Barlia Pavilion brings Castlemilk community together after £1.2m investment in sports complex

A sports complex in the southside of Glasgow has been given a new lease of life thanks to a £1.2m project three years in the making.

The Barlia Pavilion, like many sports venues, was closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

But once lockdown was lifted, a decision was taken by Glasgow City Council not to re-open it.

That prompted the formation of the Castlemilk Community Football Trust (CCFT), a charity built with the help of local people and volunteers.

Barlia Sports Complex, Castlemilk STV News

“We knew how much this place meant to people in the community,” says John Harkins, the trust’s charity manager.

“This space was run down, neglected – I would suggest it was months away from being mothballed all together.

“This place is so much more than a football facility. This is the heart of the community.”

The CCFT started a ‘Save Our Pitch’ campaign, and with the backing of the community took on a 25-year lease for the facility via the council’s People Make Glasgow Communities programme.

After securing funding, the team carried out a £700,000 refurbishment to transform the pavilion and create a reimagined community space consisting of four new changing rooms, a referee’s room, a multi-purpose community room, meeting space, kitchen, accessible toilets and new fittings.

This most recent project brings the total investment in Barlia to £1.2m over the past year, with the pitches and floodlights being renewed last July.

John added: “We’ve been privileged to work with our local football clubs, our volunteers, partner organisations and the whole community to restore and reimagine this space as a place where everyone feels welcome, safe, valued, and inspired.

“We have changed the fortunes of a facility that was probably only months away from being totally destroyed into a community-based, community-led initiative that the whole of Castlemilk can be proud of.

“The pavilion will also help increase additional local employment and volunteering opportunities.”

Cutting the ribbon to officially open the complex was former Scotland and Leeds winger Eddie Gray MBE, who grew up just down the road.

“When I saw the complex, I was surprised right away. It’s tremendous. It’s an honour to be asked to cut the ribbon,” said Eddie.

“I’m from Castlemilk myself – I left Castlemilk a long time ago – but it’s just great to come back here and see a facility like this for the people of Castlemilk.”

He added: “We used to have to play football in the streets, and that was it. The police would chase you because you weren’t allowed to play football on the streets.

“I think that when you come to something like this, you realise the hard work people put in to get a project like this started, to get it up and running. I was just watching the kids down there playing on the pitches. It’s just tremendous. I wish I would’ve had a facility like that when I was younger, but I never!”

Craig Burn, director of sport at Sportscotland, said: “We believe the power of sport and what sport can do for individuals, for communities and for the country as a whole can only be a good thing, but we need quality facilities. There’s nothing worse than taking part in a poor facility where the toilets are not fit for purpose, the changing facilities are locked up, you can’t get in – there’s litter, there’s grass growing.

“So, a facility like this is a great blueprint. The people of Castlemilk and Barlia should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”