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Renton Community Development Trust

Facts & Figures

Organisation Name

Renton Community Development Trust

People Benefiting

The whole community

Area Served

Renton, West Dumbartonshire, 20 miles west of Glasgow

Population

1,500

Sketch

The Renton Community Development Trust (the Trust) was established in 2004 to develop further the regeneration progress already being made in the village of Renton and to look at ways of developing the skills that exist in the community to ensure its long-term sustainability and viability. The strategy is to move away from grant dependency and encourage enterprise and community involvement within the village.  Community-based regeneration has led to the acquisition and development of quality housing stock; the development of Carman Centre – the community hub; asset transfer of The John Connolly centre;  the development of a Healthy Living Centre; the development and sale of a supermarket; and the development and lease of Renton train station named The Bruce Heritage Centre.

Legal Form

RCDT is a registered charity with two trading subsidiaries

Volunteers

15

Staff

6

Earned Income

£100,000

Assets

Owners of John Connolly Centre with 99 year lease of Carman Centre.

Value of assets

£200k

Roots & Links

Origins

RCDT was established in 2004 to further develop the regeneration progress already being made in the village of Renton and to look at ways of developing the skills that exist in the community to ensure its long-term sustainability and viability. Part of its vision is to redress the social, economic and environmental issues that previously lead to stigmatisation of local people. RCDT has evolved into the catalyst for social change in Renton and its surrounding areas, taking a lead role in regeneration

Governance

The four organisations have their own voluntary board of directors or management committee and separate remits, but they share a common aim – to regenerate Renton. Local people come up with ideas; the decision as to which organisation takes them forward is based on which is the best ‘vehicle’ to accomplish the task.

Community Links

All the anchor organisations regularly consult the community using various sources. Strong links to local youth groups and other community groups, many of which regularly use the Carman Centre, The John Connolly centre or The Bruce heritage centre

External Links

Renton anchor takes a strong advocacy role and articulates a community perspective at a range of national and regional levels.

Activities

Physical Hub

The Carman Centre situated in the centre of Renton has become a focal point for the community as has The John Connolly Centre which is situated at the South end of the village, The Bruce heritage centre in the West, and Waterside View which is a 40 bed extra care facility in the East between them they house a community cafe, IT facilities, boxing gym, games hall, meeting rooms, library and museum.

Builds Local Capacity

Yes. Both staff and volunteers are encouraged to develop their skills and capacity through support and training. RCDT through its Education subsidiary has increased the opportunities for staff and members of the community as well as other organisations to study for SVQ’s in Health and Social Care with The Strathleven Artisans providing educational and historical sessions

Delivers Services

Community Development, care services, residential and sheltered housing; brought health services to the village a supermarket and educational and history training.

Develops/Manages Services

Yes. The Housing Association currently manages housing stock in Renton; developed and owns Healthy Living Centre; developed (and subsequently sold) a supermarket, owns 40 bed extra care facility, RCDT owns John Connolly Centre, 99 lease of Carman Centre, Strathleven Artisans have 25 year lease on The Bruce heritage centre .

Other

New housing developments include a proportion of homes for sale, and it’s a source of local pride that visitors cannot distinguish between privately-owned and Housing Association properties in these mixed tenure areas.

Main Achievements

Bottom up regeneration through: • Acquisition and development of quality housing stock • Development of Carman Centre – the community hub, asset transfer of The John Connolly centre, Development of Healthy Living Centre, development and sale of a supermarket and development and lease of Renton train station named The Bruce heritage centre.

What Next

Biggest Challenge

To continue to both sustain and develop services for the community to use and to make sure they have premises in community ownership or control.

Lesson Learned

Always to ensure the governance of each organisation is kept at the highest standard and that no one person has disproportionate influence over local affairs.

Aspirations

To make sure that we have premises to own and control and that there are massive opportunities in our village for people to develop and study in a way suitable to them.

Contact

Name

Drew Mac Eoghainn

Title

CEO

Address Line 1

Carman Centre, 175 Main Street

Address Line 2

G82 4PF

City

Renton

District

Dunbartonshire West