WHEN buildings are being pulled down and facilities closed – whether it’s in the name of regeneration or not – communities can feel like they are falling apart.

The Pollokshaws Community Hub is the glue sticking this corner of Glasgow back together.

“It’s been a long, hard haul for the people round here,” says Fiona Eadie, project co-ordinator at Pollokshaws Area Network (PAN), based in the Hub.

“You can’t blame them for wondering – when is this regeneration going to finish? The hub is about trying to do something positive for them – to build up something in the area, rather than tear it down.”

PAN was set up initially to help the hundreds of refugee and asylum-seeking families who had been housed in the area to settle in, and just as regeneration work was gathering steam.

“Everything was being pulled down or closed down,” says Fiona. “Buildings were being demolished, community facilities abandoned, shutters coming down everywhere.

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“We were designated a ‘transformational regeneration area’ and where there had been quite a vibrant community, there were empty spaces and buildings surrounded in scaffolding. It was hard, and quite a daunting place to live for a while for many people.”

The Hub is now a busy community centre with lots of activities and events on the go – everything from gardening sessions and a choir to yoga classes and coffee mornings. Local schools and nurseries come to visit regularly. There’s a needlecraft group and a Men’s Shed, which tackles isolation and loneliness in older men and now the group is turning its attention to those issues in the wider community too.

“We are launching the Pollokshaws Support Project, which will be open to anyone in the local area who wants to drop in and get support or information on any issue,” says Fiona.

“Maybe it’s a housing repair they are getting nowhere with, or a question about local nurseries and schools for a family newly moved in, a disability issue or something to do with legal services – the point is to provide a listening ear for those who who don’t know where to go.

“We are not experts in everything, of course, but we have lots of support from other organisations and our local MSP, and we can point people in the right direction if we can’t answer their question right there and then.”

She adds: “We want people to feel supported – it’s about being neighbourly, which is something that has got lost a wee bit over the years.

“We don’t anyone to feel they have no-one to turn to.”

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The group recently received £10,000 from the Gannett Foundation, a charitable trust run by the Evening Times’s parent company.

“We will use the money to improve our garden space – put in a new polytunnel for soft fruits and add a greenhouse and get some cooking equipment,” explains Fiona.

“Every day, we see the impact of food poverty on our community. We want to grow even more fresh food in the garden and set up a stall for local people to come and get it when they need it. Ultimately, we want to improve our kitchen and do community meals too.”

In the garden, children from nearby Shaw Mhor Early Years nursery and Tinto Primary are enjoying a spot of digging.

“I love the garden because it’s mucky,” beams Emmie McLean, who is four.

“We grow potatoes and cucumber and beetroot and tomatoes and carrots and make soup,” says five-year-old Rowan Millar.

“I found a wiggly worm,” yells Isaac Irwin, five.

Team leader at Shaw Mhor, Jenny Duncan, explains: “The kids love to come here, it’s great for them, especially those who don’t have access to a garden at home.

“The constant building works have been tough on the community but this garden is a lovely spot to come to. Everyone here makes us feel so welcome.”

Volunteers Margaret Osborne, Veronica Scanlan and Maureen Studders have just finished helping to paint some of the rooms inside the centre, which is the former nursery on Shawbridge Street.

“We all muck in here when required,” smiles Margaret.

Maureen, who has lived in Pollokshaws for 16 years, says: “The area has changed so much. For a long time, it was run down and had no community spirit at all. Thanks to the Hub, that’s all coming back.

“If you’re worried about something, you can come here and just relax and chat to people who will listen to you. I’ve put a lot of things to rest in my mind, just digging in this garden with my friends.”

Veronica adds, summing it up: “This is a fabulous place. You always leave feeling happier.”

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