[HappyHippy]

As the title says............
I've just checked it now 
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who's signed and passed this on.
For anyone who hasn't signed up yet  Get a move on ! 
http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/savepalacerigg
Many, many thanks,
Karen x

[Fleecewife]

Yippee !!  Thank you all SO SO much for signing and getting friends, family and the wider world to sign.  This is such cheering news.  How can they ignore us ??   (don't answer that...)

Now please all keep your fingers crossed on Tuesday afternoon for them to make the right decision 

[doganjo]

My friend,Cecilie, in Sweden signed it!

[Rosemary]

Maybe we should all commit to visiting it next year if it stays open. If 1000 people paid a fiver to get in, that would be almost enough to offset the saving of £60k. Bingo!

[doganjo]

Maybe we should all commit to visiting it next year if it stays open. If 1000 people paid a fiver to get in, that would be almost enough to offset the saving of £60k. Bingo!

Umm not quite - 1000 x £5 = £5000, still a long way off the savings the Council envisage.  But, yes, now I know of its existence I will visit it if it is still open.

[Rosemary]

Maybe we should all commit to visiting it next year if it stays open. If 1000 people paid a fiver to get in, that would be almost enough to offset the saving of £60k. Bingo!

Umm not quite - 1000 x £5 = £5000, still a long way off the savings the Council envisage.  But, yes, now I know of its existence I will visit it if it is still open.

  Just as well I'm not an accountant 

[Fleecewife]

We have started scratching our heads to think of some BIG sponsors and a good patron.  Of course no-one will want to part with loads of cash, but we will have to be persuasive 

One of the really good things about Palacerigg is that it's free for anyone to walk through - don't suppose a wee collection box at the gate would raise much 

[doganjo]

Perhaps that's why it is costing the Council so much and they want to ditch it.  If it had been properly managed and a small charge made then it might not be going through this trauma.

[cmorrell]

It's an open country park with a golf course in the middle ... the farm aspect is only part of their setup. I honestly don't see that charging access would be feasible - it would be more likely they'd shut down the country park aspect as well, given the livestock area directly beside the visitor centre and parking area is a major pull for young families from the area who just wouldn't visit if they had to pay to get there.

Yet there is so much missed opportunity to generate revenue. The visitor shop is a joke - the cafe no better - the garden nursery shop I have yet to see open - and they could easily run a series of courses or information talks with a nominal charge, yet I've seen nothing advertised, so if they do, they don't want you to know.

Compare with Mugdock Country Park in East Dunbartonshire ... a great visitor shop that offers hand crafted products by local people as well as the expected tat - a cafe which serves really good food, much made fresh by them each day - countless events through the year, both free and for a small fee - hire of a couple of their rooms including a very well equipped small theatre style room - an outstanding privately owned garden centre ... the options are there, but they're just not being done at Palacerigg.

[robert waddell]

well it,s a labour run cooncil only passed by once and looks dismal my wife was born and brought up in the area and never set foot in it

[HappyHippy]

well it,s a labour run cooncil only passed by once and looks dismal my wife was born and brought up in the area and never set foot in it

which is probably why the council thought they could close it - you've got to use it or loose it 
Hopefully now, with Paul at the helm, the rare breeds can move forward and actually be somewhere that many more people will visit.

[doganjo]

Perhaps the new Friends of Palacerigg could put into practice some of Calum's ideas from Mugdock?

[Fleecewife]

I had a phone call today from North Lanarkshire Council wanting to know what further action we wanted about the petition, seeing as we WON    The normal procedure is for it to go before a committee, they discuss it then tell us what they have decided.  Although we know what they have decided I thought it best for them to go through the full procedure so our petition will be fully minuted for future reference, especially in view of the fact that the Council hasn't yet been given it's budget from Central Government, and the decisions they made on Dec 14th are for the next 2 years only.
I hope you are all happy with that.  The next meeting will be March 10th 2011, and if they don't get round to discussing it then, it will be June 16th 2011.  So it could act as a timely reminder to them of the strength of public opinion, just in case they think of changeing their minds  .
Juliet

[HappyHippy]

Just let them try changing their minds !
They'd have ME to deal with - and they'd need one or two very strong men to remove me