Tesco property row could close Glasgow's Saheliya charity for refugee women

But Springburn-based Saheliya is not looking a fight.The organisation merely wants to remain in the building it has called home since 2014.

Landlord Tesco, however, has locked the charity in a years-long discussion about the future of the building, refusing either a long lease or a market value offer for the B-listed property.

This could spell the end to its support for Scotland's most marginalised group, asylum seeking, refugee and migrant women.

As well as providing one-to-one servies, legal advice, practical skill classes - all in 14 languages - the charity also runs a unique nursery.

"It's really scary," says chief executive Alison Davis. "First of all, for the childcare, we'd have to find a building, make sure it's fit for purpose, get the Care Inspectorate to pass it, it would have to be somewhere in the vicinity because otherwise we'd be leaving children without nursery places, and all before 2024 when the lease runs out.

"It couldn't happen."

Saheliya relocated from the city centre to St Rollox House seven years ago and took on a full repairing lease, investing heavily in the building and grounds.

Despite a surveyor's report, the building had additional problems when the charity moved in - including being impossible to heat - and that sparked discussions with Tesco.

As the building is listed, repairs are expensive with Alison pointing to an estimated cost of £1200 per window to replace all 59 windows.

She said: "We could possibly get money for the windows if we had a long lease.

"There are lists and lists of repairs we've done because repairs previously have been botched.

"We went to Tesco in 2015 and said this is much bigger than we can deal with unless we have a very significant long lease of 75 or we own the building - otherwise we just can't get funding.

"That's where this discussion came from.

"There's also the risk that when our lease ends they ask us to do the repairs, which would mean the whole organisation would have to close.

"So they have that power over us."

Normally St Rollox House is bustling but the summer holidays mean the nursery is closed and the pandemic has moved many services online.

Even without the women and children, it is clear Saheliya is a well-used service as every room is full of signs of activity, from sewing rooms to a well used kitchen and the indoor and outdoor nursery spaces.

Staff member Ahlam Al-Bashiri is, like 50% of the staff, a former service user who started off taking workshops with Saheliya, moved on to volunteering and finally became employed.

In August she starts a Community Development degree at Glasgow University.

Ahlam, who came to the UK from Yemen, said: "They encourage me to go further in my life.

"Really, I'm really very grateful to them because they supported me through one of the hardest times in my life when I was alone and new in the country and I didn't know where to go to find help.

"The day I gained refugee status I came to tell a staff member here, because I was alone, and she was really so happy for me and there was a wee celebration here for me.

"I am working with colleagues but I am part of the family.

"So many of our staff members are former service users and that is amazing because you see someone who has come to this country with nothing and now they are something."

There are 34 languages spoken at Saheliya and their services are given in 14 languages.

Health and wellbeing is a focus of the charity and Ahlam says being able to come and meet other women with similar stories and speak in their first language is important.

"Coming here is a chance for them to find a woman like them to speak, to talk, to socialise and to speak about what they can't speak about outside," she added.

"The building that we are working in is one of the area's most historic buildings and so it's amazing to say that Sahileya's unique work is being done in this historic building.

"We have transformed this building to be a safe space for the most marginalised women in society."

Women are also encouraged to use their skills to shape what the charity has to offer, which has led to some inspired projects.

One service user had been in charge of water delivery in Congo-Brazzaville, in an area larger than the UK, so she developed a fish farm growing catfish.

Staff and the women transformed an outdoor space into a market garden and, until works needed to be done to the surrounding walls, it was a going concern with seven customers.

Alison said: "We did it for long enough to know that the garden would be self-sustaining if we grow exotic vegetables like African spinach and high end herbs for restaurants.

"We know it can work but we can't plan anything due to the uncertainty."

Alison and her team have bold ideas for the charity but the wrangle with Tesco has put everything on pause.

One plan is to vastly expand the nursery service by developing the attic space of the building and using the garden for outdoor childcare, which is especially therapeutic for traumatised children.

The CEO said: "The potential is massive and with childcare we know we've got services nobody else provides: we've got staff speaking different languages, we've cultural knowledge and we can support parents and especially mums in a way other childcare centres can't.

"A lot of our parents don't understand the value of play because they've never played - they've always had to look after siblings or help in the house so they don't see play as a valuable experience.

"We've got lots of unique selling points and we could double our childcare facilities in August.

"If we could expand the building we could quadruple it.

"We need to be expanding services to become sustainable but we can't do that without owning the building."

St Rollox House was built in 1887 for the Caledonian Railway.

In 2019 it was valued at £285,000 with Saheliya offering £305,000 yet being knocked back by Tesco, which is asking for £350,000.

Tesco said it is actively engaging with the charity but said it is "unfortunately not currently in a position to make any long-term decisions on St Rollox House" although it recognises Saheliya "provides important services for the community".

The situation is now at a standstill, although local politicians across parties have stepped in to help.

Bob Doris MSP has approached Tesco for a meeting.

Alison added: "The fact that we're offering over the valuation, we're not asking for any favours here, we're asking over the valuation and we're saying we really need the building and they're saying no.

"I would have thought that as a matter of courtesy someone from Tesco would have met with us by now, but no.

"They show basic lack of courtesy, basic lack of understanding of the third sector and of communities, which is very sad given that's where they get their money from."