Local Priority: - Enhanced community facilities.

Since 1946 to date the Lochee Boys and Girls Club has been evolving. The club plans to invest more than £500,000 into the Lochee community, by expanding its facilities to better serve the community's growing needs. Collaborating with local stakeholders, plans are underway to enhance gym and training areas and create additional community spaces. Our project will create positive change for individuals and the wider community by encouraging youth engagement in healthy lifestyles, teamwork, and discipline through sport. It will promote social cohesion by bringing together diverse groups to foster understanding, cooperation, and inclusion. A key focus will be on physical and mental wellbeing, providing safe spaces for exercise that contribute to both physical fitness and mental health improvements. The expansion will generate wider social benefits, this includes new opportunities for volunteer and create employment opportunities, creating avenues for coaching certifications, mentoring positions, and careers in sports and community development. Sustained benefits for the community will be achieved by reducing social isolation, enhancing local engagement, and improving overall health metrics.

Collaboration is central to our strategy. We intend to partner with local charities and stakeholders to create a unified network dedicated to community health and safety. The facility will actively promote the benefits of sport beyond just physical activity. Mental health support will be integrated through structured programmes that incorporate stress management and resilience-building workshops. The space will encourage social interactions, reducing loneliness and fostering friendships. This is aligned with the local community plan to tackle social isolation and build community resilience. It will also serve as a positive diversion for young people, reducing crime rates by engaging them in structured activities. Additionally, partnerships with local schools will support academic attainment through sports participation. The new extension will enhance the club’s ability to deliver these initiatives, ensuring a broader reach and greater impact on the community. Along with the Capital Funding for the extension we are also looking to improve what we currently have. This grant would be utilised to achieve this. We are hoping to improve accessibility to all areas of the club and this involves renewing the entrance with DDA approved automatic doors, lowering thresholds to ensure wheelchair accessibility.

To support our commitment in developing opportunities for women and girls in our sport we are creating a new female changing area. The demand for the women's only class and the number of girls attending the junior boxing sessions has increased. We plan to collaborate with partners in Health who will be working towards improving support for those in recovery and this facility will prove essential to meet the needs of those women. If we can achieve both the refurbishment and extension this allows us to double our outreach and be a positive factor for individuals and families in the local area.

We have been embedded in the Heart of Lochee for almost 80 years. Our club membership is continually growing with 70% of our members residing locally. We are engaged with several local partnerships, including the Regeneration Forum, Lochee Community Larder and Lochee Residents and Tennent’s group. We work closely with local schools providing activities within schools and elsewhere. We attend community meetings and are members of the Lochee Area Community Sports Hub which allows us to engage with a vast number of individuals and groups. We work with Active Schools and deliver sessions within various locations across the ward during which we have discussed with parents, carers, and young people themselves to identify their needs and expectations. Engagement has been carried out with local councillors, Sport Scotland, Dundee City Council, NHS and other groups and charities. We consulted with them regarding our strategic aims and development plan and there is a shared opinion that due to the lack of other community facilities in the Lochee area our project is vital and should be a priority. The Lochee Community Plan 2022-2027 has outlined the community priorities and our plan supports these. We are focused on tackling social isolation and improving mental wellbeing, introducing a multi functional community lounge and increasing the accessibility of our club and delivery of our services, we can have a massive positive impact. Another priority is the need to improve community safety. With larger premises we can offer diversionary programmes for young people in partnership with education. Boxing can be a tool to reduce antisocial behaviour by offering a positive outlet for energy and promoting discipline, self-respect, and a sense of community. Boxing clubs can act as a “great hook for change” by providing a space for self-development and keeping individuals away from crime and violence.

Local Priority: - Enhanced community facilities.

We are looking to Build a Path to elevate Parking issues in Dryburgh to connect an old entrance to Liff road.

We think this is project will have a real positive impact in Drybrugh for the residents, parking has been a real issue for a number of years and this would eleviate the issue.

We are seeking funding to transform a neglected and unsafe area of our community playground in the Lochee Ward—an area identified in the most deprived 10% of the Scottish population according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020. We are seeking funding to transform a neglected and unsafe section of our community playground into a vibrant, welcoming, and safe space for children and families. The current area is overgrown, with broken planters and uneven surfaces that pose safety risks and limit use. Our goal is to replace the hazardous terrain with tarmac for safer play, while retaining pockets of greenery and installing buddy benches to promote family gatherings and community cohesion. Working alongside the school, the Balgarthno Parent Council are excited to try and enhance this area for all the school children and the local community.

A portion of our community playground has become increasingly unsafe due to overgrown vegetation, damaged and unstable planters, and poorly maintained ground surfaces. This area, once intended for communal use, now poses trip hazards and restricts children's ability to play freely and safely. Families often avoid the area, diminishing the overall appeal and function of the playground.

Proposed Solution:

With the requested funding, we will:

• Clear the overgrown vegetation and remove all hazardous structures, including broken planters.
• Tarmac the surface to create a smooth, even, and safe area suitable for a range of activities and accessible to all children, including those with mobility challenges.
• Retain some grassy areas to maintain a natural feel and support biodiversity.
• Install buddy benches to encourage longer visits and community interaction.
• Add bright, cheerful colours to enhance the space visually, making it more engaging for children.

This revitalisation will:

• Improve safety and accessibility for all children.
• Provide a safe space for children and families to play together.
• Encourage outdoor play and physical activity.
• Foster community spirit by creating a shared, inclusive space for all residents.

By enhancing this area of the playground, we will create a safe, attractive, and functional space that benefits the entire community. The transformation will ensure the playground remains a cherished asset for years to come, promoting wellbeing, inclusion, and play.

Local Priority: Enhanced community facilities.

The Hall is unwelcoming, in poor condition, inaccessible & unsuitable with inadequate kitchen & toilet facilities & lacking a lift to the first floor. Visible issues internally+externally are rapidly worsening & negatively affecting Hall’s usability & considerably reducing the number of users. This Project will: 1-Execute urgent repairs to the roof/walls/windows & replace rainwater goods (considerably overdue), to stop rapid deterioration caused by massive water-ingress, Safeguarding Hall’s features/fabric/Heritage, enhancing appearance (townscape transformation) & improving condition. 2-Making Hall disabled-friendly & ‘all inclusive’ by installing a much needed lift. All with mobility problems/crutches/wheelchair users cannot access the first floor, where the stage is found. This is ’Disability Discrimination’, a major barrier to all in the community to ‘fully’ access & appreciate/benefit from this Community Hall. 3-Make essential improvements to outdated, inadequate/unsuitable toilet+kitchen facilities, meeting the needs of community users. A grant from Neighbourhood Capital Fund will be used towards no 2 and no 3. Outcomes Aiming to ‘Enhance Community Facilities’, this Project will: Make the Hall more accessible (remove physical challenges/barriers e.g installation of lift, improvements to toilets). Hall will become a safer,/suitable,/inclusive,/attracting & meaningful Hub in its offering of a warm+welcoming community space, (where needs are being met). Raise the profile of ‘Lochee’ District in Dundee Contribute to shared social & cultural identity, creating excitement, inspiring/encouraging & improving collective abilities/social functioning, boost confidence & improve significantly emotional & mental well-being create sense of belonging & ‘Pride in Place’ Improve Hall’s facilities, condition & increased access. This improves user experience, increases inclusivity & sustainability, guaranteeing greater use. Optimism & enthusiasm increased locally, enabling Hall to function as a better central Hub for social interactions+activities unify community to work towards common goals, promoting & strengthening community cohesion, eradicating social fractures identify & outreach to a greater diversity of people to connect with their local communities & groups help with ‘Place Making’ enabling Lochee/Dundee to be a better place to be, live, work, visit, study, thrive & invest in Open up many opportunities for interaction, volunteering, skills training/workshops/placements in the ‘new secure place’. boost trade from tourists as Lochee Heritage site becomes better known. attract more investment, creating more available capital in the area around Hall, giving rise to more supporting businesses of a diverse nature moving into this area. This causes economic growth to spiral upwards. improve economic well-being by increasing employment for a range of workers on the socio-economic scale.

Since 2022, we’ve received many complaints from Hall users about its poor condition & its run-down facilities. A petition was then signed by hundreds of current users & beneficiaries stating the seriousness of the building condition & requesting improvement & preservation of this important community space. We then carried out a number of discussions & consultation exercises with a variety of local people, groups, Educational Institutions & Local Authorities, obtaining their views+suggestions, to understand/explore their needs & interests. Gaps in the social welfare services, the needs of the Educational Institutions & community groups were then identified. We considered how this Social Space & Project could best help Lochee Community members & also mitigate Dundee’s severe social issues: Removing barriers/challenges, improving social equity, creating opportunities & improving quality of life, were foremost on this Project’s Agenda. We met with the three Dundee High Schools, serious concerns were shared about available+suitable career paths for their pupils. They welcomed the chance to provide their youth with realistic alternatives to the unhealthy & destructive lifestyles currently prevalent in Dundee. Exciting roles & availability of variety of jobs would motivate/inspire pupils & increase employability opportunities. We then considered showcasing Hall’s repairs/improvements to pupils & introducing available exciting manual+professional Heritage Careers+information about available training bursaries to remove financial ‘barriers/challenges’ to enrich pupils' Heritage craft/skills for steady employment in the Heritage Sector. There was overwhelming agreement with project aims & projected outcomes to further develop this project.

Local Priority: Safe and accessible pathways/ spaces.  

We are a busy community larder & café based in Lochee. Our aims are to: • fight food poverty by providing a more sustainable food provision model, where community can access and choose free or low-cost food; • fight social isolation by creating a welcoming community café; • and create a safe space that is non-judgemental. We will be using the grant money to resurface the back access to the larder, café, storage units, shops and residents drying area. The area has become very uneven and quite dangerous. Resurfacing it will help ensure the safety of the staff, volunteers, general public and residents. This will also enhance the aesthetics of the area. Whilst we have created a safe and welcoming space inside our larder & café for the local community. The back access area, which is in constant use by our volunteers and delivery drivers during our opening hours, as well as residents and the general public delivering donations to us, has become unsafe. This work has become urgent due to the number of injuries our volunteers have been sustaining, which has a negative knock-on effect to the running of the larder and café.

Over the past 12 months there have been numerous accidents due to the uneven nature of the surface. Volunteers have had to attend A&E, ambulances called and long absences from duties because of injuries. We have had conversations with the neighbouring properties above us, suppliers, general public and the other business in the vicinity. The outcome of these conversations is that everyone is in agreement that the area needs to be resurfaced to enhance and ensure the safety of everyone.

We would like you to know of the issues that have arisen over the years we have been in situ. There have been several accidents to volunteers resulting in damage to their person which have required hospital treatment. As well as the uneven surface, when the loose stones get wet, they become very slippery causing slips and falls. There has also been damage caused to cars due to uneven surface and loose stones which have been repaired at cost to individuals. Some of the injuries have had an impact on the running of the larder & café as volunteers have been out of action for sometimes weeks. One example is a volunteer who was unable to lift any crates for 4 months due to a back injury sustained by tripping over the uneven ground when unloading items from a delivery van. We have recently had the pathway to the rear of the premise which leads to our stock rooms re-laid which in itself has made a big difference to the quality and appearance of the premises. We funded this renovation, with money from grocery sales. We received the quote from Tayside Contracts after we got the council confirmation, and this is the one we would like to proceed with