A CHURCH turned boxing gym will be purchased for an urban community after the Scottish Land Fund was extended from the country to the city.
Now known as the Broomfield Road Centre, the former All Saints Church and associated church house in Glasgow will be purchased by the Barmulloch Community Development Company (BCDC) thanks to an £85,000 boost.
The BCDC currently rents the centre, which also houses a Money Advice Centre and meeting rooms, but ownership will allow expansion and refurbishment work to take place.
The grant is the first made to an urban project after the Scottish Land Fund relaunched in April.
The previous Land Fund made awards worth £9m to groups across the country over three years, bringing 90,000 acres under community control and benefitting an estimated 71,000 people.
Jim Hope, BCDC development officer, said: “We are delighted and proud to be the first urban group to receive an award from the Scottish Land Fund. The award, to acquire a former church scheduled for demolition, will have a major impact on an area of multiple deprivation. It also represents a huge boost to BCDC’s efforts to increase its services to local people and to ensure the sustainability of its operations.”
With funding from the Scottish
Government and delivered in partnership by the Big Lottery Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Land Fund will give out up to £10 million in the coming year, including individual payouts of up to £1m.
A second award of more than £171,600 to Moffat Community Woodlands for the purchase of 80 acres of woodland on Gallow Hill has also been announced.
Land Reform Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “It is great to see the first awards from the new Scottish Land Fund being allocated to communities across the country. The Scottish Land Fund is making a real difference to many local communities across Scotland helping community groups to purchase their own assets.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here