Talks could decide fate of Livingstone centre

May 14 2009 by John Rowbotham, Hamilton Advertiser

A CRUCIAL meeting that may decide the future of the David Livingstone Centre was due to take place yesterday afternoon (Wednesday).

Officers of South Lanarkshire Council will hold talks with the National Trust for Scotland’s chief executive Kate Mavor.

The Blantyre centre’s future was placed in doubt after NTS announced they would end their management of the complex unless a recurring £100,000 deficit is cleared.

NTS say they are short of cash and plan to close or part-close 11 properties and axe 90 staff.

The council have agreed to increase their annual grant for the DLC from £20,000 to £50,000 but NTS said that was not enough to save the centre.

Representatives of the centre’s board of governors, who operate the centre on behalf of the owners, the David Livingstone Trust, are also expected to attend the meeting.

Neither side would comment in advance of the meeting but staff at the centre are hoping that an agreement can be reached.

Meanwhile, Hamilton South MSP Tom McCabe held a one-hour meeting on Monday with Ms Mavor and spelt out the importance of the DLC to the South Lanarkshire community.

Mr McCabe said: “I explained to her that this was a facility in a working class area that was a serious part of Scotland’s heritage.

“I said it could not be closed on a whim and she acknowledged that.

“My impression is that she is a person committed to the DLC and would like to find a way of retaining it.”

The MSP has written to the Scottish Government’s Culture Secretary, Mike Russell, asking him to intervene on the DLC’s behalf.

“I pointed out that the council have stepped up to the plate by increasing their contribution,” he added.

“And I also said it was time the Scottish Government delivered at the very least an interim solution which would buy us time and allow us to firm up the centre’s financial future.”

Mr McCabe said the trust chief executive had also agreed to clarify the position regarding endowments and legacies left to the Livingstone Centre.

Central Scotland SNP MSP Christina McKelvie last week wrote to the trust asking for details of a £100,000 legacy which she says was bequeathed to the centre for its “sole use.”

A spokesman for the trust said a legacy from a donor had been received.

It was being “held” pending the outcome of the consultation process over the proposal to axe jobs and close properties.

Executors of those who had bequeathed the money had asked for no publicity.