About St. Bride’s.
The St. Bride’s Centre is a very special community-owned facility.
Our Centre is owned and managed by the Douglas St. Bride’s Community Group (DSBCG), a hard -working team of volunteer Board of Directors who look after the facility on behalf of the local community.
The DSBCG is a Company Limited by Guarantee with Charitable Status, with a Memorandum and Articles of Association as a governing document. The structure gives a degree of legal protection, as well as the benefits of operating as a charity. Annual reports are submitted to Companies House and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Read our Memorandum & Articles of Association or to view our latest Accounts.
A number of staff support the Board including the Business Development Manager, who is responsible for the sustainable future of the St. Bride’s Centre; Administrator, who is central to the everyday running of the facility and two part-time staff, who open the Centre at weekends and help with private events. In addition, South Lanarkshire Leisure provide three Facility Staff who help keep the Centre open to accommodate all users.
The Community Group also manage the valuable asset of the Second Glance Charity Shop on the Main Street in Douglas. Run by an amazing team of volunteers, the shop not only provides a resource for the local community, but also a sustainable income for the St. Bride’s Centre.
Want to help out, join in, influence direction or just keep up to date with all that’s going on? Call in or phone 01555 850019 to speak to us, or leave a message thorough our Facebook page or email.
Our Team
We have an amazing team at St. Bride’s who want to ensure that every visit to the Centre is an enjoyable one.
TBC
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Facts about me:
- I joined the St. Bride’s team in…
- My favourite place to be (other than work!) is…
- I couldn’t live without…
- My ‘Claim to Fame’…
Kim Ashford
DIRECTOR/ TRUSTEE
Facts about me:
- I joined the St. Bride’s team in…
- My favourite place to be (other than work!) is…
- I couldn’t live without…
- My ‘Claim to Fame’…
Our Journey
The building that currently houses the St. Bride’s Centre originally opened as a school in 1876. After the school closed, the facilities were taken over by the local church to use as their Hall. Over time the building deteriorated into a state of disrepair. A team of enthusiastic volunteers then got together and through a major refurbishment, transformed the rather bleak facility into a welcoming community centre which opened for business in May 1998.
The refurbishment of the Centre served the village well for the best part of twelve years, but there were still major issues with the fabric of the building. Over the next five years, Douglas St. Bride’s Community Group worked tirelessly to develop a robust proposal for a major reconfiguration and redevelopment of St. Bride’s. Following detailed consultation and engagement with stakeholders and the wider community, together with a lengthy period of architectural study, business planning and construction, the St. Bride’s Centre reopened in 2012 with a facility fit for the 21st century.
A more detailed account of all these developments can be read here.
As part of the refurbishment, the Douglas Community Group developed what is thought to be a Scottish first in the form of Douglas Community Ecoheat. Find out more about this exciting project.
Current & Future Projects
The Board members and staff at St. Bride’s are always looking for ways to move forward with new and exciting initiatives. The most recent project is the purchase of 11 Main Street in Douglas. The building currently houses 2 shops on the ground floor and an upper 3-bedroom flat. One of the shops currently houses the Second Chance Charity Shop which is managed by St. Bride’s and the other, the Bake my Day bakery.
Acquisition of the property through a Scottish Land Fund grant, supported by funding from the Clyde Windfarm, will not only secure the future of the charity shop but also create a regular income for the sustainable future of the St. Bride’s Centre. Plans are in place to refit the shops to make them more fit for purpose. Regular updates of the project will be posted on this page.
