The Heritage Lottery Fund gave its initial approval for the project by awarding Glasgow Building Preservation Trust and Ardenglen Housing Association Ltd a first-round pass for a grant of £1.05million which includes a grant of £178,900 to develop their proposals further. 

Colin McLean, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland, commented: “This is an exciting project which has been driven by the enthusiasm of the local people of Castlemilk who want to see this empty historic building brought back to life. And what better way to do that than to build on the incredible success of the mountain biking at Cathkin Braes during the Commonwealth Games. This community needs a boost and HLF is delighted to be able to help.”

Maureen Cope, Chair of Ardenglen Housing Association, said: “We are delighted that this project has achieved this milestone - a Round 1 pass from the Heritage lottery Fund.  We have been working in partnership with Glasgow Building Preservation Trust for the last two years to develop this exciting initiative which will complement the existing Cathkin Braes Commonwealth Games Cycle Track bringing jobs and opportunities for our local community.”

Lord Provost Of Glasgow, Sadie Docherty, said: “Glasgow’s first purpose-built international mountain bike course at Cathkin Braes is already a permanent legacy from this summer’s Commonwealth Games -  providing world class facilities for the people of Glasgow. I am delighted that this award from the Heritage Lottery Fund can help deliver more legacy benefits – including local jobs and improved facilities – from the development of St Martin’s Church in Castlemilk into a mountain biking and sports resource centre that can serve both those using the course and the local community.”

Patricia Chalmers MBE, Chair of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, said: “Glasgow Building Preservation Trust is delighted to have the Heritage Lottery Fund involved in the redevelopment of this Category B listed Church with the future vision of a heritage-led mountain bike and activity centre for Glasgow.  Natural, social and built Heritage, sport and the community – this site has a lot going for it and we look forward to delivering another project.”

Glasgow Building Preservation Trust and Ardenglen Housing Association will now work with their consultants and stakeholders to develop the project proposals and raise funding to deliver this exciting project.

Notes to editors

A first-round pass means the project meets HLF criteria for funding and HLF believes the project has potential to deliver high-quality benefits and value for Lottery money. The application was in competition with other supportable projects, so a first-round pass is an endorsement of outline proposals. Having been awarded a first-round pass, the project now has up to two years to submit fully developed proposals to compete for a firm award.

HLF has invested over £611million in projects in Scotland.

Glasgow Building Preservation Trust (GBPT) was established in 1982 to rescue, repair and restore historic buildings of architectural merit which through neglect or abuse may otherwise be lost in Glasgow and the surrounding area. The trust makes a major contribution to Glasgow's regeneration through the preservation of its built heritage and organises the annual Doors Open Day event: Glasgow’s Built Heritage Festival. More information on Glasgow Doors Open Day can be found at Glasgow Doors Open Day) (More information on Glasgow Building Preservation Trust, past and present projects can be found at Glasgow Building Preservation Trust website.

Ardenglen Housing Association builds, manages and maintains high quality accommodation for rent. Their area of operation is the east end of Castlemilk, which is situated six miles to the south of Glasgow City Centre. They were formed in 1990 thanks to the dedicated efforts of local tenants who were determined to bring change to their area and to be involved with the improvement and management of their homes. Ardenglen is a non profit making charity registered with the Scottish Housing Regulator and the Register of Friendly Societies. The Housing Regulator has a supervisory role to ensure that the Association is properly managing and maintaining its houses and providing an excellent service to tenants and owners. More information can be found at the Ardenglen Housing Association website.

The Mitchellhill Community Group is an established community group who are very active in promoting this building project for the social enterprise project around the Commonwealth Games Mountain Bike Track on Cathkin Braes. The Group are looking for as much feedback and involvement from the local community and beyond to make this project a reality.

Facts and figures

• The estimated cost for the project is circa £4.1million
• The facilities that the centre proposes to bring are: cycle hire, repair and retail, café, soft play, climbing wall, venue hire space, natural history and environmental interpretation, facilities for clubs and organisations, cycling circuit and parking facilities
• The broad benefits that the centre proposes are: demonstrate low carbon solutions for the conservation of an existing building, secure the future of a redundant listed building, enhance a valuable leisure attraction, promote and stimulate the development of cycling in Glasgow, involve and harness the enthusiasm of the proactive local community via the Mitchellhill Community Group, stimulate and create new opportunities for active lifestyles, provide a locus for local business development, showcase, teach interpret and enable learning about the rare architectural legacy of this church building, showcase, teach, interpret and enable learning about the marvellous natural heritage of the Cathkin Braes Country Park

Further information

Heritage Lottery Fund: Please contact Shiona Mackay on 01786 870 638 or 07779 142 890, email: shionamackay1@btinternet.com) or Katie Owen on 020 7591 6036, email: katieo@hlf.org.uk.