Page 1 - Proposed Sale of Town Hall
Page 2 - Proposed Sale of Town Hall
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Kinross & Loch Leven Home Page
Kinross Community Council
Background
Kinross Town Hall, Steeple, Library and Fountain are all Listed Buildings centrally located on the main street in the town’s conservation area (see map, ref C1).
- The steeple was built in 1751 for the church which then stood on the Town Hall site.
- In 1832 the church was demolished but the steeple retained.
- In 1841 the Town Hall was built by local Market Traders and enlarged in 1869 and 1904.
- Following a bequest to the town of an antiquarian collection in 1902, an approach was made to Andrew Carnegie for funding for a building to house a museum and library. Local estate owner, Sir Basil Montgomery, provided the finance for the local Town and Parish Councils to purchase the necessary land, and Andrew Carnegie donated £1800 to fund the building, completed in 1905.
Formal request for a Sist
The possibility of a petition has been mentioned verbally on a number of occasions over the last year and a half by Perth and Kinross Councillor George Hayton, however the actual content was not known by us until the petition submitted by Perth and Kinross Council (P&KC) was received from the Sheriff Clerk on the 27th June 2005.
The Community Council made requests for meetings and further information on the Council’s proposals for the buildings on the following dates:
- 9th March 2004
- 16th April 2004
- 12th January 2005
- 6th March 2005
No responses have been received to these written requests.
An official complaint was made concerning the lack of responses on:-
- 6th February 2005
A copy of the Professor of Conveyancing’s legal opinion first requested on 9th March 2004 was only supplied on 22nd July 2005 following intervention by the information commissioner.
A large number of requests for information have been made to the council under the freedom of information act, however many of these remain outstanding.
Kinross Community Council have prepared as much information as possible given the lack of assistance from P&KC.
In order to allow more research and a chance to sound public opinion, we request a sist on these proceedings for at least 3 months.
Further we request that the Sheriff instructs Perth and Kinross Council to assist us with our enquiries by not continuing to withhold relevant information.
The Museum / Library parts of the Town Hall are inalienable
It is the opinion of Kinross Community Council that the Museum and Library cannot be made alienable for the following reasons:
Express Grant in Trust
We believe that the Minute of Agreement (ref D) entered into on the 18th March 1904 creates an implied trust, whereby the statement “…the Library, Reading room, Museum and Recreation Room, hereinafter referred to as the Library, shall be upheld in all time coming for behoof of the whole inhabitants of the Town and Parish of Kinross” created a trust between the “people of the Town and Parish of Kinross” and “the Provost, Magistrates and Town Councillors of the Burgh of Kinross, the Parish Council of the Parish of Kinross and the Landward Committee thereof” and their successors.This minute of agreement was registered in the Books of Council and Session and is referred to in the following Deeds:
- Disposition by Jessie Lawson or Hogg & her husband to Committee acting under Minute of Agreement between Provost, Magistrates of Town Council of Burgh of Kinross and Parish Council of Parish of Kinross & Landward Committee thereof (ref E1)
- Disposition by David Brown to Committee acting under Minute of Agreement between Provost, Magistrates of Town Council of Burgh of Kinross and Parish Council of Parish of Kinross & Landward Committee thereof (ref E2)
- Disposition by Helen Mailler or Stark and Ann Mailler or Dunlop to Committee acting under Minute of Agreement between Provost, Magistrates of Town Council of Burgh of Kinross (ref E3)
We also believe that the gift of the land by Sir Basil Montgomery and the gift of funds to build the Library building establish an express grant in trust, as both were party to the minute of agreement.
Acquisition of trust rights by the public arising from use from time immemorial
It is our belief that the use of the Billiards Hall, Museum and other accommodations by the general public between 1905 and 2001 has created a public area in the face of inaction on the part of Perth and Kinross Council, thereby creating a trust by rights.
Dedication to public use
The Town Hall / Library / Museum complex was dedicated to public use.
Examination of the plans (ref: C2 & C3) of the building will show that the so called Library building was only one third occupied by the Library itself, with the remainder of the building used by the Billiard Room and Museum, both of these being regularly used by the general public. This we believe means that the property is part of the Common Good.
Provision of alternative accommodation
We believe that Perth and Kinross Council has failed to provide suitable alternative accommodation and would argue that the proposed new High School will also fail to provide suitable accommodation as “There are indications that they will be too small, will not provide adequate access, will be badly located for most of the community and will not replace some of the key elements of the Town Hall accommodation.” (ref: F)
Breach of Contract on the Part of Perth and Kinross Council
The titles for both the Town Hall and Library buildings, carried obligations on the successors to the “Provost, Magistrates of Town Council of Burgh of Kinross and Parish Council of Parish of Kinross & Landward Committee” to upkeep the properties for the behoof of the people of the Burgh of Kinross.
It is our belief that Perth and Kinross Council have neglected these responsibilities and thereby breached the contract under which they were gifted these buildings.
Maintenance of Halls throughout Perth and Kinross
Perth and
Kinross Leisure have stated in public meetings that funding is not available
for the maintenance or development of the 103 halls either under their
direct control or funded by them.
In our opinion this is an act of “Corporate Vandalism” which
is causing the gradual deterioration of halls throughout Perth and Kinross,
despite the fact that many of these are listed buildings.
The argument that funds are not available is fatuous given the fact that
the new concert hall being built in the centre of Perth was funded by
Perth and Kinross Leisure to the extent of £7,040,000 and by Perth
and Kinross Council to the extent of £6,020,000 (ref: G)
Request:
It is the view of the Community Council that the buildings are part of
the Common Good of Kinross. Perth & Kinross Council (P&KC) has
failed in its obligations to adequately maintain the buildings, which
are Listed and located in the heart of Kinross High Street. Perth &
Kinross Council has not provided the community with suitable alternatives
to these buildings.
Kinross Community Council believes that Perth & Kinross Council should restore and refurbish the Town Hall and Library and return them to community use, as intended by those responsible for gifting them to the people of Kinross and earnestly hopes that it is possible for such a ruling to be made.
Should it be decided that the Petitioner may sell the buildings, we request that an estimate of the market value of the buildings had they been in a fully maintained condition is made and that the Petitioner pays this full market value into a trust set up for the purpose of financing the building of a new Town Hall, to be administered by a local, publicly-accountable body.
We feel that it would be inappropriate to put this money into the Kinross Common Good fund as this would give control of the funds to the petitioner.