Lottery Money Puts Glasgow Communities In Charge

More than £2m of Lottery funding announced for Glasgow will change the face of community ownership in some of the city's most deprived areas.

The money from the Big Lottery Fund follows the recent decision by Glasgow City Council to transfer public assets into the hands of local people. It sets a standard for others to follow which the Big Lottery Fund hopes will have a ripple effect across Scotland.

Funding totalling £1,989,126 from BIG's Growing Community Assets (GCA) programme will put the power of community ownership into the hands of local people enabling them to generate income, upgrade a Grade B listed building and engage in employability, health and money management activities. The groups are the Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust in the north of Glasgow, Whiteinch Centre in the west of the City and Milnbank Housing Association in Dennistoun.


Big Lottery Fund Scotland Director, Dharmendra Kanani, said: "The success of these Glasgow communities through GCA will take forward and propel the asset based community development agenda in urban Scotland. This is a true example of communities doing it for themselves and the power of self-belief in changing the circumstances of local people."

The community led drive to restore the historic Maryhill Burgh Halls receives a welcome boost of £980,910. The grant from Growing Community assets will go towards the internal refurbishment and the new extension to the building which lies in one of Glasgow’s most deprived communities. The City Council currently owns the building but will be selling it to the Trust and then giving back the money in the form of a grant.

Once restored the historic building will be a 21st century community events and concert space as well as a nursery, café and recording studio.

The Whiteinch Centre in the west end of Glasgow lies at the heart of the local community providing learning, health and employability services to hundreds of people. The building is currently leased from the city council which has agreed to transfer ownership of the asset to the centre. The group will receive £116,092 towards the salary costs of a Regeneration Manager and Centre Administrator who will take forward plans to develop more community services.

Also receiving funding today is the Milnbank Housing Association which will build a community owned sustainable nursery facility as part of the regeneration of the former Great Eastern Hotel in Dennistoun.

(GK/JM)