Future looks bright for former miners’ welfare

The Coalburn Miners’ Charitable Society has been at the heart of the local community for many years, with many of the town’s population registered as members. We aim to improve the facilities and services available to this former mining community by working in partnership with others to achieve common goals. Given that the voluntary sector in this area generally lacks resources and the support infrastructure due to funding constraints, the Charitable Society has an important role to play in providing resources and leadership to the community and voluntary sector locally.
The idea of developing the Miners Welfare Club into a One Stop Shop came about as part of a national initiative launched in 2000 by the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation. A successful Lottery bid enabled the organisation to employ development workers to promote the initiative. There are seven other similar schemes underway in different parts of Scotland. The ethos is to create a facility which will be self-supporting by generating long term independent income streams and developing the skills of those who will manage it.

Essentially its role is to create a welcoming place which will provide variety of cossemmunity facilities under one roof. The Coalburn project has been completed in three phases. Phase One was a £45,000 upgrade of the premises to ensure that they were completely accessible to people with disabilities, which included a disabled lift and toilets.

Phase Two was a £550,000 renovation of the premises to make it suitable for community use. The final Phase was to access £142,000 of funding to staff the facility over the next 2/3 years. What we now have is a facility which the people of Coalburn can be proud of, a facility that will be a major part in the continuing regeneration of the area.
We have been in discussion with Halifax/Bank of Scotland to install a free-to-use
cash machine. These discussions have been successful and a cash machine is to be now installed within the One Stop Shop.

We are also pleased to offer a full range of Post Office services from the One Stop Shop Reception. Customers can still collect
benefits in cash using everyday banking services or Post Office card account.
The One Stop Shop is also an ideal venue for weddings, conferences, meeting and social occasions and can comfortably accommodate up to 250 guests or delegates. Conveniently located just 3 miles from the M74 it is not only well situated for those in the surrounding area but also those travelling from further afield. Whether your requirement is for a number of smaller, more intimate meeting rooms or one of the larger suites, guests can be accommodated and catered for in a comfortable environment. In addition, the Centre offers a full range of business services including wifi and access to IT/office equipment.