RESIDENTS in Glasgow's East End are calling for a much-loved community hall to re-open.
Wellpark Community Hall has been closed since March 2020 due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
The centre is managed by Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) for locals to use for bingo nights and Zumba classes but campaigners claim funding for the building has been withdrawn.
Caroline Robertson, a local tenant said that neighbours are keen to see the hall return for community use. She said: "While other community centres have continued to run, safely and with appropriate Covid measures in place, the Wellpark Community Hall has been completely shut for over two years.
"Tenants' rent pays for this hall, but GHA refuse to open it for the local community and the local community are in desperate need of a hall where they can come together as a community and interact. We need this hall and we need GHA give back to the community.
"It is residents’ money that went to fund the community centre, it’s part of the service we pay for."
Ying Lei Lee also lives nearby and said that re-opening the centre would put Wellpark on the map. She said: "People would regain the community spirit we lost years ago. It would be a vital resource in the area. You don't hear of Wellpark. For the Wellpark Community Hall to re-open it would put the area on the map. It would make Wellpark a wee bit more well known.
"I used the centre in the past for training and I went to the Zumba class.
"I think it's important because it means that other communities and organisations can use it."
Now, tenants union Living Rent has launched a petition, calling on GHA to re-open the hall. The housing association maintains that it could re-open if a suitable event or activity was identified. They said: "The community hall has been closed for a considerable length of time due to the covid restrictions and not having a designated person in place to take responsibility for opening and closing the hall.
"Should an organisation approach us looking to utilize the hall for an event such as use as a polling station or activity, we can look at this depending on the numbers of persons looking to use it and what activity it's for. We do not rent out the hall for private functions."
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