At a quiet Community Council meeting, with only three members of the public in attendance, Aidan Docherty, Head of Centre, announced that Actual Reality had bought the village outdoor centre from Argyll and Bute Council, with the deal apparently closing this Thursday, 7th February, 2013.
The purchase includes the slipway, the listed building ‘Old Ferry House’ at the slipway entrance, the outdoor centre itself, including the two ‘cottages’ together with the grounds which apparently extend to 6.714 acres (Title Disposition July 1968).
Aidan introduced Richard Miller, Actual Reality’s Finance Officer and invited any questions or expressions of concern regarding the negotiation and purchase of the centre either at the meeting or at any time in the future. He stressed the positive impact of this acquisition, highlighting the fact that the centre is approaching its 40th anniversary and that Actual Reality, which will soon become
Claire, Jennifer
Good points and I totaly agree with you the CC only found out about the sale details on the night of the CC meeting when Actual Reality explained the sale details to us, and that is when members of the public and Councillors raised the slipway issue which is now ongoing and various individuals are looking into the ownership/rights of way etc.
Hi Roy. Thanks for your invitation to attend community council meetings. Can I ask, is your community council doing anything about the ‘slipway issues’? I see there are some interesting comments here
http://forargyll.com/2013/02/acquisition-sees-actual-reality-and-ardentinny-outdoor-education-centre-secure/
which your committee may or may not be aware of.
Good point Roy but April is a long way off. Think the Community Council needs to work a bit faster when important issues arise and, when they do, how does the general public know about them? I only pick these things up if they are in the local paper or on sites like this one or For Argyll. Anyway, regarding this issue, it looks like it’s too late as it seems the sale of this particular PUBLIC property took place in secret.
It’s good to see that people have a point to make regarding the sale of the Centre and the ‘Slipway issue’ attending the Community Council meeting is an ideal time to highlight these issues especially when a member of the centre attends these meetings the next one is in April why not turn up and voice your opinion!!!!!
Wow £130,000!!!! That must be the best deal ever. What an outrage. What isgoing and why would it be sold so cheaply?
Who can answer these questions and who is accountable, for this?
£130,000 is what Actual Reality paid the cash strapped? Argyll and Bute Council for Ardentinny outdoor centre, bungalows, slipway and ferry house. One of the houses alone would have fetched that or more on the open market. What’s going on?
Good point Niall. Are we to see more of the blocking of the slipway by AR minibus/trailer which has taken place in previous years? Looks like it!
It’s time to wake up Ardentinny and build your own slipway. You have just lost a rare asset in the shape of a public access slipway to private ownership. Understandably the new owners will use it to their best advantage but will it always be to yours? Think about it! Niall.
I hope you r right G but in these hard times I hope they can make it work
Excellent! Although Actual Reality’s contact with the community has been somewhat lacking over the past few years, I welcome this new start which will hopefully bring back some of the flavour of the old days!
You mean to say that our council, funded by us, has made a deal with actual reality without either consulting the community and/or putting the centre on the open market? What is to stop this company cutting and running in a couple of years time and selling the centre to a developer? Has the council considered this?