Lennoxtown Community Hub, the new home for Council, library, leisure and cultural services in the town, was officially opened by Council Leader Rhondda Geekie on Tuesday 8 March following a £5.29M investment by the Council.
Located in the heart of Lennoxtown on the town's Main Street, the new building brings a wide range of services under one roof including Council Tax, benefits, licensing, housing, general Council enquiries, library services, leisure services, arts and events.
There are also healthcare services - including GP surgeries - in conjunction with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
The network of Community Hubs is a key aspect of the Council’s programme to continue to deliver customer services locally throughout East Dunbartonshire. The first Hub facility was opened at the William Patrick Library building in Kirkintilloch in August 2012 and has been a huge success, with increased visitor numbers since its introduction.
The Hub was developed to deliver a new, flexible ‘one stop shop’ approach to customer services to make it easier for residents to access and get information about a variety of different services and make payments for them in just one visit.
Commenting on the opening Council Leader Rhondda Geekie said, "I'm absolutely delighted to open this new Community Hub in Lennoxtown, which represents a £5.29M commitment by the Council within the town centre. This outstanding, purpose built facility in Lennoxtown is a key element of our commitment to supporting development in the area.
"I am happy that we have delivered a modern, functional and vibrant facility for the people of Lennoxtown and the surrounding area that will provide opportunities for a broad range of community activity.
"Lennoxtown Community Hub has brought together Council, library, leisure and cultural services - as well as health facilities - in an exciting and innovative way making it easier for residents to access information and a wide range of services by providing them all under one roof.
"Now that the building is open for business residents can now access a wide range of key services - some of them not delivered in Lennoxtown before such as licensing and registration - in one central location. "
Councillor Anne Jarvis, Chair of the East Dunbartonshire Leisure & Culture Trust said, “These fantastic new facilities reflect the commitment of the Trust and the Council in promoting library, leisure and cultural services in Lennoxtown and the surrounding areas and I would urge everyone to come along and see for themselves just what has been created here."
Karen Murray, Chief Officer of the Health & Social Care Partnership welcomed the opening of the new Hub, which will bring together a range of NHS services under the same roof including health visitors, district nurses and clinical sessions from physiotherapy and podiatry services.
Karen said, "We are pleased that Peel View Medical Centre and Lennoxtown Medical Practice are also based within the Hub and that they plan to extend the services they previously offered in Lennoxtown Clinic.
"This new facility will provide the opportunity for Health, Social Care and other Community Teams to deliver services within the local area and we look forward to continued partnership work to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Lennoxtown and surrounding communities."
The £5.29M development was built as part in partnership with the Council's development partner hub West Scotland.
Angeline Robertson, Partnerships Director at hub West Scotland, said, "I am delighted to see Lennoxtown Community Hub open to the public. It is an excellent example of the continuing success of our strong development partnership with East Dunbartonshire Council and testament to their commitment to the regeneration of their towns."
Customer Services will be open 9am to 8pm on Monday and Wednesday, 9am to 6pm on Tuesday and Thursday, and 9am until 5pm every Friday.
Library Services will be available from 10am to 8pm on Monday and Wednesday, 10am to 6pm on Tuesday and Thursday, and 10am until 5pm every Friday.
For more information please visit www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk for Council services or www.edlc.co.uk for library, leisure and cultural services. Residents can also call 0300 123 4510 or email customerservices@eastdunbarton.gov.uk
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