WELCOME TO GREAT WESTERN COMMUNITY CENTRE
A safe place for everyone
OUR JOURNEY
Holburn West Community Group
The Church of Scotland has decided to close Holburn West Church next year. The premises is an important building for the community and currently provides community space for a variety of children and adult groups.
To maintain the building as a community hub, City Councillors Martin Greig and Ian Yuill along with members of the Church and Ashley & Broomhill Community Council, hosted an open meeting on May 11th at Holburn West Church to discuss the potential future of the Holburn West Church building.
The "One Voice" Holburn West Community Group, comprising of residents and community groups was established to promote and explore the potential future use of the current Church premises for the benefit of the community. The community group has over 80 members and a management committee of six, chaired by City Cllr Martin Greig.
The management committee has spent months working on a feasibility study and a sustainable business plan and has demonstrated the value and benefit the Church premises will bring to the community as a Community Centre.
Holburn West Community Group
Management Committee:
Hamish Mitchell
Comm. Cllr Leila Turner-Smith
Jan Watt
Norma Dey
Mhairi Freeman
Community Input
Ashley & Broomhill Community Council (ABCC) and Queen's Cross & Harlaw Community Council (QXHCC) have been working closely with us on this project, assisting with funding and community input. A questionnaire requesting people to have their say was sent out to the public.
Please support this project by answering the short questionnaire below.
We need YOU to say YES to make this happen.
Great Western Community Trust (SCIO)
As an unincorporated body, the Holburn West Community Group will not be able to purchase the building when funding is secured. An open meeting was held on October 12 at Holburn West Church and a separate SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) called the Great Western Community Trust was established to be able to apply for funding and purchase the premises. Charitable status was approved by OSCR in January 2023.
Going forward, the Great Western Community Trust will run and manage the Community Centre for it's community members.
Trustees appointed to the SCIO are:
City Cllr Martin Greig
Hamish Mitchell
Community Cllr Leila Turner-Smith
Gordon Fettes
Scottish Land Fund Award
£425,154
THANK YOU to the Scottish Land Fund for believing in us and our project and recognising that this is a genuine community need. The building means a lot to a lot of people and is a momentous day for the local community who have rallied behind us on this project since we first started. It’s amazing what can be achieved when people come together.
We’d like to say a big thank you to our Community, the Scottish Land Fund, Elyn Zhang, George Stevenson, Ashley & Broomhill Community Council, Queen's Cross & Harlaw Community Council, Fountainhall Church, ACVO and Aberdeen City Council. But most importantly, we’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to all the members of the former Holburn West Church, for all your love and support during our journey. We would not be here today if it weren’t for you. And thank you to our families for their constant support throughout this journey. As a team, this day is especially emotional for us as we honour GWCT Founding Trustee Hamish Mitchell. We set out on this journey with Hamish and again, we would not be here today if it weren’t for Hamish and his hard work. Hamish passed away in June this year, but he remains with us and he always will.
We did it!
Dear Friends,
Great Western Community Trust is delighted to inform you that ownership of the former Holburn West Church has now transferred to the Trust.
Thank you for your support which has helped us to achieve this amazing result.
We are especially grateful to Raeburn Christie Clark and Wallace for the excellent provision of professional legal services.
On Thursday 20 June, 2024 at 18.00, the Annual General Meeting of the Trust will take place in the building. Reports and accounts will be presented, there will be election of trustees.
The evening will also be an opportunity to celebrate the new ownership of the Great Western Community Centre with refreshments. We look forward to seeing you there.
We will continue to develop plans to operate the building for the benefit of local people. Your help and ideas will always be welcome and greatly appreciated - thank you.
Best wishes,
Gill, Gordon, Greg, Leila, Martin
GWCT Trustee Leila Turner-Smith and GWCT Chair & Trustee Councillor Martin Greig signing the documents.
