Southfield Centre News

AUGUST 2026

The current position on the journey towards Community Asset Transfer for Southfield Centre :

The Management Committee has, for the time being, split into two teams. The Project Team will work towards a community trust assuming control of the centre (hopefully) by March 2029 while the Operations Team continues to manage the day-to-day running of the centre. The Project Team is presently meeting monthly; it is not expected that the Operations Team will need to meet as often.

The Project Team is currently working with SBC around issues such as the cost, length and conditions of a lease on the building; responsibility for buildings and contents insurance; obtaining accurate running cost figures for Southfield; and the need for a thorough building survey. We will shortly be looking at the implications of creating a charitable trust for the centre known as a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation). 

Feasibility studies are essential to understanding whether or not there is a realistic future for the centre under community management. To this end, Borders Community Action currently has two initiatives planned.

Firstly, an organisation called Community Enterprise has been commissioned to undertake feasibilty studies around all affected community centres. They will also look at whether some kind of Borders-wide community trust might be possible instead of individual trusts being created at each centre. It is expected that this work will start soon with the intention of a final report within three to six months.

Secondly, an exploratory meeting will be held around the idea of creating a federation of community centres in the Borders so that centres can work together, avoid duplication, perhaps negotiate collectively with utility companies and so on. There will inevitably be overlap between these two initiatives but we will see what emerges eventually.