Bonnybridge Community Hub is first strategic property review building to become community owned

The community asset transfer and property transaction legally concluded on Tuesday, July 29 with the group’s official date of entry, Friday, August 15, 2025.

The community education centre – now renamed Bonnybridge Community Hub – is the first council-owned building to pass into community ownership under the Strategic Property Review.

The review was undertaken by the council in a bid to reduce its property footprint.

The hub is the largest community hall in the Bonnybridge area and a place where local people meet, learn and take part in activities that bring the community together.

Its importance to the people living locally meant that those who have now taken on the ownership of the building could not have let it close when its future became uncertain.

By taking on the building, the community hub’s committee has been able to secure funding the council could not access – a key benefit of community ownership.

And they have unlocked more than £450,000 of investment to make the building warmer, greener and more affordable to run.

The group was awarded £318,000 from the Council’s Enabling Fund when councillors agreed the community asset transfer could proceed, and they have also secured £138,000 from SP Energy Networks’ Transmission Net Zero Fund.

The investment will ensure the building remains open to the community, while also enabling a host of local organisations to continue using the space – from parent and toddler groups to sports and digital literacy classes, tackling social isolation and improving health and wellbeing.

The hub was identified by council officers as a strong candidate for the Transmission Net Zero Fund. Officers worked closely with the group on its application and will oversee the delivery of the planned works.

Major energy upgrades, supported by SP Energy Networks, include the installation of an air source heat pump, solar panels, insulation, double glazing and LED lighting.

A new roof and other works – including exterior lighting and installation of new fire exit doors and entrance doors and windows – will complement the works backed by the Net Zero Fund and help to cut energy bills, reduce emissions and support long-term sustainability.

Arlene Graham, chair of Bonnybridge Community Hub, said: “The Hub is the heart of Bonnybridge and now it truly belongs to the community. It’s where people come to connect, get support and feel part of something.

"Becoming the first building to legally transfer from the Council to community ownership under the Strategic Property Review means everything to us. But we wouldn’t have been able to take on the building without the funding, which will make the building more environmentally friendly and more affordable to run.”

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council, said: “When the Council committed to the Strategic Property Review, we knew it would take time, effort and trust to deliver real change, not just in how we manage our estate, but also how we support communities to take the lead.

"Bonnybridge Community Hub shows what’s possible when that trust is met with determination. The group has stepped up, taken on a much-loved local space and is now securing significant investment to improve it for the long term. Falkirk Council is really grateful to them for that hard work and commitment.”

When the future of the community education centre became uncertain as the Strategic Property Review was announced, volunteers were determined to keep the community centre open.

Arlene Graham and mother and daughter duo Teresa and Jennifer Cochrane were running ROOTS, an independent foodbank and community events group based in the Bridge Street building, and also sat on the centre’s management committee.

So when the future was cast into doubt, they rolled up their sleeves and put out a call for more volunteers.

Five others stepped forward – John Giovanacci, Reta Scott, Keith Morrell, Lauren Baird and Jennifer McNaught – all regular attendees of groups held within the building and all passionate about keeping its doors open. Together, they began writing the next chapter for what is now Bonnybridge Community Hub.

Arlene said: “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy journey. It was always going to take a lot of time, money and effort.

"We also thought we had until 2026 to complete the transfer, but the building was moved into an earlier phase. So, we threw our hat in the ring and hoped for the best.”

With the committee in place and an Expression of Interest submitted to the Council to take ownership of the building through a Community Asset Transfer, the hard work began.

Each member took on a role, with Keith working closely with third sector organisation CVS Falkirk to draft a business plan, setting out how the hub would be sustained long-term.

Support from council officers then helped fill in the gaps, answering questions, offering guidance and helping the committee grow in confidence.

The legal transfer at the end of last month and the official entry date on August 15 unlocked the funding and allowed work to begin.

While challenges remain, the upgrades mark a significant step toward making the building more energy efficient and more financially manageable.

Arlene continued: “We never thought we’d see the day we’d take ownership. We thought it would take years to complete the legal process and that would delay accessing the funding. Thankfully, we were wrong!”

Jennifer Cochrane, committee member, added: “Securing funding from the Net Zero Fund really incentivised us to keep going. Without it, we would not have taken on the building.”

Now the legal process is complete, what’s most important for the community is all that happens inside the hub.

It’s a buzzing venue, hired for a wide range of community activities from weekly groups to one off events like the recent wrestling evening organised to showcase the building’s potential.

Securing its future by being community owned means groups including the centre’s biggest success, its Happy Mondays, ROOTS’ lunch social club can continue.

The club offers between 60 and 100 people of all ages a cuppa, a meal and a blether, all for free, every Monday from 11am to 2pm.

Arlene said: “The centre really is the heart of the community. If you lose the centre, you’ve lost the heart.

"It means so much to people for their wellbeing, mental health and for keeping active.”

Outside a community garden, tended to by Claire McIntosh and Barry Gibbs of Gibbs Girls’ Garden, grows fruit and vegetables that are used in Happy Monday meals or stocked in a fridge where people can help themselves and donate to an honesty box if they can.

Running the Hub is hard work. The committee all have jobs, families and responsibilities outside the building. But plans are growing with hopes for new lets, bigger events and employing staff.

Arlene added: “The other day I was walking back to the hHub and I stopped on the bridge and thought to myself, ‘We’ve done this. This is ours’. I could see Teresa standing outside doing the same.

“We know what the building means to the community – and the community has kept us going through the love and support they keep giving us. We try to involve them in everything we do. If we are thinking of buying something new or doing something in the building, we speak to them first. They’ve never felt more involved than they do now.”