The transfers are part of the council’s Community Asset Transfer (CAT) programme, which enables local groups to operate and maintain buildings for the benefit of their communities.

The properties will be sold or leased for a nominal sum of £1 and financial support given, through the council’s Enablement Fund, to help the new owners upgrade facilities and make the buildings more sustainable and energy efficient.

The fund will provide financial support to the groups to undertake capital improvements such as upgrading heating systems and energy efficiency work.

The properties being transferred are:

• Grange Community Education Centre, Brightons: To be transferred via ownership to Falkirk Braes Grange Centre SCIO, with up to £161,595 allocated to improve accessibility, overhaul the heating system and install solar panels with battery storage to reduce utility bills and enhance energy efficiency.
• Action Outdoors Centre, Brightons: To be transferred via ownership to Polmont Playgroup SCIO, with up to £21,419 to install solar panels, LED motion lighting and separate the electricity supply from the Grange Community Education Centre.
• Ettrick Dochart Community Hall, Hallglen: To be transferred to Ettrick Dochart Community Group via a 20-year lease, with up to £179,704 allocated for capital improvements, including replacing and upgrading the heating system.

The empowerment of communities to manage properties they value through CAT plays a critical role in securing their future, as these properties are no longer affordable for the Council to run and would otherwise close as part of its Strategic Property Review.

This approach also delivers financial savings to the council, helping to address its budget deficit, while ensuring the properties continue to serve local communities.

Many of the buildings identified in the SPR are old, underutilised, expensive for the council to run and maintain, and in need of modernisation.

Through CAT, community groups can request to take ownership or management responsibility of public assets, like community halls, enabling them to manage the properties in ways that meet local priorities.

By taking ownership or management through a lease, groups can also seek third-party funding to improve the properties -funding that is not available to the Council.

Each group must demonstrate its capability to operate and maintain the building before a CAT can be approved.

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, leader of Falkirk Council, said: “Community Asset Transfers represent an opportunity for local groups to take ownership of facilities and transform them into vibrant, sustainable hubs that meet the needs of their communities. These transfers also align with our commitment to addressing financial challenges while empowering local people to drive positive change in the area in which they live.”