North East Fife Community Hub, which currently provides a range of support services to for residents, including a community café and dementia-friendly activities, at St Andrews Episcopal Church Hall, is to move to the St Davids Centre at Albany Park together with the foodbank, Fife Credit Union, Fife Gingerbread and Citizens Advice and Rights Fife.
The Hub is to buy the building from Fife Council for £100,000, far below its £775,000 valuation, under the Community Asset Transfer provisions of the Community Empowerment Act. Fife Council said the community value of the transfer outweighed the loss of income.
Commenting on the transfer, Community manager Tim Kendrick said: “Over the course of a 10-year period, given the range of services to be provided to vulnerable people in the community through voluntary effort, the level of discount is justified.” He added: “The proposal is to provide a permanent, fit-for-purpose community hub which will provide greater support for residents of south east St Andrews living with financial hardship, ill health, disability and social isolation. Whilst St Andrews is seen overall as a prosperous town, the Community Hub has identified that it has similar social and welfare issues which exist across the rest of Fife and Scotland.”
The Hub is proposing to offer new activities, including a cookery classes, tea dances and a mother and baby support group from the new building. Income for the Hub will come from donations and by renting out its meeting and conference rooms to other services and groups.
Part of the building is currently used by Fife Health and Social Care Partnership for the delivery of older people’s day care services and there had been concern expressed about the future of this facility if the Community Hub’s bid were to be successful. However, QV understands that the Partnership and Community Hub are discussing a proposal from the Hub that the Partnership continues to provide this service from a specially-adapted wing for a small fee.
