Toryglen youth project to take over Glasgow community centre
A Toryglen project which offers “crucial support” to young people is set to take over the running of a council-owned community centre in a 25-year deal.
Plans to lease the Geoff Shaw community centre on Kerrylamont Avenue to Toryglen Community Youth Project (TCYP) for £750 per year will go before councillors this week.
It would be used as a youth club, gym and boxing club and for community food and holiday programmes.
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The proposed lease has been developed under the People Make Glasgow Communities programme, which gives charities and community groups an opportunity to manage council venues.
Officials have said the project is committed to “addressing significant challenges faced by local youth, including rising anti-social behaviour and limited access to essential services”.
In a report to councillors, they added the organisation, which offers “crucial support to the community”, believes the centre is “a suitable venue from which to deliver its core services”.
Glasgow Life, the council’s culture and leisure arm, currently has a 25-year lease for the community centre, which opened in 1969. That lease began in April 2007.
“Prior to its closure in 2020, as instructed by the Scottish Government as part of the lockdown prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the centre was a well-used community centre in the heart of Toryglen,” the council report added.
However, it has only been reopened on a part-time basis and Glasgow Life has “no immediate plans” to open it full-time. It was made available for lease and Toryglen Community Youth Project applied.
Officials have said the granting of a long lease to the youth project will “help to ensure that the community continues to benefit from the critical facilities and services” provided.
It will initially sub-lease the premises from Glasgow Life, until 2032. The centre includes a committee room, main hall, lesser hall, four meeting rooms and two small rooms. There is also an office, kitchen, cafe area, toilets and a car park.
The youth project, a registered charity, was established in 2020 to “address the growing needs with the Toryglen community”. It originated from efforts by Southside Boxing Academy Community Hub to “tackle local inequalities”, the council report stated.
It continued: “TCYP is dedicated to enhancing community health and well-being by offering structured activities, improving education and life skills, promoting public participation in sports, and providing recreational facilities.
“The core aim is to create a safe and inclusive environment that steers young people away from negative influences and fosters a strong sense of belonging within Toryglen and the broader southside of Glasgow community.”
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