Cash crisis for visitor centre

Rosemary Dewar, The Citizen, 21 January 2005

A confidential report on St Andrews' troubled Gateway Centre, considered by Kingdom of Fife Tourist Board on Monday, reveals serious concerns over the cost of operating a new visitor centre inside the building.

Some £40,000 of public funding will be needed to get the 'Orientation Centre' up and running - with a further £6000 annually for five years.

The cash is seen as 'buying time' before Scottish Enter-prise Fife can step in with more money and the building's owners, St Andrews University, can have cash in place from 'funding partners,' the report states.

Based on revised plans, it appears the 'Orientation Centre' - on the ground floor of the Gateway - would run at an annual loss of around £14,000, according to tourist board chief executive Patrick Laughlin.

Fife Council is to put up an immediate £15,000, plus an annual £3000 for the next five years, and it was suggested that the Tourist Board provide an immediate contribution of £25,000 with a further annual contribution of £3000, for five years, from umbrella body, VisitScotland.

Members heard that full funding for the design and fit-out of the orientation centre is currently available from Scottish Enterprise Fife, but the approval period runs out on March 31 and depends on clarification and agreement by Scottish Enterprise Fife to the revised plans.

A detailed business plan by Mr Laughlin had been called for by members so they could reach an infomed decision about the board's potential involvement with the project.

Mr Laughlin said it had quickly become apparent that it was unlikely public agencies would be able to contribute to the projected operational deficit (estimated at between £60,000 and £90,000 annually over a lease period of up to 10 years).

However, following further pre-Christmas discussions with the university, a ''greatly-revised'' proposal for a more modest visitor orientation centre had been drawn up. That will come before the University Court next month.

Built in 1999 by private developers, as an upmarket golf and leisure club which didn't get off the ground, the £9m Gateway - on the A91 opposite the entrance to the Old Course Hotel and the St Andrews links - stood empty for four years before being bought by St Andrews University in 2004 at what was rumoured to be a much-reduced price.

Its main use will be academic, but a university-run cafe/brasserie will be open to the public as will ground floor elements of the university's museum collections and temporary exhibitions on the ground floor.

If all the partners make the necessary commitment, Mr Laughlin reported, the centre could be fully operational before this year's Open Championship. 21 January 2005