Community Central Hall (CCH)

CCH has over 200,000 visitors and users every year – serving the area of Greater Maryhill & North West of Glasgow – with a population of circa 79,000.

Company Limited by guarantee with charitable status.

CCH is controlled by a community membership of local individuals and local community organisations who elect a Board of Directors (up to 15 members). The Board provide strategic direction and policy making for the organisation which is led by a Chief Executive Officer.

A former regeneration area, with strong industrial links, Greater Maryhill has seen a renaissance in recent years. However, the community still has a poor health record and suffers from youth gang territorialism. A diverse community, with many cultures living alongside each other, Maryhill still has the spirit of “old” Glasgow and the friendly community feel within the City Centre. Community Central Hall was built in the early 1920’s and when the building came up for sale in the early 1970’s, an action group was formed to prevent the building being sold for private development.

Over the past 35 years CCH has evolved from providing community space for local organisations to providing a range of diverse and vital community services.  These include pre-school nursery provision; after and out of school care; youth work; community transport, a community cinema, and homecare for older people.

CCH was built in the early 1920’s as the Maryhill Methodist Central Hall. When the building came up for sale in the early 1970’s, an action group was formed to prevent the building being sold for private development. The local authority was persuaded to take over the building, and a local management committee was formed to take over the running of the building with the vision of turning it into a major community facility and resource for the people of Maryhill and North West Glasgow. CCH has recently taken over, from Glasgow Life, the management of Woodside Halls, which is one of four traditional borough halls belonging to the City of Glasgow. Like CCH, it was built in early 1920’s for public use by the local and wider community of Glasgow.

Volunteers       –           12

Staff                 –           59

Assets –

9 minibuses (1 accessible for people with disabilities and wheelchair users), professional digital print and finishing equipment, large format and transfer to fabric kit, cinema projection, extensive digital resources, working to purchase the building long term, which is held in Trust by Glasgow City Council after being purchased in 1976 from the Methodist Church.  Working to secure nearby Woodside Halls through PMGCI and a Community Asset Transfer request.  Re-opened Woodside Halls in October 2023, after closure due to the covid pandemic.

Circa £1.3m – mainly through grant funding

CCH works with all the local community organisations including, the Community Councils, voluntary organisations and grassroots associations and groups. It also works with Glasgow agencies to develop partnership projects and activities.

CCH is supported by Glasgow City Council Early Years and Childcare, Economic Development (Shared Prosperity – Glasgow Place and Communities Fund), and the Glasgow Communities Fund.

CCH is a member of DTA Scotland.

CCH Manages the two buildings 304 Mayhill Road and Woodside Halls. The buildings provide physical hubs for the people of Maryhill and North West Glasgow, where individuals can hire space for meetings, and functions of all types and sizes for up to 400 people.

A key goal of CCH is to help local people to access a means to improve their lifestyles and invest in their own personal and social development through provision of a wide range of services. Enables routes out of poverty and exclusion and provides an accessible and appealing way of integration, recreation, care, personal and social development for all ages.

CCH offers a wide range of services including

• a pre-school nursery and after school care
• home visiting for older people
• recreational and dance/sport classes
• room hire for local groups
• outreach services
• youth work including healthy living, support for ethnic young people, employment and training
• health promotion
• provision of lets for conferences, concerts, musical and cultural events
• provision of programme of community events/fairs and community development work
• community fridge – offers a top up food service to people in the local community
• community transport service – school runs, days trips with disability access
• Footprint Copy – social enterprise printing service offering a bespoke and tailored customer service with a quick turnaround in professional design, print and copy solutions for private, voluntary, public sector, local artists and creatives, and the general public

• Reopening Woodside Halls as a facility for the use of the community with a particular focus on arts and culture.
• Continuing to manage and maintain CCH main building located at 304 Maryhill Road to ensure it remains a community hub/anchor for the local people of West Glasgow and beyond.
• The development of a wide range of sustainable services and projects for local people.
• Providing over 2000 employment opportunities directly and through various training and employability initiatives over the years.
• Providing over 180,000 hours of environmental improvements to the local community over the decades.
• Building over 45 years a range of community services for all sections of the community.
• Generating over 85% of income from generated income, and over the years bringing over £40m into the local economy.

The need to Increase income generation and develop new sustainable services, to ensure the building continues to be used by all sections of the community.

This will include securing the Asset Transfer of 304 Maryhill Road and Woodside Halls as this will see the organisation hold the title to the building enabling the raising of funds for refurbishing the building and securing the long-term stewardship of these vital community assets.

CCH has tried to be flexible and adapt to the changing needs of the community and yet stay true to our vision and mission.  Not to rely on public or civic authorities or agencies to make change in the community for the better – giving us the tools and freedoms to do it ourselves!!

By securing both buildings in community ownership, this will secure their future and guarantee continued public use – and will allow CCH to continue to be at the heart of the community for the generations to come – to provide that safe space and place for the community.

302, Maryhill Road, Glasgow G20 7YE