Grant brings community takeover dream nearer
Trust celebrates £292k windfall
The future is looking bright for Tullibody Civic Centre after the trust in charge received a bumper grant to take it over.
The centre’s fate had once appeared bleak after Clackmannanshire Council closed the building and withdrew its staff at the end of September 2018.
But a community effort led by Tullibody Community Development Trust saw the group re-open the building seven weeks later - and they have been working to formally buy the property from the council ever since.
And that vision is now set to become a reality after the group received backing worth £292,481 from the Scottish Land Fund for the project.
Trust chairperson Janette McGowan told the Observer: “We were just over the moon and absolutely delighted to find out about the funding.
“The centre, along with others in the area, was closed as part of a cost-cutting exercise but we managed to get an occpunacy licence in order for us to run the centre on a daily basis.
“We’ve been running it thanks to local volunteers ever since and have been applying for funding from various groups and the council to help us make the improvements we want to make to the centre.
“The sports hall in particular has been out of action since August 2018 and has been letting water in through a leak in the roof, but we’ve only really been allowed to do basic maintenance and refurbishment because we didn’t have the security of tenure at the site.
“Once all of the legal formalities are done and the purchase is complete, the money and roofer is in place, so it’ll be a case of getting the repairs to the hall done.”
The centre has become a wellused facility for the town and includes a cafe, heritage centre, library, bowling green and a main hall, with various groups and classes making use of it throughout the week.
And Ms McGowan was quick to stress that the improvements to the hall was just the first step in making the centre the heart of the community.
“The generosity and support of the local community has been absolutely amazing and we’ve been consulting with them at every stage about our vision for the centre.
“It’s going to be a part refurbishment and part rebuild and people can pop in to look at the plans.
“We’re looking at needing around £2.2 million of total funding to finish it all, so it will all be done stage by stage, with the sports hall being the first priority.”
And trustee Janet Gowran added: “The funding is transformational for Tullibody.
“The centre provides much needed social identity, interaction and cohesion through the diverse array of activities it provides to a wide range of users.
Becoming owners provides the potential for further community development, with our ultimate aim of re developing the whole building.
“That is a long journey but the SLF has enabled us to move ahead significantly on it. On behalf of our 900 members, and the whole Tullibody community, we thank SLF for the support.”
We’re over the moon...It’s going to be a part refurbishment and part rebuild and people can pop in to look at the plans