Work begins on building brand new community hub

East Dunbartonshire Council leader, Rhondda Geekie, cut the first sod at the event to mark the official start of construction of the £3m community facility, which is set to be completed in early 2017.

Councillor Geekie said: “This is a great milestone for Bearsden and will see major investment in the town centre by the council.

“The new community hub will provide everyone in Bearsden with a state-of-the-art facility they will be proud of and will bring a number of benefits to the town.

“Community hubs, like the one just opened in Lennoxtown, are an important element of the council’s long term vision for effective, efficient, customer focussed services delivered locally throughout East Dunbartonshire.

“Bringing together a wide range of council services under one roof in an exciting and innovative way will help us deliver services more efficiently to our residents and improve their experience of dealing with the council.”

The new hub, which is based on a reconfiguration of the Burgh Hall site on Drymen Road, will include the re-provisioning of the library and community archives from Brookwood as well as enhancing the current hall facilities through a full refurbishment.

The new facility, which will bring together council, library, leisure and cultural services in a single building, will also contain new public meeting rooms and social work facilities, new public toilets and an entire upgrade of the current accommodation.

The on-site customer services team aims to make it easier for residents to access and get information about a variety of different council services and make payments for them in just one visit.

The council’s development partner hub West Scotland will manage the design and delivery of the new building.

Bill Matthews, chairman of hub West Scotland, said: “I am proud to see construction begin on our third community hub for East Dunbartonshire Council.

“Our development partnership with the council continues to transform public services to communities across East Dunbartonshire, and it is testament to the hard work put in by all of the partners involved.”

Architects’s firm Anderson, Bell & Christie was selected to design the new community hub. A council spokesperson said: “They have proven expertise in both creating community buildings and consulting with local people to understand community needs.”

CCG is the main contractor to construct the new community hub.