Kirkton Community Centre management react to proposed closure

The group involved in running Kirkton Community Centre say next year’s proposed closure may be too soon.

The centre, which has served the Kirkton community for around 50 years, could be phased out by October 2024 if plans are approved by councillors next week.

In its place, both St Pauls Academy and Baldragon Academy will be opened to the public for use as community facilities as part of a new “community hub” model.

The proposed changes are expected to bring a £100,000 boost to the Kirkton area through a new fund set up to expand access and activities for the community.

But the body running the centre – the Kirkton Local Management Group (KLMG) – say that whilst they are supportive of the hub plans, there are some services better suited outside of St Pauls and Baldragon.

These include drug and alcohol recovery projects, the community larder, and money advice, welfare rights and legal advice sessions.

A spokesperson for KLMG said: “We are supportive of the community hubs model they are suggesting and believe it will benefit the community to be able to access these more modern facilities.

“However, we do not agree with the closure of the community centre at this time as there are many projects that cannot fit into the hub model.

“We are concerned about the groups and activities that would be deemed unsuitable and not practical to be located in schools.”

The group are now looking to engage with the Kirkton community to hear their views.

The spokesperson added: “The KLMG have been working with the support of Dundee City Council empowerment team to begin the process of creating a new fit for purpose facility that will compliment the work of the community hubs and allow services to continue to be accessible to the Kirkton community.

“The centre is the heart of the community and we feel there is a great need for this to continue in some form.

“We will be carrying out a community wide consultation over the coming months to gather the support of local people.”

Council will work with community

Responding to KLMG’s concerns, council leader John Alexander said the local authority will work closely with the group to best support the services they offer.

He said: “I have had a number of direct conversations with members of the KLMG  and it’s fair to say that we have a shared ambition when it comes to what we want to see happen in Kirkton.

“I’m delighted that the KLMG see the merit in using underused but fantastic facilities such as IT suites, swimming pools, sports halls and meeting rooms in our local schools.

“They very kindly sent a list of asks in a letter in early September and these were taken up by council officers.

“The centre will not close for another year and the next 12 months will be used to explore options, create new opportunities and work with individual groups to best support their needs.

“There’s an incredible amount of merit in everything suggested by the community and KLMG and I want to ensure we use the time and resources available to get the best possible model that works for the community.

“This isn’t a once and done affair, but rather a new model which will deliver more opportunities and we need to work at this to get it right.”