11/02/2025
National Churches Trust Conference - Paisley Abbey
On 1st November, 3 SMAKE members took a trip to the National Churches Trust conference entitled “Building Sustainable Futures for Scottish Churches”. We had been asked to give a 10 min talk on SMAKE’s journey for the last 15 months. We described the steps we had taken, especially the community consultations, to allow us to be where we are at the moment, having formed a Company Limited by Guarantee, applied to OSCR for Charitable Status and applied to the Scottish Land Fund for a grant to enable us to buy the Auld Kirk.
In addition to our presentation, we listened to other presentations from people in similar circumstances but, in varying degrees, further down the line from us. What really shone through was the commitment that these people have to their respective buildings and the determination that these people have to make their redundant churches a success in their new guises.
We also met the people and organisations who go a long way to allowing these old buildings to be a success – the funders. Organisations such as the Architectural Heritage Fund were there and we were able to chat to them about our project and give them some idea of the challenges ahead. It was great to be able to speak to these people face-to-face.
All in all, we had a most productive and enjoyable time and well worth the drive to Paisley.
