Social club may yet rise again

Bonnybridge Social Club, in Main Street, was forced to close its doors in May after going into voluntary bankruptcy.

Now Chris Procek is one of a group of Bonnybridge residents who have teamed up to see if there is a local desire for the club to open its doors again.

The group will be holding a public meeting at 7.30pm on Tuesday at the Masonic Hall in Wellpark Terrace to gauge local opinion.

Mr Procek said: “There were a couple of meetings which took place not long after the social club closed. Bonnybridge youth football team had an interest in re-opening it because it had been used by the football club as a social venue.

“There were a lot of debts involved at the end though and that idea was not feasible. Since then we have been working alongside CVS and Business Gateway to see if we can get the club open again.

“We came up with the idea of forming a not for profit charity to run a social hub at the premises. It’s very exciting for the future, but if there’s no demand from the community we wouldn’t take it further.

“We would like to see funding coming in so we could carry out a consultation to see what the people want. We would say, don’t be put off by the shape the building’s in at the moment.

“It could become an asset for the entire community. Just letting it slip away is something we wouldn’t want to see happen.”

At the time the club closed its doors, local councillor Baillie Billy Buchanan said: “It’s a real asset for the area and the people who have kept the club going over the years deserve a medal.

“However, there is an opportunity for them to start afresh and become successful.”

Councillor Buchanan had received confirmation Falkirk Council, which owns the land the club is situated on, was willing to work with the club committee or the body which takes over the club in an effort to get it up and running again.

The council stated: “We are content to work with the club or any successor body to consider how the site might be used to help it operate successfully. We do have an existing ground lease and, were it considered the terms of this required to be varied in some way, we could consider this.

“Any change would, however, have to be on the basis of a clearly set out organisational arrangement for the club.”