Preferred Option Selection Day

1. Preferred Option Selection Day Barr Village Hall 16 October 2016

2. Agenda Scope Approach 3. Findings 4. Objectives Options Next Steps

3. 1. Scope

4. Initial Scope Dinmurchie Farm, Land & Steadings (FCS) Study would support funding applications to buy/develop

5. Revised Scope Changes Economic Landscape (Pub/shop) Local Concerns (Scale / complexity / risk & sustainability of Dinmurchie) Revised Scope Assess issues & opportunities with a focus on identifying ‘Needs’ before developing options for selection

6. 1. Approach

7. Local Consultation Consultation with BPDC Door to Door Surveys 1-2-1 Telephone Interviews Drop-in Village Hall Community Events

8. Regional Consultation Girvan Kirkoswald Maybole Newton Stewart Stakeholder Event

9. Youth Voice Barr Primary School Girvan Academy When Marr met Barr

10. Themes “Beautiful place, hidden haven, peaceful, quiet, safe, sanctuary, tranquil” “Great school, lovely place to grow up, lots of friends and things to do”

11. Themes “The poor condition of the roads, signage and lack of public transport has consistently been an issue, raised persistently over the years and never resolved or even improved” “Visitor numbers have dwindled” “People are moving away due to lack of transport, access to jobs, training social activities”

12. “Many people have never heard of Barr” “Some people are aware of Barr, yet have no intention or reason to visit” “There is no through-traffic, so no passing trade” “Barr is a destination without an attraction”

13. “A small community with several groups and clubs, often working at cross purposes due to lack of communication & co-ordination” “A volunteer gap, no succession in place….youth voice not engaged or heard” “The pub and village shop are vital to the sustainability of the village, and yet, cannot be sustained by the support of residents and volunteers alone”

14. “The play park is a popular choice for young children and parents” “There is a distinct lack of stimulation for youths aged 11+18”

15. “There are no job, development or training opportunities within the local area” “If we can’t handle a shop and a pub, how can we handle a project like Dinmurchie?” “We must carefully balance the desire to increase visitor /tourist numbers and spend, with the need to retain the peace and tranquillity that residents enjoy so much”

16. Desk Top Analysis Untapped marketing potential (Tripadvisor, social media etc) Opportunities to leverage regional attractions/ tourist population Validation of constraints & barriers including accessibility & youth gap Increase in demand for UK/Outdoor holidays means opportunity to provide real life/cost effective alternative to forest holidays and centre parcs

17. Objective Setting SMART Objectives Objective 1 “Work collaboratively with current and future village groups, committees and clubs to develop, implement and continuously improve a successful communication strategy within 12 months”. Objective 2 “Support the development, maintenance and continuous improvement of existing village amenities to improve the quality of the resident and visitor experience in Barr over a three-year period”.

18. Objective Setting SMART Objectives Objective 3 “Identify and increase key target market visitors by 20% over a 3-year period”. Objective 4 “Identify, minimise and control, accessibility and communication barriers between Barr and neighbouring towns/villages using environmentally friendly means over a three-year period”. Objective 5 “Work collaboratively with current and future village groups and committees to identify suitable development opportunities to further enhance the village of Barr and safeguard sustainability 3, 5 and 10 years from now”.

19. Strategic Outcomes Outcome 1 – Improve accessibility /transportation Outcome 2 – Improve Communications internally Outcome 3 – Improve Comms and marketing eternally Outcome 4 – Improve quality of life for residents Outcome 5 – Improve Visitor/Tourist experience Outcome 6 – Greater Youth Voice Outcomes 7 – Increase footfall and spend in the village

20. Option Development Collated Long List of Options Assessed and categorised Packaged and sifted to four

21. Option Selection

22. Option Selection Option 1: Do Nothing Option 2: Purchase Pub, Shop & Market Option 3: Barr Hub, The Barr, Barr Bus, Barr Camp Site and Marketing (small tourist destination) Option 4: Dinmurchie – major tourist attraction

23. Option 1 – Do Nothing

24. Option 1 – Do Nothing Maintain status quo, do not invest or develop Pub remains closed (or sold on) Future of shop uncertain Dinmurchie left derelict (or sold on) Resident / visitor numbers may decline

25. Option 2 – Shop/Pub and Market

26. Option 2 Purchase Existing Shop & Pub (if available) BDPC purchase both on behalf of community BSSG can lease and run as is or run as joint venture with a publican Engage a marketing consultant to target visitors and tourists Will increase footfall and spend but will it be enough to sustain the village into the future? Doesn’t address the group/communications issues nor the transportation or youth problem (because the shop and pub alone don’t bring enough money into the community to pay for the solutions to these problems)

27. Option 3: Barr Hub, The Barr, Barr Bus, Barr Camp Site and Marketing (small tourist destination) For clarity this would require an assessment of all village buildings including the shop, pub, village hall and domestic properties to ascertain which would be most cost effective and sustainable (not another feasibility study, purely an architect and cost consultant carrying out surveys)

28. Option 3 Establish Barr as a boutique visitor and tourist destination competing with CenterParcs and Forest Holidays Brand Barr then pick and chose target audience to come - when you want – keep balance of quiet! Move people around with your own transport Less groups – more focus - one goal Fair and equal access to funding and support

29. Option 3 Encourage Social Enterprise start ups or business start ups – guide, support and enable Create jobs and seasonal work - pay people for hard work & support youth Keep profits (from SE’s) for community projects and causes - Masters of own destiny See governance/org chart and tables for how this would work in practice

30. How? Establish governance structure led by Community Association Barr Development Company purchase and maintain assets as landlord (village assets) BDC engages integrated supply chain (Ayrshire based) Social Enterprise leads need to be identified before we can seek funding

31. Option 4 Dinmurchie large scale tourist project Moves activity away from village High complexity and risk associated with buildings and liabilities Possible to purchase small sections Possible to work in partnership with forestry to improve without buying

32. Choosing Consider our strategic outcomes Which of the options feels workable and sustainable? Consider whether you could be involved to support? Do what is right for the village Vote for your preferred option

33. What’s Next 2 weeks to make decision If option 1 selected – feasibility study ends If option 2 selected – BPDC will work closely to secure funding. Marketing Consultant will be engaged to lead focus group and funding If Option 3 selected – A focus group session will be held in a few weeks to identify how to proceed with costings / funding applications If Option 4 Selected – BPDC will engage Architects and Cost Consultants to lead

34. You Decide You have 14 days to vote for your preferred option using the ballot form / postal box or Email To help you decide please review the following: Study so far (work in progress – will be available on line Tuesday evening) Org Charts (available online now) Mind Maps (being reformatted – will be available online Tuesday evening) Presentation slides – available online