Approval was given at the Housing and Technical Resources Committee to enable the 3rd Blantyre Community Group to lease High Blantyre Hall with the intention of developing an application for a Community Asset Transfer (CAT).

The hall was among a number of assets that the board of South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture agreed to withdraw from as part of their plans to balance their 2024-25 budget.

At this point, the application for High Blantyre Hall is not a formal CAT request but the community group will be granted a 100% rent-reduction for a one-year lease to allow their CAT application to be developed.

The community group is a registered charity that has been set up by 3rd Blantyre Scout Group to lease and manage the facility on its behalf.

It follows a practice adopted by many Scout groups due to them operating under a national set of articles that are not suitable for them to take on leases.

The 3rd Blantyre Scout Group, which has more than 100 active participants and carries out partnership work with other local organisations, has been in operation for more than 100 years.

It currently hires local halls but wishes to secure its future by having a set of premises where it can have long-term sustainability and grow.

Councillor Davie McLachlan, Chair of Housing and Technical Resources at the Council, said: “This is great news for the community in keeping this valuable resource open, and it shows the value of the processes set up to address the lack of funding for premises like these across South Lanarkshire.

“It will allow this long-standing scout group to establish their own base where they can bring still more benefit to the area, and it will remove the costs of operating this asset from the Community Fightback Fund and make them available for other vital purposes.”