Community group turns down £500k grant for Haddington Corn Exchange

Haddington Community Development Trust (HCDT) successfully secured a grant for £482,282 through the Legacy:Scotland grants offered by Viridor Credits.

But on Monday, HCDT announced it would “not be taking up” the grant to improve the 19th century Corn Exchange, which is widely used as a community events venue.

Talks were held between HCDT, Viridor Credits and local councillors in a bid to find a way to resurrect the possibility of the money being handed over to the East Lothian group. That could yet take place, despite Viridor Credits, on Wednesday morning, confirming HCDT would “not be accepting” the six-figure sum.

Professor Chris Clark, chairman of HCDT, is currently on holiday but the group’s vice-chairwoman, Hilary Dickson, stressed it was not in the group’s interest to decline a meeting with Viridor Credits.

She stressed HCDT remained committed to improving the building on the town’s Court Street for the benefit of all, adding: “The project is fantastic and it is a beautiful building.

“HCDT’s role and aim is to create the greatest small town in Scotland and the Corn Exchange will play an integral part in that.” This summer, HCDT took over the running of the building on a lease from East Lothian Council.

Since then, live concerts have been held along with a darts event featuring top players.

Mrs Dickson added: “Recent improvements to the acoustics have been very successful and encourage a much greater use of the building and a wider range of artists.

“The trust was hoping to carry out a major refurbishment with funding from Viridor Credits.

“Unfortunately, the conditions of the grant are too difficult for us to meet.

“Ours is a fledgling community trust that is just starting to gain experience from managing a key community asset.

“The key barriers at this stage are the significant legal and delivery risks, along with the need to find substantial additional funding of £170,000.” Mrs Dickson said there was a liability clause, which HCDT members did not feel they could accept, which had to be agreed before the grant could be rubber-stamped.

John Lockwood, CEO of Viridor Credits, was disappointed in the decision.

He said: “Having awarded such a significant sum to regenerate one of Haddington’s most important public spaces, the Viridor Credits Board is disappointed to learn that HDCT are withdrawing the project.

“We aim to give our applicant organisations as much assistance as necessary in delivering their projects.

“On this occasion, the trust felt unable to accept the award. I wish them all the very best in making the Corn Exchange the facility it deserves to be.” Mrs Dickson stressed “a huge amount” of work had been done, involving the local authority, HCDT and Viridor Credits, to reach the award stage.

“We have spent hours discussing this and we are very committed to the project and working with Viridor,” she told the Courier.

Earlier this year, work was carried out to improve the acoustics inside the building, something that was praised by award-winning local musician Fish.

The lighting and PA system were also improved, which drew further compliments following the East Lothian Masters of Darts event over the weekend.

The new grant was earmarked for further improvements, including a new floor, kitchen and improved storage, including a mezzanine floor in the back hall.

Improvements would also be made in terms of insulation and also to the roof to prevent any leaks.

Mrs Dickson stressed the decision not to accept the grant did not mean the end of the ambitious plans for the building, which dates back more than 150 years.

She said: “You do not take on a responsibility like the Corn Exchange if you are not serious about it.” She added: “We will be looking for other, more manageable ways to make the building more suitable and attractive for modern uses. As part of this we are keen to hear community views on what improvements can be made to improve the Corn Exchange.” Councillor John McMillan, council spokesman for tourism and economic development, as well as a local member, was keen to see the matter resolved.

He said: “I can understand the caution that the HCDT feel about accepting this major award.

“Speaking personally, I hope the Viridor offer to explore options and further engage to help decide how the money could be used will lead to improvements in the building and contribute to the vision to make Haddington a great place to visit and live in” Jan Wilson, chairwoman of the town’s community council, said: “I’m really disappointed that they are not taking up the Viridor offer.

“I don’t know all the details but my gut feeling is they should have tried to work a way round it and hopefully they still will because I know Martin Hayman (formerly of the HCDT) put in a tremendous amount of work to get it off the ground.

“The Corn Exchange is such a beautiful building and it really, really needs the work done.

“The roof is leaking and the kitchen is in a terrible state – it is passable but only just.” Mr Hayman was similarly keen to see progress made in terms of the building being improved.

He added: “I want to see what is best for the community and what is best for the community is a Corn Exchange usable by as many people as possible.” The funding was offered as part of Viridor Credits’ Legacy:Scotland awards to celebrate the Landfill Communities Fund in Scotland.

HCDT beat a number of other bids to secure one of the most significant awards made by Viridor Credits in Scotland. However, with the rejection, the money cannot be awarded retrospectively to any of the other groups that missed out on funding.

Instead, the cash will return to Viridor Credits, where it will become available again for community, heritage and biodiversity projects.