The Larick Centre
Asset transfer of land from Fife Council to Tayport Community Trust enabled the development of a new community hub, with sports facilities, café and multi-purpose spaces. The new building is named ‘The Larick Centre’, after the historic pile light near Tayport Harbour. Over the summer of 2021, the new building came alive with exercise classes, yoga, advice drop-ins, a youth hub, a Community Fridge, families’ groups and more – with spaces of various shapes and sizes available to hire.
Main Hall - Photograph - Dave Vallis
The lack of sports provision and a community centre in this Fife town led to plans being hatched to develop a multiple-use space, incorporating tourist accommodation and a café. The site, chosen was previously a steel fabrication plant and had been sitting unused for around ten years.
“When the old building was finally demolished, that was a really powerful symbol of progress, and everyone could see that something was actually happening. So my advice to anyone else taking on an asset transfer, is keep everyone informed.”
Tony Gowland, Tayport Community Trust
Through an impressive process of negotiation, the Trust managed to agree a selling price of £40,000 with Fife Council – with the Council also agreeing to take on the clean-up from the contaminated site. Funding from the Scottish Land Fund covered the sale, with the Community Ownership Support Service helping with fees.
Previous fundraising by Tayport Community and Sports Centre Action Group, out of which the Trust grew, had already raised a significant £55,178 through a variety of community events. Phase one development funding was secured from the Big Lottery of £119,000. Phase two Lottery funding of £1.2million for the capital costs of the building as well as successful applications to the Robertson Trust, Fife Council, Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, Fife Environment Trust and various other funders, both small and large provided the total capital funding required.
The Larick Centre is just one of a suite of projects run by Tayport Community Trust and its trading subsidiary Tayport Community Enterprises, with The Harbour Café, The Larick Campsite, The Larick Café and PLANT (‘People Learning About Nature in Tayport’) all part of the family.
More information on the https://tayportct.org.uk/communityhub website.
Header Image - Larick Centre, Photo courtesy of Tayport Community Trust