At yesterday's meeting of the Executive (Tuesday, 5 March), Councillors granted a 25-year Community Benefit Lease to the charity paving the way for the Foundation to build a purpose-built community hub on the 787m2 site.

The Foundation can now progress to put in place the necessary agreements with stakeholders and seek the appropriate statutory consents to advance the delivery of the project.

Once built, the hub will support mental health and wellbeing through activities including community football, mental health programmes, and educational initiatives. Additionally, the hub will house classrooms, office space, changing rooms, and showers.

The Foundation has solid financial backing for the hub, having secured £720,000 in funding from The Scottish FA’s Department of Culture, Media, and Sport Levelling Up Fund allocation, EB Scotland, and sportscotland.

Extensive consultation with local community groups and organisations highlighted widespread support for the project and an assessment of the charity’s proposals made clear the social, health, and voluntary contributions of the hub would far outweigh the waived rental income for the Council.

Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council, said:

"By approving the Community Benefit Lease, we are helping the Falkirk Foundation not only invest in the creation of a community hub but also in the mental health and wellbeing of local people, which sits well with our priorities for a healthier, stronger Falkirk. We all look forward to seeing the land transformed over the coming months into a vibrant community asset."

Visit https://falkirkfoundation.org/ to find out more about the Falkirk Foundation and its work.