Winter Garden
In the Spring of 2024 Visit Scotland announced the closure of every Visitor Information Centre in Scotland. This announcement was met with widespread dismay on Bute as the building which houses the Isle of Bute Discovery Centre (Bute’s tourist information centre) is the Winter Garden, a spectacular Grade A listed building which also includes the island’s only cinema.
Given the BCLC constitution allows us to own assets (unlike many other charities), the Board of Trustees agreed to help explore options for a community acquisition of the Winter Garden and in January 2025 the BCLC Board established a specific steering group for this purpose.
Steering group members include the Chair of BCLC and the group reports regularly to the Board of BCLC. The first thing the steering group did was to conduct a community consultation to establish whether the community would support plans for a community acquisition to provide an enhanced cinema with arts, entertainment and associated facilities in the Winter Garden.
The decision on whether the Winter Garden becomes a community asset will wholly depend on the strength of the Business Case for the use of the building - and BCLC Trustees will not proceed in facilitating transfer of the asset without such a strong case.
The Winter Garden Steering Group has created separate social media accounts to provide updates to the community about progress for this particular project. Further details are available here: Bute Community Winter Garden
The members of the Steering Group are:
Richard Whitcomb
Louis Ware
Dorothy McDonald
Maureen Beattie
Greg Pegg
Meet Our Team
Richard Whitcomb is a community regeneration and economic development professional with more than 27 years' worth of experience. He has led offices in Glasgow, Sheffield and Exeter and has secured funding for communities, Councils, regional partnerships and Government agencies. He is also Chair of Bute Community Forest, as Chair of Bute Community Land Company, securing more than £400,000 in investment in the community-led regeneration-award-winning Forest.
Richard brings a wealth of experience in project development, business case-making and economic impact assessment. He recently secured monies for the Creative Islands Wellbeing programme across Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles and the Eggshed at Crinan Canal and has assessed projects film sector projects such as Herts, Camera, Action! and Creative Media Labs in England and Campbeltown Picture House. He has led on local research projects and led pan-Scotland reviews for the Scottish Government, including Business Gateway, Business Support to Third Sector Enterprises (Just Enterprise), Cooperative Development Scotland and Digital Support programmes.
Louis Ware grew up on the island and is currently a Business Management graduate apprentice at Glasgow Caledonian University while working at Help Ltd. After leaving Rothesay Academy Louis graduated from the University of Stirling in 2021 and moved back to the island.
Since then Louis has been involved in various committees from across the community taking in numerous roles such as chair of the Bute County and Cowal Cricket Club and Treasurer of the Bute Community Band.
Louis is enthusiastic about the local community and hopes to use his University studies, personal experience and professional experience to help the steering group save this beautiful building.
Dorothy McDonald has lived on Bute for 30 years and recently retired as Director of local children's charity, Achievement Bute. Dorothy has also worked in other organisations as a Chartered Surveyor and Project Manager.
She has many years experience of working with third sector organisations and has been successful in obtaining funding for a wide range of community-based projects on Bute and further afield.
Dorothy is interested in film, theatre, dance and music, and has been a member of Bute Film Club since its inception. She has also written and directed many of Bute's Community Pantomimes, the last five of which have been multi-media shows performed in the Rothesay cinema.
Maureen graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Glasgow in 1974 with the James Bridie Gold Medal and has been working as an actress and director ever since.
She was President of Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trade union, from 2018 - 2022. She is on the board of Wonder Fools Theatre Company and is Honorary President of the Scottish Music Hall Society and Patron of the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr.
She has won many awards including a Glasgow Herald Archangel Lifetime Achievement Award, an Outstanding Women of Scotland Saltire Award and was made an OBE in the 2020 Queen's Honours for services to the entertainment industry. She is the daughter of the late comedian and actor, Johnny Beattie.
Cinema Manager for 6 years
Other management roles include Purchase and Inventory Manager, Administration Manager.
Good organiser and problem solver.
Recognised as change champion by employer.
Good at setting budgets and achieving targets.
Held roles of Treasurer, Vice Chair and Chair of ButeFest variously between 2021 and 2023.
Enjoy a challenge.