MINISTERS are being urged to order an independent investigation into the running of a failed charity project chaired by the SNP’s national treasurer.
Midlothian Council has voted to ask the Scottish Government and Big Lottery to examine what went wrong at the high-profile Kabin centre in Loanhead.
Chair Colin Beattie, the SNP treasurer and a Midlothian MSP, has been on the board of the charity that runs it, Loanhead Community Learning Association (LCLA), since 2013.
Mr Beattie said he was disappointed the Labour-run authority had chosen to “play politics” rather than help, and accused it of trying to “damage the organisation at a critical time”.
Opened in 2011, the Kabin was used by Nicola Sturgeon to launch a £10m community empowerment fund on her first official visit as First Minister in November 2014.
“Now more communities will be able to come together just like The Kabin,” her personal page on the Scottish Government’s website reported.
Around 1500 people a week use the centre, which has a cafe, garden, soft play area, music studio and 10 meeting rooms.
However, despite the Big Lottery providing £700,000 for its construction and upkeep over its first five years, it has never managed to cover its costs.
After recently losing a key tenant, it issued its five staff with redundancy notices.
Midlothian Council, which along with the Lottery and Scottish Government was one of the main donors to the Kabin last year, discussed the crisis on Tuesday.
A council report revealed the LCLA held an extraordinary general meeting, chaired by Mr Beattie, on August 17 at which it was proposed to close the Kabin and wind up the charity.
Five days later the board formally decided to wind up the LCLA and sell the property.
However the site was gifted by the council to the Kabin for £1 on condition the land could not be used for any other purpose without the council’s prior consent.
The report said the Lottery had offered support until December, at which point it would try to sell the building on the open market if there were no other financially viable options.
The report warned that if the Kabin was boarded up it could attract vandalism, but if traded while insolvent it could be seized and liquidated by administrators,
Asking councillors to note the situation, it concluded: “The Kabin is no longer a viable charity under the current operating arrangements and is being supported to wind up.
“An alternative lease holder needs to be negotiated quickly. This is a fluid situation that involves a number of risks. Officers are in negotiation with the Lottery to find a viable solution.”
At the request of Labour councillor Russell Imrie, the council also agree to call for a probe.
A council spokesman said: “The Council is working closely with the Lottery to find an alternative use for the building as soon as possible.
“The Council has also agreed to write to the Scottish Government and the Lottery asking for an independent investigation into the board’s running of the Kabin.”
The Big Lottery said it was aware of the situation in Loanhead, but had not yet been contacted by the council about an investigation.
Mr Beattie said: “It is difficult to respond when there is no indication as to what the board is supposed to have done wrongly or could have done better.
“There has been no discussion or communication with the Board on what was presented to Council and the Board reserves its position until more information is available.
“If everyone is to be investigated on the basis they are short of money then we are going to see some interesting results in the future.
“At this time I would ask for space for the Board, the Council, and the Big Lottery Fund to work out a solution which it is genuinely hoped may save this community asset. I know that is what everyone wants and that is what we are seeking to achieve.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel