Community trust says its survival hinges on outcome of late-stage appeal
A Paisley charity has conceded its future could be in doubt after Scottish ministers agreed to examine its challenge to Renfrewshire Council’s refusal to grant a long-term lease of the former St Ninian’s Church Hall on Blackstoun Road.
Ferguslie Community Development Trust (FCDT) has twice had its request for a community asset transfer rejected. The rejection was upheld by a council appeals panel in May, confirming an earlier decision by the community asset transfer (CAT) sub-committee in January. The trust has now asked ministers to review that ruling and the case has been allocated to a reporter, Katrina Rice.
FCDT’s chair has warned the charity has exhausted its internal options and that a further refusal would leave the organisation with little alternative but to reconsider its raison d’être. The trust sought the hall on the basis of a nominal £1 per year lease and intends to transform the vacant building into a community hub.
“We can’t take it anywhere else, this is us now. This is the final stage. If it is rejected this time then the game’s a bogey and there’s no more we can do,”
The appeal submitted by the trust highlights four main areas of contention with the council’s handling of the application:
- Reasoning for refusal — the trust questions the grounds on which the CAT application was turned down.
- Consideration of alternative uses — FCDT says the council did not properly weigh other potential uses for the asset.
- Procedural issues — the appeal raises concerns about how the review process was conducted.
- Concerns about meeting discussions — the trust contests aspects of what was discussed at the relevant council meetings.
Local consequences if bid fails
For residents of Ferguslie and surrounding Paisley communities, the dispute is about more than a single disused building. The trust has described the hall as central to its plans to provide local services and activities. If ministers decline the appeal, the trust has indicated it will have to call a board meeting to decide whether it can continue operating in anything like its present form.
That prospect raises immediate questions over the future delivery of community projects that the trust supports or had planned to host at the hall. While the council’s position is that its decision-making followed established processes, the trust’s leadership maintains it provided substantial evidence to the reporter handling the ministerial review.
What happens next
The referral to the Scottish Government means an independent reporter will assess the material submitted by both parties and produce a report for ministers to consider. The reporter named in the allocation, Katrina Rice, will examine the factual and procedural matters set out by the trust. Until that process is complete, no final determination will be made public.
| Stage | Current position |
|---|---|
| Council CAT sub-committee | Rejected (January) |
| CAT review appeals panel | Upheld rejection (May) |
| Scottish ministers | Allocated to reporter Katrina Rice (ongoing) |
From a local governance perspective, the case illustrates the tensions that can arise between community organisations seeking to rejuvenate vacant assets and the statutory responsibilities of local authorities to manage property and public funds. The outcome will be closely watched by other groups in Renfrewshire considering CAT bids, who are likely to scrutinise both the council’s decision-making and the ministerial review for precedent.
FCDT has said it has supplied the reporter with a wide range of documentation and evidence to support its claim. The trust now awaits the reporter’s conclusions, while preparing for the possibility that a negative outcome could force it to alter or even cease its charitable activities in the area.
Residents and local stakeholders seeking updates should expect further announcements once the reporter’s findings are released to the Scottish ministers and any subsequent ministerial decision is made public.
