UPDATE FROM TENANTS’ FORUM 27 APRIL

HIGHLIGHTS FROM TENANTS’ FORUM MEETING ON 27 APRIL:

Our last Tenants’ Forum took place on Wednesday 27th April on Teams and was hosted by Sarah-Jane Burns, Business Community Development Manager at The Crichton Trust. Thanks to those who joined us and for for those who couldn’t make it this month, you can find the highlights below:

POINTS OF INTEREST FROM 27 APRIL: 

• NEW TENANTS: Sarah-Jane informed the meeting about two new tenants; neither could attend the meeting  but are very keen to meet and work with others at The Crichton and in the wider community.
  • First was Dumfries & Galloway LGBT who have relocated to Hestan House at The Crichton. Iain Campbell is the point of contact and they are hosting an open day in their new office on Friday 29 April. All welcome.
  • Secondly, Just Breathe O2 who have recently relocated to Grierson House. Beth Morrison is the point of contact and she looks forward to joining future meetings and getting to know other tenants on site. Beth offers Oxygen Therapy from her base in Grierson House.
• EVENTS UPDATE: Fiona Rands, Head of Venues at The Crichton Trust attended the meeting to provide an update on forthcoming events including The Royal Burgh of Dumfries Tattoo this weekend, Year of Stories performances and a cycle event in June, Doonhame Festival in July and Cash for Kids Rainbow Fun Day in August. Fiona also told tenants that the weekly Parkrun event would be following a new route from 30th May. There will still be temporary road closures on site on a Saturday morning for Parkrun, but all routes and buildings will remain accessible for all site users. It isn’t too often that large events impact on day-to-day operations, but it is worth keeping an eye on social media and our What’s On guide to look ahead to events that are taking place on site and for notice about any temporary road closures or parking restrictions. Fiona’s team can also help with enquiries about hosting events on site by calling 01387 702020.
• VENUES UPDATE: Fiona also shared an update about the extended opening hours in both Crichton Central (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm and Sat/Sun 9am-4pm, although 6pm on Sat 30th April for the Tattoo) and the swimming pool at Easterbrook Bistro (7 days, 8am-8pm). Both venues have also launched new membership schemes this week and meeting rooms are also available for hire in Crichton Central.
• PROPERTY UPDATE: Gordon Clark, Head of Property at The Crichton Trust also discussed the new route for Crichton parkrun and about plans for road repairs on site.  Gordon also shared details of the iAuditor App used internally by The Crichton Trust to log maintenance and repairs on site. Gordon hopes to roll this out to tenants in the near future, which will help streamline the process of reporting any maintenance support required on site. More info/QR codes will be displayed in buildings and shared at future meetings.
• THE CRICHTON COMMUNITY:
  • Sarah-Jane confirmed that monthly/annual membership options at Crichton Central are now live on the website, as are options for short-term day/weekly passes to use the co-working spaces at Crichton Central. Meeting rooms and a Flexispace are also available to hire (members and non-members).
  • A reminder about Sunflower seeds still being available in Crichton Central for anyone who wants to contribute to the new Sunflower Field at The Crichton – Community Planting Days will be arranged soon.
  • Sarah-Jane also thanked Suzanne Main (tenant) for her idea to support Small Business Saturday initiatives at The Crichton, and reminded tenants to look out for weekly Small Business Saturday posts on The Crichton social media channels.
  • We are also working with other tenants to organise Health and Wellbeing Days. These are great examples of the sort of ideas we want to hear from tenants!
  • Sarah-Jane invited tenants to hand in any promotional literature that they would like to display in Crichton Central to her in Grierson House. A new info point will be set up within the co-working space asap.
  • An ongoing reminder to tenants to keep their directory entry up to date on The Crichton website. Edits can be made using the links at the top of the directory page or via Marketing.
• SUCCESS STORIES: We like to finish these meetings by sharing recent successes and to invite tenants and colleagues to share any good news!
  • This week, the Crichton Trust is celebrating the launch of memberships at Crichton Central and the swimming pool at Easterbrook Bistro! Get ready to tell us about your successes next time!
  • Since the meeting The Better Lives Partnership in Grierson House have shared some good news about their success as part of the ASN Learning Network – see report here.
• ASK THE COMMUNITY: We also like to provide an opportunity at the end of our meetings for anyone present to ask a favour or maybe ask for information or advice from others present. This week our marketing team asked tenants to check out The Crichton Trust’s Spring Video update and to encourage their teams to sign up to receive The Crichton newsletters (see footer of website) and to engage/share our social media posts. What will you ask at our next meeting?
• NEXT MEETING: 25 May at 11am on Teams (see below) – the theme of the next meeting is Business Support Services and we will have speakers available from different organisations to talk about their services.

Reminder:

• RESILIENCE IN BUSINESS COMMUNITIES: The Crichton Trust is working with The Open University in Scotland on a project exploring Resilience in Business Communities. A representative from the OUiS attended the March meeting to provide more information about the project and to share details about a series of workshops that will be running throughout 2022. Tenants are actively encouraged to participate. For more information contact Sarah-Jane Burns.
• WHAT DOES THE CRICHTON COMMUNITY MEAN TO YOU?: The Crichton Trust would welcome feedback from tenants and partners about what The Crichton Community means to them. Findings will help inform the creation of a Community Mission Statement. Tenants should contact Sarah-Jane Burns for more information..

SCHEDULE FOR 2022:See full schedule of dates below.  Click here for dates and meeting themes in 2022.

ABOUT THESE MEETINGS: Tenants’ Forums are about making connections and are a great way to get to know fellow tenants. They are a platform in which to share information, news, ideas and opportunities between The Crichton Community.

JOIN THE MEETING: Tenants will have received an email/diary appointment from The Crichton Trust with a link to the meeting. If you have any queries please call 01387 247544.

CRICHTON BRIEFINGS:

As well as Tenant Forums’ we also host quarterly Crichton Briefings hosted by Gwilym Gibbons, Chief Executive of The Crichton Trust. These meetings take place quarterly on Teams and are intended to provide an overview of ongoing developments and projects at The Crichton. Crichton Briefings are suitable for The Crichton Community. All welcome.

JOIN THE MEETING: Click here to join the meeting. If you have any queries or require the link please call 01387 247544.

*Please note the Crichton Briefing on the 1st of March was postponed, so a Spring Video Update is now available to bring you up to date with the latest news and developments. See below re future Briefing dates.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2022: The current schedule of meetings planned for 2022 can be found below.  Please join us if you can and please invite your colleagues to join us too – the more the better.

Is your business entry up to date in The Crichton Directory?

Have you read the latest issue of The Crichton Magazine?

Are you up to date with What’s On or want to run an event at The Crichton?

Have you been following our Small Business Saturday posts on Facebook and LinkedIn?

Have you got news to share within The Crichton Community – email: news@crichton.co.uk

Have you met with Sarah-Jane Burns, our Business Community Development Manager? She is always happy to meet for a chat or to give you a call.

#TheCrichton

#TheCrichtonCommunity