Meetings

Hello lovely members! Hopefully you received an email about our Members’ meeting this evening – if you can, please come along to the County Buildings (the supper room upstairs, not the main hall this time) at 8pm til 9pm. We look forward to providing an update on the progress of the bar, the Community Hub, and a few other things before we open up for drinks on March 28th at 6pm!

Agenda

1. Welcome and Apologies
Apologies received from Penelope Cumming. 25 Members present and 7 committee members.

Craig gave grateful thanks for the continued support of members attending the meeting. Thanks were given for the support being received from all the members, and the continued trust in the committee.

2. Volunteer and business appreciation
Thanks were given to all volunteers who had helped with all sorts of jobs , and a list of all the help, donations and time given so far, which included Paul Scott of P S Carpets who donated and fitted replacement flooring in the corridor, and for the Wigtown Community Shop for their donation of £500, plus numerous others who have given their time and expertise to help get the Wigtown Ploughman into the position of being ready to open the doors on Friday 28th March 2025. Decorating committee looking at moodboarding ideas for the styling of the accommodation, having already done a fabulous job in creating a warm and inviting warm space – henceforth to be known as The Lounge.

3. Community share offering finalisation
80% of the share offerings have now been paid up and the outstanding pledges are being followed up. The swift payments of the pledges has allowed us to progress with purchasing necessary items, giving us the confidence that we can proceed and have budgets available. We are now in the position of being able to look at refurbishing the accommodation due to the high response and the cash flow.

4. Community Hub update
Now to be known as The Lounge – we have had 20 volunteers for the lounge but we have had to delay the opening as we are needing a volunteer manager to create a rota of volunteers to ensure we have cover available, we are now looking at 14 April for opening the Lounge and are actively seeking a volunteer manager. We will also be looking at a booking system for groups to be able to hold meetings in the Lounge outside of standard opening times. We have purchased an urn and essentials to provide tea and coffee, using the donation from the Wigtown Community Shop.

5. Bar opening date
David confirmed that the opening will be Friday 28th March at 6pm with local celebrity Scad who has kindly agreed to pull the first pint! 47 years ago, Scad worked at the Commercial Inn. He is delighted to have been asked.

Our opening hours for Friday will be 6 pm- 11pm, then 3-11pm on Saturday. Going forward, opening times will be 3pm – 11pm Thursday through to Sunday.

The bar is well stocked with a very good selection of wines, local beers (e.g 5 Kingdoms, Wigtown Brewery), spirits from Crafty and Bladnoch distilleries, plus Scottish beers, Belhaven Best and Black, and West 4. We have ciders and bottled cider and lots of bottled ale. We will be in a position to swap bottled ales that prove popular onto the pumps. We also have gluten free beer, and a wide range of zero alcohol drinks along with a wide range of soft drinks. Coca cola is not yet on an install, but will be available in cans and bottles until the install is complete, ( we turned down the offer of the install to take place on 28th as we felt we would be rather busy that day !) It is very likely that there will be a few teething problems while we all find our feet, so please be kind!

We will have a protocol in place to protect our staff and customer safety. The Wigtown Ploughman will be a warm and friendly pub and welcome to all, including well behaved dogs ( and owners !) and children accompanied by a responsible adult. The beer garden looks fantastic and is a real sun trap. We had a kind donation from Causeway Nursery of some plants which look great. We will possibly have a gazebo available and will have Smidge on hand for those that need it. There is potential in the future for a BBQ event. The rough land at the rear entrance to the beer garden will be tidied up and there is a potential in the future that this can be purchased and the garden extended.

Once funding allows, we are hoping to offer apprenticeships in hospitality .
It was also mentioned that we will be calling an AGM in the future whereby the current committee will step down and members can put themselves forward for election. Current committee members may also put themselves forward for re-election.

6. Date and time of next Members’ meeting
Date of next meeting is to be April 28th

7. Member questions, ideas, and AOB
Q- Hiring of staff, how did that go?
A- 8 interviews were conducted during the last week with a good mix of applicants. Today 3 of the 4 people that we have offered positions to. All of the hours that the bar is open will be covered by paid staff. Julie Willan is currently the premises license holder . All staff will be trained on the systems and will be expected to give a high level of service. Mandatory training to work behind the bar will be taken. We are planning a trial run on Thursday 27th to cover all aspects of what we anticipate will be required including Health and Safety and fire drills. The Committee will be available to step in as needed, but we wish the paid staff to be empowered to do their job and to ask for help rather than the committee taking control. There is a potential to extend hours if the staff wish to do so.

Q- Lounge – will it be available to book for meetings.
A- Yes, booking will be available. U3A has asked if they can share our postal address which we have agreed. The core hours of the Lounge will be 11-3 Monday to Friday, but outwith these hours, the space can be booked for clubs/meetings.

Q- What plans for extending the Accommodation and Dining?
A- a subcommittee has been formed who are costing out plans for refurbishing. A SOSE hospitality expert has been to visit and has estimated spend per room would be around £8k to achieve what the committee would like to do. (Context provided after the meeting – this figure also included redoing the bathrooms which wouldn’t be necessary in our scenario) The final decision will be based on financial viability. The kitchen refurb is much more involved and more expensive to be transformed so the likelihood is that the food offering will be in 2 phases with a light offering initially of Eg, pizza . This is likely to involve sectioning off the kitchen . In the future the kitchen will be completed and possibly expanded. There will be a kitchen committee, as it has been proven that having a bar committee worked successfully. We are confident that we will have some sort of food offering by the time of the Book Festival. In the interim, we are collating local information on takeaway foods in the area and are happy for people to order and consume their purchases on the premises.

Q- Update on the bar manager and residential flat.
A- we will be taking quite a bit of time for the appointment of a bar manager. There will be a closing date for applications, as yet undecided. It is not yet decided whether the flat will be offered as part of a package, as it may be a better source of income to let it as holiday accommodation – we will have more of an idea at the next meeting.

Q- when is the hot chocolate machine going to be ready!
A- it is awaiting service and commissioning so we are waiting to contact the engineer. We may use a backup in place.

Dave gave thanks to Craig for steering the ship, being level headed and doing so much.

Meeting was closed at 9.30pm

We’d love you to join us from 6:30pm – 7:45pm in The Wigtown Ploughman at 30 South Main Street. We’re holding an open house for Members to come and see the building and to access all areas. Afterwards, we’d love you to join us in the County Buildings from 8pm for our Members’ Meeting, where we have the following agenda:

Minutes – Draft

Members were given a tour of the Wigtown Ploughman between 6.30 and 7.45, which was very well attended. Meeting then convened at County Buildings attended by 47 members plus 8 committee

1. Welcome and Apologies
Craig gave safety instructions and welcome, and commented on the open evening held at the Wigtown Ploughman, and gave thanks to those that had taken the time to visit and then to attend the meeting. Comment was made that 10 months of hard work behind the scenes had got us to this point – the building is now “yours” which was met with a round of applause.

2. Building purchase complete
Thanks to SOSE for the grant which enabled the purchase which concluded on Valentine’s Day with keys handed over. Hoping to get the warm space open very soon and the bar soon after. We now need the premises license to be transferred and currently police checks taking place for those that will be the licensees. Premises can then be officially renamed. Lots of work is continuing behind the scenes to ensure everything that needs to be in place is being correctly done

3. Community share offering update
Really heartwarming that 90% of the investment is from local people which is fantastic to have the local support. Thank were given for the pledges , emails will be issued to those that have pledged with instructions, and certificates will be issued to the shareholders . A message of support has been given on social media by Shaun Bythell which is very welcomed. Reiteration that money is at risk, and no pressure from members to commit. If interested to pledge , packs are still available until closure on 3rd March.
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Q – what happens if 51% of local shareholding is not met? Committee meeting will be held and if the non local exceeds, we would have to withdraw enough applications from the Non local pledgers to address the balance to ensure that 51% local ownership is met. This will reduce the funding available, but is the only option. Currently we have 87% of pledges coming from local people – we feel confident that the 51% minimum will be achievable

4. Warm space opening date / volunteer recruitment
Huge amount of volunteer help has got the bar ready and cleaned and scrubbed over the past few weeks. The warm space room is planned to be the first room on the left as you enter. This will be filled with board games etcc. There will be the ability to bring food in from outside areas, with basic tea & coffee available. The warm space will always need to be manned by volunteers.

Future management committee will be up for change once the initial term of the current committee is complete. Support is actively being sort from members for skills that might be within the group , eg anyone with HR experience Volunteers will always be welcomed.

We are hoping to have the warm space open by 1st March . Still some areas that need to be covered, but we want to ensure that we can keep the momentum going. Building can be used by anyone . We wish to show that having a committee , work can move forward quickly. We will be looking for volunteers from our members to man the warm space during opening times . We will send out a form to all members for volunteering – any time given would be gratefully accepted. If any member would like to form a volunteer rota , that too would be welcomed . Members have been provided with a voting slip for decision on what hours would be requested for the warm space to be open.- but this will be subject to volunteer availability. We will make a commitment to be open as often as is possible and as quickly as possible.

5. Bar supplier recommendation / tentative opening date 
David Cannon confirmed we have had lots of meetings with supplies , including Tennents Belhaven and Heineken and it has been found that Belhaven suits us best, along with Five Kingdoms and Wigtown Brewery who will be the supplies for the inn.

Belhaven and 5 Kingdoms work well together already and they are keen to help us . We have no tie-ions or contracts – no money exchanging hands – Belhaven and 5 Kingdoms are committing their time with no financial ties or contracts . We were planning to have 5 stream – 2 Belhaven, Thatchams Cider, and two of 5 Kingdoms , plus a Spanish lager. We will also have 2 handpulls supplied by 5 Kingdoms for real ales , of which we will run 1 at a time as Ale is difficult to work with and goes off quickly. Once we get an understanding of what demand is. We will look to have two Ales on the handpull. There will also be wine offered, using Kate’s wine expertise to provide a good cellar . will be looking at a high level of non alcoholic provision .

Q – Could there be a flagon available that could be filled and taken home for consumption ? Craig and David agreed this would be a great idea and would look into off license selling.

At last management committee, it was not known how long it would take for license to come through – we had hoped to get an Occasional License, but this is not possible so we are having to wait for transfer of the existing license . We need a premises manager who must be licensed – currently Julie is awaiting hers in the post, but if any members hold a license we would be very keen to have them act as the premises manager with full support from the team .

We were hoping for an opening day for the bar of 28 March – Belhaven and 5 Kingdoms have confirmed that they can be ready for this date. Belhaven were the previous suppliers, so their equipment ( the Python) are still in place and just needs cleaning . We have quote for other essentials -water, electricity , waste eg card machines , Epos systems and other necessities. We should be on track to meet the date of 28th March so are quietly confident. The date may be in question due to environmental health sign off , which is proving quite difficult to get a date in the diary for them to come along . Nadine is working hard on this aspect

Bars snacks will be discussed and this will evolve . We are also looking at investing in glass washer – very expensive ( excess of £1000) but we may potentially look to lease which could prove more economical . Discussions still being made as to which method would be best .

Also discussion on how to staff and manage – eg would there be an overall manager with volunteers behind the bar. If any member has had HR /Staff recruitment and management experience we would be keen to hear. Opening hours would be built slowly initially due to financial restrictions, but this will increase and is depending upon the final share offering. There is an apartment available, but this has tax implications if offered as part of remuneration. Again if any members have tax law knowledge that they could share it would be gratefully received.

We hope with the 28th March, we would be able to have an offering for Easter and mothers Day.

Update on kitchen – the equipment is much larger than had been expected and it is likely we will need to remove a window to install – 2 steam ovens, double pizza oven, 6 burner hob with oven an grill, fryer. Pizza oven is on a 3 phase electrical system , we have 3 phase capability but need to get electricity board into connect the building to the 3 phase system . All the items need to be thoroughly cleaned and volunteers are requested -all equipment will be supplied. The opening of the kitchen will be beyond the date of the bar but we are hoping to offer a simple menu initially in a fairly short time, although we are not rushing things as want to get it correct

Q – will glassware be available from the brewery?

Some branded pint glasses will be available , but we will be purchasing good quality glasswear.

6. Date and time of next Members’ meeting
24th March 2025 County Building at 8pm

7. Member questions, ideas, and AOB
Q1- are we interested in groups using the space for their own meetings in evenings etc? Yes we are keen, but we need to have processes in place for key holding etc but this is definitely something we want to happen .

Q2 Is there going to be a problem with Belhaven equipment in the cellar being impeded by the storage of the kitchen equipment being held in there ?

Belhaven have confirmed the kitchen equipment is not in the way. We are expecting and H &S inspection for access to the rear but we do not anticipate any issues

Q3 – advice that having a volunteer management is very hardwork and recommend that the hours are pared back initially
This was acknowledged with agreement that we want to get it right first time and build slowly where needed

Q4 – Word of caution that the customer is important . will there be a contact number that can be released so that nobody turns up and finds that the building isn’t open.

Yes this will be available as soon as the line is in place. Communication will be given to ensure that people are aware of what to expect from the warm space, Ie manage expectations , also the bar – we know that the first impressions is the one that matters . Volunteer training will be given to ensure that the volunteers can be confident in themselves and enjoy the experience . We are very appreciative of feedback

Q5 – important to not have too much burden on a single volunteer – eg fewer hours with a slow build to ensure nobody is left struggling .

Very important that we will not commit to anything we can not do well , we will be taking baby steps to ensure we get it right

Q6 – will warm space and bar be dog friendly ?

YES , and child friendly too ( accompanied by an adult )

Q7 – have we thought who are audience are going to be ?

Are audience is YOU . We will ensure that wherever we advertise, we will be extremely explicit about what the offering is so there is no mistaking what is on offer at any given time Ideal scenario is to offer somewhere where a person can have good conversation , good wine, good coffee and to feel warm ,safe and welcomed. We would aim eventually to be represented in CAMRA which will promote us to travellers from far and wide , along with the more local people.

We wish to offer what is not currently available . The Galloway does a fabulous job being a sports bar, but we will not be offering this , which will result in a quieter space where you can sit and relax and have conversation . Therefore between the two separate establishments, all aspects will be covered .

We were very keen for this historic building to be restored to a public space rather than converted to private accommodation . We will want people to be fully aware of what is on offer each day and that they will want to return to our warm family friendly environment . There will be guidelines and training on conflict management should that arise .
Thanks for attending

Meeting closed 21:10