Ayr Racecourse all set for the Scottish Grand National Festival

By: Iain Ferguson

SCOTLAND’S premier jumps meeting, the Coral Scottish Grand National Festival takes place at Ayr racecourse on Friday 18 April and Saturday 19 April, with 15 races over the two days.


Prize money for the meeting is at an all-time high of £563,000 and on Saturday there are two races counting for the BHA Order of Merit Series - the Coral Scottish Grand National which carries a prize fund of £200,000 and the £100,000 Samsung Electronics Scottish Champion Hurdle.


[Pictured: Hot Weld, winner of the Scottish Grand National 2007.]

Other major races over the two days include on Friday 18 April the £30,000 Coral Supporting Poppyscotland Mares Only Handicap Hurdle over two miles and the Hillhouse Quarry Handicap Chase, also with £30,000 in prize money, over two miles four furlongs.

On Coral Scottish Grand National Day, the Ashleybank Investments Future Champion Novices’ Chase over two miles four furlongs has £50,000 on offer, while the Albert Bartlett & Sons Handicap Chase over two miles has £30,000 in prize money.

There are many other attractions over the two days, including a live appearance after racing on Friday by Irish folk rock band The Saw Doctors. Always popular with the racing fraternity, this five-piece band will play in the new £4.5 million Grandstand Bar which will open for the first time that day.

While The Saw Doctors are playing in the Grandstand Bar, the Horseshoe Bar will have a disco blasting out the latest sounds. And on both days the party mood will be obvious as soon as the doors open and the samba sounds of Beats of Brazil will be heard in the paddock area.

On Saturday, the Criterion Jazz Band will also be playing during the afternoon, and on both days racegoers will arrive to the sounds of traditional Scottish music played by pipers. And after racing on Saturday, Reload will play in the Horseshoe Bar.

Another splendid new facility opening on Friday 18 April is the Owners Bar situated on the ground floor of the Princess Royal Stand. This luxurious Bar will not only cater for owners and trainers but also Owners Bar members who pay a special premium rate to join. In addition to bar and restaurant facilities there is also an exclusive betting shop.

To book, log on to www.ayr-racecourse.co.uk or by telephone 0870-8505666.

Ayr Racecourse and the associated Western House Hotel are members of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle.

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Andrew Lansley MP to open William Skinner's new Southern Office

By: Murdoch MacDonald

Andrew Lansley CBE, MP for South Cambridgeshire (pictured below) will be performing the opening ceremony at Ayrshire-based building contractors William Skinner & Son’s new Southern Office premises in Meldreth, Cambridgeshire at 4pm on Thursday 17 April.


Members of the media are cordially invited to send a journalist and/or cameraman to cover the proceedings.

Founded in Ayrshire in 1964, Skinners made their first move down south five years ago, renting a site and offices in Saffron Walden in Essex from which to carry out the substantial amount of refurbishment work they were then doing for supermarket giant Tesco.

But the company’s recent expansion and diversification into new areas of business including renewable energy and tree houses has made necessary the purchase of their own larger facilities comprising an 8,000 sq ft yard, 1,900 sq ft of office space, and a 1,620 sq ft warehouse.


William Skinner & Son managing director Sandy Cunningham (pictured above) said: “Our commitment at Cambridge is a measure of the importance to us of the market in London, the South East, Midlands and East Anglia.

“The Meldreth base provides high quality warehouse, workshop and office accommodation from which we can develop and control our market penetration. It has capacity for expansion to support several times its present level of activity.”

Combining the expertise and manpower of their Ayrshire headquarters on the perimeter of Prestwick Airport and the new site at Cambridge, Skinners have recently completed a second tree house for UK hotel and conference venue company De Vere at Shirrell Heath near Southampton.

The first tree house that Skinners built for de Vere at their Theobalds Park venue in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire has been a commercial success for the client as an unusual conference and seminar facility.

Sandy Cunningham commented: “Tree houses have, of course, been used for many years – as offices, play rooms, workshops, studios, tearooms, spare bedrooms.

“But whereas they might once have been seen as expensive, eccentric and extravagant, current building costs and the availability of new materials have resulted in their becoming a practical alternative to conventional construction.”

In addition to tree houses, William Skinner & Son has also made a successful entrance into the solar heating market, attracting a large number of new clients in England and Scotland.

The aim now is to offer general advice on the suitability of any of the available renewable energy techniques, or any mix of them, to solve individual energy supply problems, and they are developing a consortium of available local expertise to help them develop that.

Managing director Sandy Cunningham concluded: “William Skinner & Son is now expanding satisfactorily on all fronts from our headquarters in Ayrshire and our new base in south-east England. We are traditional building contractors who have developed a diverse range of untraditional new skills, and we want potential clients in England and in Scotland to be aware of the comprehensive building skills and experience that we offer.”

For further information visit www.williamskinner.co.uk

William Skinner & Son
Cunningham House
Highfield
St Quivox
Ayr KA6 5HQ
Scotland

SOUTHERN OFFICE:
College Farm Business Centre
North End
Meldreth, Cambridgeshire
SG8 6NT
England

Telephone: 0845 051 9070
Fax: 01763 262916

Contact: Sandy Cunningham
Managing Director
Tel: 01292 671188
Fax: 01292 671133
E-mail: scunningham@williamskinner.co.uk

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Frazer Coogans advise licensees that
proper advice is essential during transition

By: Ian S Morman, Solicitor (pictured below).
Frazer Coogans Solicitors, Ayrshire, Scotland.


MOST owners of licensed premises and holders of off-sales licences will be aware of the important changes now underway to licensing law in Scotland.

The transition or transfer period from the present alcohol licensing legislation, the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, to the new legislation, the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, started on 1 February 2008. The transition period will run for nineteen months, until the 1 September 2009. All licences and regular extensions under the ‘old’ system in operation on 1 February 2008, when the transition period begins, will automatically be extended to 1 September 2009.

Under the 2005 Act there are two sorts of licence, and licensees need both - a Premises Licence, a licence authorising the sale of alcohol on the premises, and a Personal Licence which authorises an individual person to supervise or authorise the sale of alcohol. An applicant for a Personal Licence must be in possession of the new, prescribed, Licensing Qualification.

To apply for a new Premises Licence under the 2005 Act, a licensee must submit to the Council an Application Form (and the appropriate fee), an Operating Plan, and a Layout Plan. The provisions for the form of the Layout Plan are very detailed, and it is important that appropriate professional assistance is sought to prepare an acceptable Layout Plan.

Although the Scottish Government have given the impression that the application for the new licences is a straightforward one which most licensees can deal with themselves, in reality licensees will require to instruct the appropriate property professional who can provide a properly prepared Layout Plan of the Premises, and also to consult with their independent legal adviser to discuss and prepare their Operating Plan and the Application Form. Careful consideration is required of the detail to be incorporated in the Operating Plan and Application Form to avoid damaging complications at a later date.

The new licensing regime and the transition procedures will require licensees to undertake a substantial amount of preparatory work in advance of the final lodging date in order to ensure that the Application meets the necessary standards. In addition to the professional fees involved, the application fees for the new licence are set at a much higher level than those under the 1976 Act, and the high costs and the complexity involved in the transitional application process have led some licensees to seriously consider closing down their businesses prior to the start of the new licensing regime.

But Frazer Coogans Solicitors can reassure licensees that with the proper professional advice and assistance the complexity of transition can be successfully negotiated.

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Frazer Coogans Solicitors
Dalblair House
46 Dalblair Road
Ayr KA7 1UQ
Scotland

Contact: Norman Geddes, Senior Partner
Tel: 01292 280499
Fax: 01292 611645
E-mail: norman.geddes@frazercoogans.co.uk
Web: http://www.frazercoogans.co.uk/

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