Volunteers hope that a £9,000 National Lottery grant can help bring the Haldane community together again.
The Inler Park Trust were awarded a £9,981 grant from the lottery to help transform Haldane United Football Club’s Mill Cabin into a hub for locals.
Plans are now in place to make it somewhere that offers residents a warm welcome and the opportunity to meet up and socialise.
And the grant award came at the ideal time for volunteers on the Trust, who have been faced with sky-high energy bills since reopening their doors after the pandemic.
Chair Michael McIlmun said: “During the pandemic the hall was closed for almost two years. It’s owned privately by the Inler Park Trust and we just felt that things were getting away from us.
“We have to be self-sufficient. If someone wanted to hire the hall on a Saturday for a kids party it used to be the case that we could charge £15 an hour. You couldn’t open the doors for that now.
“It’s almost £100 a month for electricity whatever rate we’re on. It’s classed as an industrial building.
“The hall is a great community asset. We used to have bingo nights, we’ve had Haldane Youth Services, we’ve had karate classes.
“We’re going to open our doors on a Tuesday and anyone can just drop in. It will run from half 9 on a Tuesday to start with, people can come and have a cup of tea, a biscuit and a chat in a warm environment. We’ve got books and magazines.
“We also ran foodbanks from there as well, which I’d also like to get back up and running again.
“The money from the National Lottery will also let us open a youth club between 6pm and 8pm on a Friday night for teenagers.
“We’ve always had the backing of the local young people in the Haldane because they can drop in at any time. They know the centre belongs to the community.
“If it was mine or the council’s then they’d maybe look at it differently.
“We got funding through the Trust for the football parks, tennis courts and the parkour climbing frame. They are used a lot. The kids know that if the centre is open and they are over at the five then they are always welcome to come in, use the toilet, have a drink or whatever.
“We’ve been very fortunate in that they understand who runs it. And we get a bit of respect for that as well.
“Kids can come in, sit and watch TV and get away from whatever is stressing them. That’s what we’re here for.
“It gives them an alternative to hanging about the Haldane shops, to street culture or to going down to Balloch.”
Local activist Drew MacEoghainn, who grew up in Haldane, supported the Trust’s application – with Michael admitting he’s extremely grateful to the Community Party member for his backing.
He continued: “I can talk to people, but I find it very difficult filling in forms. When you have someone like Drew who is able to do that and carries a bit about him it’s a blessing. We would never have managed without Drew. He’s allowed us to take it to the next level.”
Michael hopes that Inler Park can become popular with residents and help boost the community spirit in Haldane, but admits even helping one person would be enough of a reward.
He added: “In the Haldane there isn’t a community. A lot of places are like that.
“People get in from work, shut their curtains, shut their door and don’t get concerned with what’s going on.
“People don’t even look at you in the street now. They don’t want to bother folk. But our door is always open. If you don’t want to talk then that’s fine. Have a cup of tea, a biscuit and wander back up the road.
“If it becomes popular it’s something we can continue. When the good weather comes then they can bring kids down.
“When you’ve never had anything, getting something like this is hard to process. When we see people in the hall getting a cup of tea then it’ll be what it’s all about. You can’t put a price on that.
“I can’t wait to see what we can do.
“Even if we get one person in and they want to come back the following week then that’s fantastic.”
