Darvel Community Trust was formed following the announcement by East Ayrshire Council in 2014 that the Gavin Hamilton Sports Centre was deemed surplus to requirements and was placed on a list of facilities for potential disposal or Community Asset Transfer (CAT). This threat of disposal or demolition was made formal at a Council Cabinet meeting on 9th March 2016 when it was recommended in the Community Asset Transfer Update that; “in the event that the CAT application does not proceed within the timescales set out, the building is surplus to requirements with effect from on or before 30th September 2016 and thereafter demolished or disposed of.” The Darvel Community Trust SCIO was formally registered as a charity on the 22nd April 2015 and our published charitable purposes and objectives are; “the advancement of public participation in sport” and “the provision of recreational facilities, or the organisation of recreational activities, with the objective of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities or activities are primarily intended.” Since the last Public Consultation in early 2014, The Darvel Community Trust has been working on the following objectives:
Ascertaining the current state of the building. This required lengthy negotiation with the Council to gain agreement of the requirement for an independent survey. Following this grant funding was secured and an independent structural survey of the existing facility was completed in Spring 2015.
Developing a case for the ultimate award of grant funding for the development of a feasibility study and associated plans for the transformation and redevelopment of the Sports Centre. This was secured in early Summer 2015 and this process was completed in March 2016.
Developing a Business Plan that will ensure that a transformed Community Facility will be a self-sustaining community asset that can be independently operated by the Trust on a not-for-profit but not loss making basis. This will be submitted to the Council with the completed CAT transfer application in early April 2016.
This website has been developed to inform the community of Darvel and the surrounding area of the proposed transformation plans for the Gavin Hamilton Sports Centre that have been delivered as a result of the feasibility study. Information fed back by the community through the consultation survey and at the Community will be incorporated into the Business Plan and CAT application.
