Jock Stein's sisters fight to keep Burnbank Volunteer Resource Centre open

Oct 15 2009 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

THE sisters of Burnbank football legend Jock Stein this week joined the battle to avert the closure of a social day care centre.

Jessie McNeil (84) and 82-year-old Margaret McDade have been involved with Burnbank Volunteer Resource Centre for more than 15 years.

Now with the Argyle Drive club’s future being in doubt for the second time in 10 months, they say they will do all they can to keep it open.

Jessie and Margaret, who grew up alongside the Celtic and Scotland manager, still live in Burnbank and help to run the centre’s stroke club.

Jessie said: “To see it close would be terrible. I am not that mobile anymore and really don’t get out much these days and the centre is my only real place where I can easily go to meet my friends.

“My sister feels the same. We stay close to the centre and everyone really enjoys it here. If they went ahead with closure, it would have a terrible effect on everyone.

“Growing up with Jock was great. We all got on really well together. He would have been really pleased that his two wee sisters had a centre like this to visit.”

Jock (pictured), who would have been aged 87 on Monday, became the first manager of a British team to win the European Cup, with Celtic in 1967.

He also guided Celtic to nine successive Scottish League championships between 1966 and 1974.

Hamilton Volunteer Group, who run the centre, last year successfully campaigned against moves by South Lanarkshire Council to withdraw their funding.

Now their future is in doubt again after the council last week revealed they may have to trim their budget by £111m over the next four years. A total of £21m of cuts will have to be found this year and the council’s £72,000 grant to the centre is again facing the axe

Volunteer Group president Gordon Young described the proposed withdrawal of funding as “absolutely crazy”.

He added: “Without the centre’s support and help, 40 per cent of our members would have to contact the social work department and would need a social worker and/or a care worker.

“Members of the 12 other groups which use the centre have indicated to the staff they too will need support from social work.

“We estimate that, if even half of these service users had to go on to the books of the social work department, it would cost South Lanarkshire Council three times the amount the centre receives in its grant of £72,000, which makes the idea of closing the centre financial suicide.

“We are asking the council and our local councillors of all parties to think again.”

The Burnbank centre has been providing community services for 33 years. Between 400 and 500 people use the community facility in Argyle Drive.

It is run by a handful of redundancy-threatened paid staff and more than 30 volunteers.

Thirteen groups - catering for people, with learning difficulties, the visually impaired and OAPs - use the centre as a base for their activities.

Volunteers provide advice on benefits and utility bills and a team of drivers are always on hand to take old or infirm folk to hospital appointments or pick up their prescriptions.

Councillors have deferred a decision on the proposed cuts for further discussions.