A NEW community centre project in Possilpark — which includes plans for a climbing wall, fitness suite and nursery — has been given the go-ahead by the council.

Possilpark People’s Trust has secured permission to develop the hub on the site of the existing Possilpoint Community Centre and red blaes pitch.

Funding for the Denmark Street project was gained in June, when the council agreed to provide a £1.4m grant towards the £2.9m scheme

READ MORE: Possilpark People's Trust gets £1.4m from Glasgow council for community hub

Possilpark People’s Trust emerged from a partnership between Hawthorn Housing Co-operative, Young People’s Futures, Stepping Stones for Families, Barnardo’s and Possobilities.

Glasgow Times:

The application, submitted by Ann Lawrance, from charity Young People’s Futures, stated the centre will “provide a modern, state of the art hub for activities and services to be provided by partners as well as wider agencies”.

It is hoped the scheme will have “the  advantages of bringing lead agencies and other partners under one roof, to encourage a greater working partnership and to share resources in running the building and services”.

The current Possilpoint community centre will be demolished once the new building is complete, allowing the existing centre to stay open during construction.

A three-phase development is planned. Under phase one, the new centre will be built and the existing building knocked down. Then, phase two will include a new-build multi-purpose activity hall, including a climbing wall and a fitness suite.

The final phase would see the construction of the nursery, a baby room, educational space and a staff base.

The planning application also reveals the full project could include an all-weather, floodlit games court for basketball, 5-a-side football and tennis.

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow City Council agreed to provide the extra £1.4m for the project as work needs to begin before the almost £1.6m, secured from other funding sources, is withdrawn.

Council officers suggested covering the funding gap to allow the scheme to progress, and councillors backed the move. The council’s contribution could be reduced to £400,000 as the trust secures more funding.

 

The trust was granted a community asset transfer for the community centre, which has been managed by Glasgow Life, in March last year.

Three tenants have been secured for the new centre: DASH club, which works with disabled people across the city, Link Up, which runs parent and toddler groups, and Young People’s Futures, which runs a range of activities, including a youth work programme, jobs clubs and computer classes.