Official opening of new £9m centre in Fairhill

Nov 27 2008 by Gary Fanning, Hamilton Advertiser

A NEW £9m community centre in Hamilton has been officially opened.

Councillor Gerry Convery unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion at the Fairhill Civic Centre and Library in Neilsland Road last Thursday.

The building replaces the old Fairhill Civic Centre that was demolished almost two years ago to make way for the new high quality community, sports, daycare centre and library.

Visitors to the new complex will find a variety of community uses, including a library with 10 PCs, credit union office, gym, multi-function room, hall/dance studio, social work facilities, youth room, general office, community cafe and internal community garden.

Councillor Convery, chairman of South Lanarkshire Council’s Community Resources Committee and South Lanarkshire Leisure Ltd, said: “This is a fantastic facility for the people of Fairhill and beyond.

“The variety of services and partnerships involved in the Life Centre reflect the collaborative approach that has taken place between the council’s community resources and its partner agencies to provide an all-round facility responding to the needs of the whole community.”

The council secured money for the new community centre through a grant of £850,000 from the Community Regeneration Partnership and £816,000 from the European Regional Development Fund with the local authority providing the remainder.

Kay McIntosh, of Changing Places in Hamilton, said: “This new facility is a great asset to the community.

“The fact that it provides a base for employment advice and support, training opportunities, money advice, credit union services and health improvement programmes complementary to the leisure and recreation services usually associated with community facilities means we can hope for lots of added benefits for Fairhill, Low Waters, Eddlewood and other neighbourhoods.”

Gerry Campbell, general manager of South Lanarkshire Ltd, said: “Putting this mixture of services and facilities under one roof will raise awareness and have a ‘spin-off’ in terms of cross usage.

“The practical nature of these partnerships will maximise the way the facilities are used and sharing costs is an obvious benefit for everyone.”