible plans for funders and council.

Group organisation:

• Clear roles (chair, vice-chair, secretary, …) needed for governance and credibility.
• Group workload imbalance; need more delegation
• Ask for new members bring specific expertise e.g. business planning, PR

Timing:

• Strict timeline: disposal by end of March, progress sought by Christmas.
• Architectural Heritage Fund’s payment in arrears could require short-term loans to cover
• Timeline will be a challenge, needs the group to prioritise.

Attendees: Kate, Karen, David, Dayal, Friedrich, Julia

Notes

Consternation about possibility that 100TGR will be put up for sale, and difficulty of accessing information around this.

Response to this:
Use September community event to galvanise community response to potential sale
Contact Ruth G and placemaking team re access to further information and to express concern
Make application architectural heritage fund to demonstrate interest in preserving building.
Investigate potential Lottery Awards for All funding.
Share with local community WhatsApp groups
Write to MP
Gather information on whether surveys have been done on 100 TGR by councillors and council officers, including a feasibility study or any independent valuation of the building.
Investigate potential for community asset transfer.

Noted that the council suggestion of allocating time at the Selby Centre to Tower Gardens community groups is insufficient;
Does not address concerns about the state of the building
Does not take steps to preserve the heritage of the building
Does not provide a permanent solution for the community for an accessible and flexible space
Sets up gatekeepers for the community to access the space, which is the opposite of the intention for a community space
Is too far away from Tower Gardens to be accessible to the local community, in particular older people, families with babies/ small children and neighbours with any mobility issues.

Event 13th September
Ask Council for access to front of 100 TGR.
Develop a flyer for distribution end of July

Actions
Dayal to email local councillors
David to reach out to Ruth Gordon in placemaking team
Condense strategy doc into 1-page summary
Develop longer version of strategy doc with more details including potential for income streams
Ask Council for access to front room/ entryway of 100TGR for September event.
Consider potential organisations for partnerships in relation to demonstrating use of the building which could be used to either 1. Show potential for income streams (ie potential tenants of upper 2 floors) or 2. Show potential for the building to fulfil Council’s obligation for service delivery (are there any council services that could be delivered from the building?)

Attendees: Dayal, Karen, Kate, Dan

Apologies: Julia, Dan, David

Notes

• Update from Liam
  • Get back to him with our ideas
  • Would be good to add dream to email…
  • Who else should be involved?
• Deadlines:
  • Email Liam on Monday
  • Message whatsapp at same time.
  • Need ok for event
• We have event funding
• Event
  • Flyers delivered
    • How much: £100 pounds
    • Would have to be card
    • Very bright, not look like publicity
  • Aim: as many people as possible
  • Face painter: £250
  • What times?
    • Families do stuff in the mornings
  • How to do outside?
  • Street party: 75% ok, TG too hard – NO
• We do something regardless
• Alleyway – is public. Kate checked.
• Yard – clean it already
  • Can we use the yard?
• Ask for help in WhatsApp…
• If event is outside then could be more of a campaign
• Could become a booklet to people
• Choir – ask Melissa

Attendees: Dayal, Kate, Karen, Friedrich

Apologies: Elena, Vanessa, Dan, David

Notes:

• How we engage with Council etc.
  • We all agree that being confrontational is not the approach we want as TGCC, and that we need to always think about what we will achieve when we engage
  • Ward has local elections in a year – will there be more attention payed to TG/ward?
  • Liam had offered a meeting with Ruth
• 17th “wrap up”
  • Good turnout! Surely some overlap with survey, but a lot of them weren’t there for event, they were just passerbys
  • There is so much footfall on that corner. It’s a really good spot for a community space. Engagement needs to be outside the building/on that corner whenever we do engagement events. Would this be good for a “business” on the premise. Building is so central to Estate. 
  • A lot of people surprised by size of building. Felt like a waste that it was empty.
  • A lot of conversations about why something on estate was important. Old age/disability was a very common theme in why something nearby was needed. People enjoyed chatting to each other too.
  • Most people wanted things that could all fit in the same building e.g. at different times and with multi-use rooms. 
  • How fast do we engage with Council? Now!
  • Where could we share online to get more numbers on survey? When doing research for exhibition/talking to people.
  • Immediate neighbours came out to strongly state that they don’t want a space for lots of people from outside the estate which would lead to further issues with parking.
• Plan for September event
  • Vision for building
    • For Sept we don’t have time for a proper feasibility study
    • Kate’s experience of feasibility studies: 5k for quick and dirty, 70k for full study
    • Call it a “dream” rather than a feasibility study. Who coordinates? Kate. Develop a brief – with principles, eg as cheap as possible, conservation area, set example for retrofit for estate, …. – and to David to work with this
    • Where did Kate used to get money for this?
  • Community celebration
    • We should focus on community celebration – more than vision/feasibility study
    • Ask long term residents to spread the word Would need to prepare some structure?
    • Small group of people doing research? Emmanouil, Dayal, Karen, …
    • Who leads?
• Eco refurb angle
  • example of airsource heatpumps, … could a company want to promote their business on estate by sponsoring refurb of 100TG; could a company want to use whole estate as an example of retrofit and sponsor?
• Access to building
  • Ashley said they’d clear garage.
  • Who is the right person? Do we need to go to Ruth? Ask Liam to help set up meeting?
  • Make sure we are indeed having right conversations with right people and not invest a lot of time e.g. on yard if then someone else might take over…
• Clear up
  • Do we volunteer to make safe/remove decking – general feeling was no, see points above
  • Andrew & Andreia offered to help (also for other DIY, e.g. painting) if around. We do need to recruit more people.
• Reach out to respondents – when have plan/brief
  • Think about plan for comms
• Is there a placemaking strategy for building – again ask Ruth