A football club’s bid to take on the ownership of its home ground in Lochwinnoch from Renfrewshire Council has been given the green light.

Calderglen Community SCIO, formed from Calderglen AFC, will seal the transfer of the playing fields in Lochlip Road for £1 after the deal was approved by elected members.

Going forward, the group plans to maintain the pitch and install new changing facilities following the completion of the community asset transfer (CAT).

The project was welcomed by members of the CAT sub-committee, including Councillor Iain McMillan, Labour group leader and representative for Johnstone South and Elderslie, at last week’s meeting.

He said: “It’s been a fairly informal football park at times, so it would be good to see its future secured. Good luck to them.

“I know some of the people who are involved down there and it’s great to have football in the village.

“We tend to think of football being in more built up areas but obviously football is an important part of everybody’s life, whether they live in a rural community or they live in an urban area.

“To have this future secured for this particular club in the community, I think is fantastic.

“Well done to everybody involved because it’s not easy even to get to this stage. It takes quite a lot of work.

“Well done to the officers who have obviously been helping and advising them along the way.”

Calderglen Community SCIO was established in 2022 as a vehicle for the asset transfer, citing frustration at the lack of investment in sports and recreation facilities in the village as a reason.

The organisation’s purposes include advancing public participation in sport and providing facilities to the community and community-focused groups.

Calderglen AFC was founded in 1950 and has used the site as its home ground for as long as people associated with the club can remember.

Reacting to the decision, club secretary Derrick Hodgson said: “We pride ourselves in being a local club open to local guys to come and play and so one of the aspirations in recent years – we are a charity now – is we have a plan to develop the club for the benefit of the community.

“One of the initial aspects of that was to make sure we got control of the park, so that we could invest in it, develop it and make it a playing surface that will credit the village and credit the team.

“We’re going to put a fence round it to provide some further protection and give us the ability to keep it in good condition, cut it, line it and everything else.
“The asset transfer is one part or one phase of the club’s five to seven-year plan of developing the club for the benefit of Lochwinnoch."