SCS warehouse - Warwick Street

[sam]

One potential option in discussion, is SCS warehouse - Warwick Street.


We've made a formal offer to take on this building and now waiting for a response on the offer... Woohoo!

[zaatar]

In view of our discussions about Community Asset Transfer I thought I'd post some links to useful info:

• The 'My Community Rights' guide to CAT: mycommunityrights.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/LOCALITY-ASSET-TRANSFER_UNDERSTANDING.pdf
  
• Newcastle City Council's CAT guidelines: www.newcastle.gov.uk/communities-and-neighbourhoods/community-buildings-and-facilities/community-asset-transfer
  

[zaatar]

Today, four of us met David Stockdale, the Councillor on the city council responsible for Community Asset Transfers (CAT). We discussed our potential purchase of the former SCS showroom on Warwick Street.

We outlined the consensus view of S&S members as:

• the proposed restrictive covenant would unfairly hinder our ability to expand our programming/use of the building into new areas.
  
• would severely limit our ability to secure a commercial mortgage
  
• the purchase is being viewed in purely commercial terms, rather than as a Community Asset Transfer (our preferred option)
  
• ideally we want freehold tenure
  

We had a positive response from him on all these substantive issues:

• he thinks our eight year track record, previous council grant-aid & our Coop-CIC governance model satisfies the demand of the council for guarantees that buildings will be held for community/social use. To impose a restrictive covenant as well is holding S&S to a higher standard than other community orgs.
  
• the next meeting of the CAT committee is late September. He will endeavour to get the Warwick St building on the agenda so a formal decision on listing it as a Community Asset Transfer can be made.
  
• meanwhile he will make further enquiries with council officers on the CAT issue & get back to us in a day or two.
  

Furthermore, he suggested that we talk to the finance director of the council to explore the possibility of securing a council mortgage for whatever the eventual purchase price will be. We expect to begin those initial discussions this week.

He also gave us useful contacts for planning & licensing so we can begin those discussions too.

Finally he agreed to help coordinate a 'meet & greet' with MP's & Councillors - at the cinema - so we can do the vision thing. This could be in September if we get our skates on.

Without being complacent, we think the meeting went well; however, lots more work to do to ensure we have maximum political support in the council.

We can discuss this further on Sunday

Ilana, Rachael, Robin & John

[Trevor]

What are the costs of move and refurbishment?
This was can e-mail sent in response to a question by Matt Fleming on the futures list: can people think of cists that we should perhaps be budgeting for? There is a possible discussion on Sunday 10th August if you want to join in
Hi Matt
At present I don't think there are more re than back of envelope ideas. Given yesterday's positive meeting with David Stockdale we may not know yet what our actual purchase price will be. For refurb I think a figure of £200-250k is being guessed at with part of that purchase of a DCP set up. (50k?). Then there's exciting plans for better wiring infrastructure for multimedia recording/streaming that may cost. The other big capital ideas are to go for maximum sound and heat insulation and renewable heat/electricity sources, ground source heat pump/solar thermal/PV which will have significant outlay (30-50 again). Then there are lots of smaller ideas or visions to incorporate for studios, garden, kitchen/cafe but very few have seriously considered prices. Perhaps Sundays building meeting might be a place to start looking at costs? We may be able to get some realistic prices out the prefeasibility and feasibility studies?

Sorry this is a bit vague. Does anyone else have ideas about costs? I'll also add this as a thread on the forum if people want to post there?
Trevor

[zaatar]

Here's the Statement of Requirement for Land Agency Services as prepared by SH. We'll use it to ensure we're not getting ripped off by a surveyor.Statement of Requirement for Land Agency Se....doc (15 KB)

[Trevor]

Here's the list of things we'd like an architect to try to fit into the SCS space if they can ... it's ok we'll put the brewery in a shipping container

Re: 210 Warwick Street

Ideas for inclusion in architects plans for future Star and Shadow:

NB all areas to be fully accessible

Cinema/Theatre space 120 seat maximum but also with possibility to reduce size to produce a more intimate space.

Projection booth sufficient to house 35mm/16mm and DCP options are there additional Audiovisual requirements here (Check with Sam?)

Dressing room space – presumably adjacent
Prop store
Prop workshop
Electrical workshop

Green room/office space? (Can this be shared with gig spaces other meeting spaces?)

Large venue space – 300 capacity roller-shutter door access for equipment (can this access double for large art installation delivery?)

Bar access from main venue space

Small venue and bar – capacity 100/150
'Cellar' - cool space for beer etc

Art exhibition space?

Kitchen/cafe space (possibly separate from bar) – ideally adjacent and accessible to garden/outdoor space

Toilets: visitors- gendered (or unisex?) facility for baby changing [how many toiulets required for venue of this size?]
Disabled toilet(s)
Volunteer's toilet(s) and shower.

Cleaning store with sluice

Box office accessible to all spaces (presumably at entrance located away from residential area)

Secure store – is a sound store required for small PA other equipment?

Library (in a meeting room or other space?)
Archive store for film/sound materials

Meeting rooms (min 2)

Dark Room (with venting to outside?)

Film editing suite – do Film Bee want to occupy this or to have a separate space?

Screen printing studio (other crafts in this space?)

Art studio(s)

Recording studio – consult Sam about requirements? On 2 levels – location relative to other spaces if providing audiovisual hub?
[Other questions - Mezzanine level to add space?
How many fire exits? Is a corridor required?]

Renewables
Solar PV on roof and in glass frontage?
Solar thermal for water?
Ground source heat pump – allows air conditioning of parts of building plus heating
Biomas/biochar? [kitchen oven? Consult Wylam community bakery]

Plant room to accommodate necessary renewables/tanks etc
server/IT space?

Outside space

Green/living wall
Bee hive(s) on flat roof
Allotment garden(s)
Covered cycle parking [16x?]
Car parking for disabled and ambulance access

access for delivery – shared with large venue space?

[zaatar]

Hi all

We've postponed the first pre-planning meeting with NCC until Thursday 4th September at 3.30pm. This gives us more time to formulate an initial planning proposal. The council require us to have begun addressing the following items & can produce evidence:

initial interior & exterior design & can show them a floor plan
noise reduction strategy inc: sound proofing, insulation & late-night noise abatement
waste disposal strategy
traffic & parking strategy
revenue & capital plans
a local consultation plan

Yesterday a group of us met with Zoe, an Architect from X-site. While she thinks that X-site will not be able to be our design partner on a pro-bono basis (she will ask her boss after the holidays), she has agreed to support us individually with this initial phase of development - up to the pre-planning meeting. Dob will continue to be our in-house Architect. Furthermore she will introduce us to a specialist acoustics firm who may be able to give us some free initial support.

At the meeting we decided to seek another viewing of the building, to further our understanding of layout & current building materials etc. Hopefully that'll happen next week sometime.

See you on Sunday when Dob will bring latest copies of the floor plan incorporating ideas from the forum list.

[zaatar]

Hiya

We've got some planning/architectural questions to answer that'll be helped with another look around the building. Therefore another viewing has been arranged for Thursday 21st at 3.30pm.

[zaatar]

One vital element of the Warwick Street project is putting into practice a consultation plan. As well as being an activity we think is good in its own right, the council plannners want evidence that we're treating this seriously. Suggestions so far on our methods of consultation are:

• leaflet-drop in surrounding neighbourhoods
  
• daytime & evening drop-in sessions
  
• public meetings

What do you think?

Here also is the beginnings of a stakeholder list: people & groups we should be including in our consultation

• local residents - how wide an area do we consult?
  
• police
• schools - Hotspur + others?
  
• community groups/residents assocs?
• Councillors
• local churches
• neighbouring businesses

Who can we add to this list?

[Trevor]

Dob has produced the following latest draft of a floorplan for the SCS building still subject to discussions...

[Trevor]

The latest plan as of 26 August

www.flickr.com/photos/126479151@N08/15048072442/in/photostream/

[Trevor]

www.flickr.com/photos/126479151@N08

[zaatar]

Some photos from the last visit are here: flic.kr/s/aHsk2EGJWV

[Ian Evans]

Hello, this is the first time I've seen this. Not sure how ideas have been fed in, but these are mine for the area used for live music (and presumably also club type nights). These are formed from many many hours spent in the current place.

-a single room, so that we can concentrate resources (which I assume will have some limits?) in one place.

-no greater capacity than current bar space (200), we rarely fill it as things are and promoters often say 'it's a bit big' when thinking about where to put on typical medium sized events.

-room as far as possible from cinema and any recording facilities, to get the best chance of isolation between loud and quiet areas. Possibly put cafe/bar or other space in between. Should aim to be able to run a gig and film at the same time. Isolating gig and club level bass will be very difficult. We should look at methods used in commercial cinemas.

-a rectangular-ish room with stage at one narrow end, like the current setup turned sideways.

-stage a little bigger (width and depth) than current.

-permanent space for desk and outboard setup at the back of the room (opposite stage), and permanent space for DJs.

-storage and dressing rooms + toilet behind stage.

-bar to one side of the stage with sight lines to stage but set back to reduce sound levels for bar people.

-a load-in door close to the stage with clear access to an external door with an adjacent parking space for two vehicles.

-single audience entrance at back of room so people can come and go without disturbing quiet events or being shouted at by comedians.

-provision for ticket person to operate inside or outside room - small booth or partitioned area both sides of entrance.


OK that's it for now - how can I get this stuff fed into planning?