* UPDATE - Monday 12th September 2016 *

Firstly - massive thank you for following us and in supporting us to this point in our journey. 

The new charity name is 'Ayrshire Holiday Dreams Foundation (MSH).' We will rename the house at a later date. We are still awaiting our charity registration number from OSCR. The Board of Trustees has been set up. 

CLIC Sargent announced that they have a property developer willing to pay them a figure of 1.75 million - it is assumed, as it has not been officially confirmed that they will knock down the house to build retirement flats. M7 had their own valuations carried out and as a charity they were very low, as a house the value was 850k, and as commercial land it was £1 million maximum. That's almost £1 million of a difference between either party valuations. CLIC Sargent want to sell to the highest bidder to get as much as they can to inject back into their charity for children with cancer. M7, the Board of Trustees and the community want to keep this vital service provision open for the same children but can't pay this overvalued price. It's not feasible.

We can't use the money donated to us from the community to pay an overvalued figure for a property. The house requires work too, not just renovation work but work to bring the house in line with regulations to today's standards. In order for us to open the new MSH to children and young people with cancer and to those same children with life altering illnesses, we would need to spend a large percentage of monies on these renovations.

CLIC aren't willing to come down to our valuations and we cannot, in the interest of the children agree to an overinflated figure of 1.75 million. But we know that this service provision is totally vital - it's a holiday respite facility that needs to be kept in Ayrshire. Something we can't let go!

And for this reason we have decided to build anew one - a 21st century MSH incorporating all the love, passion, care and atmosphere that the original house offered. We understand people will be upset - we have spoken to many families who have visited MSH over the years, since our announcement and they understand and want to support this new facility. We are heartbroken about the house and believe us we did try every eventuality. Our new plans are very exciting and we hope that the community will continue their support and follow us on this journey in building a 21st century MSH for the children and young people with cancer and life altering illnesses in the UK.

#BUYMSH  is a campaign set up by 7 local committee members ( M7) with a primary goal to buy Malcolm Sargent House (MSH) in Prestwick, Scotland from the UK charity - CLIC Sargent. And to continue the provision of holiday accommodation in Ayrshire for children, young people and their families with cancer and life altering illnesses. CLIC Sargent has elected to close the house and it's services and is going to sell it. We aim to purchase the house from the charity, with the help of the community, in order to stop them selling it to property developers. And we plan to have the service back up and running as soon as possible.

Although MSH is located in South Ayrshire, Scotland, it's facilities and services were utilised by families throughout the UK. We are calling on the full support of the whole community within the UK.

Brief closure history  - After the 'consultation period' declared by CLIC Sargent on Monday 6th June 2016, The Chief Executive Officer - Kate Lee formally announced on Wednesday 27th July 2016 that they were closing the house, the holiday services, making staff redundant and would be taking actions to selling the property. In light of these developments, The Committee who were campaigning to #SAVEMSH has now changed the campaign strategy to #BUYMSH. 

URGENT ACTION - First and foremost, we must act quickly to raise the money for the deposit. We need £200,000 in order to secure the land and the house. If we do not have the deposit money within the next month, CLIC Sargent will place the house on the open market and sell to the highest bidder; large property developer consortium or such. 

We have set up a very strong Board of Trustees,  and awaiting Charitable Status and Patron with the assistance of the law firm - The McKinstry Company  based in Ayr. Under legal instruction, we are now in a position to set up this Justgiving page until our new charity registration process is formalised with OSCR - The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and registrar of Scottish charities. Registering a charity takes a great deal of time but we need to act quickly and simply cannot wait until this takes place. Therefore, we are fundraising through Justgiving to raise the initial deposit required.

We, and our lawyers have instructed the accountancy firm - William Duncan & Co, Ayr  to handle our financial affairs and who will hold all fundraising monies raised in their charity account - The William Duncan & Co Charitable Trust - under the protection of OSCR. This will also allow us to claim GiftAid from HMRC on all monies donated here. As and when our new charity is formalised, all monies donated through Justgiving will be legally transferred to our #BUYMSH/new charity. 

* PLEASE NOTE - The McKinstry Company - lawyers and William Duncan & Co - accountants are providing their services pro bono and we would like to formally thank them for this generous gesture on behalf of The Committee and The Community at large.

WHAT IF? -  We have to recognise, however, that the acquisition of MSH is not entirely within our control. So what will we do if the sellers will not agree a deal with us and MSH, as we know it, is sold to a third party? 

A NEW BEGINNING - MSH, as a service and the memories it has created for so many, will never be lost and as a group we are committed to preserving that. Where we are unable to secure the acquisition of the original house, we already have contingency plans in place to acquire a new site for the service to allow a new MSH to be formed. This will be developed with input from the Ayrshire community, drawing on the memories of families who benefitted from the original house and importantly will capture the spirit, love and relaxed surroundings that enveloped the original house. 

Whichever road we have to travel the wonderful service that was provided at MSH will continue and our Committee and Trustees are dedicated to ensuring that with your support this will be delivered for all the children, young people and their families, who desperately need this service.

The Committee Members - Maxine Allan, Siobhian Brown, Rhona Devlin, Alister Firth, Eileen Granger, Billy Herd and Liz Smillie.

* Donate online or text BMSH £10 to 70070 *

CONTACT DETAILS -

Siobhian Brown ( Secretary) - siobhian71@gmail.com 

Maxine Allan ( Media/Press enquiries & Corporate Donors/Sponsors) - maxine7allan@gmail.com

Eileen Granger MBE ( Fundraising co-ordinator) - eileenlgranger@aol.com

or get in touch on Facebook 'BUYMSH'