'Our football club has opened a new community hub and we hope it will be a much-needed centre for locals'

Corstorphine Dynamo FC (CDFC) officially took ownership of the empty modular building situated next to their home at Tall Oaks Football Pitch in December last year. The club’s players and officials, along with members of the local community, have been working hard to bring the tired building back to life since March 2024, ahead of them taking responsibility for the building.

This team from Royal London volunteered at Tall Oaks Community Hub last week, helping with a number of tasks ranging from painting, fencing, building steps, cleaning and installing netting. | Corstorphine Dynamo

Around a dozen local groups looking for a community space have already shown interest in meeting at the Tall Oaks Community Hub, which opened last week.

The building has been at the site for 30 years in various guises, including as an after-school club for Gylemuir Primary, which is situated next door. Its last owners, the Gyle Recreational Association (GRA), who leased it from the council, have been working with Corstorphine Dynamo to revitalise the building.

Inside the new Tall Oaks Community Hub which has been transformed in the past year, thanks to a real community effort. | National World

Corstorphine Dynamo vice-chairman Iain Briggs said it was a real community effort to make this new hub a reality.

He said: “We don’t plan to use the hub ourselves, this will be purely for the community. I’m on the GRA board as well and they couldn’t get the volunteers to come in, so CDFC stepped in.

“It’s been 12 months of hard work. Including external work to make the building waterproof. We got a lottery grant for that. So that was the first stage, followed by the refurbishment work inside.

“It’s been a real community effort, with the parents of our players being a massive help, volunteering to help out with the changes, along with club coaches and older players, while local tradesmen also helped out. When we didn’t have the help we needed from within we found a friendly contractor.

“We also had a team of office workers from Royal London who came down last week to help us with a number of tasks ranging from painting, fencing, building steps, cleaning and installing netting.

“It’s one of the parents who works there who set it up as a volunteering day for his work. Their help was very much appreciated and just added to the community effort to transform this tired building into a great new community hub.

“The building was also previously used as an internet cafe around the turn of the century, and before that an after-school club, but it hasn’t had a use for around 10/15 years.

“That’s why it fell into disrepair and was not fit for purpose for anything really. It’s great to see it now looking shiny and new, and ready to benefit the local community.”

The interior of the building pictured before work was started. | Corstorphine Dynamo FC

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With the new community hub taking bookings from last week, local groups have already been taking advantage of the shiny new building, which is made up of five modular sections placed together.

Iain added: “We have already had ad-hoc bookings, including from the Edinburgh Youth Darts Academy, who have been in here already a few times. That’s the kind of thing we want.

“We don’t envisage the building being used by the football club, we just want a space for local groups to use, there are not enough spaces for groups to meet in the local area, so we think this is much-needed.

“We are also looking to build a relationship with the local primary school, and are talking to them about using our pitch and new hub for their sports day.

“We are not in this to make money. The club has put in about £10,000 to this hub, so as long as we eventually get that back, that will do.

“I just hope the this building can be used by as many people from as many local groups as possible. Since we first advertised it last week there has been about a dozen groups get in touch, including pensioner groups the local community council, dance groups, the darts academy, and the local school’s P7s want to have their leavers’ dance in here.

“The hub is a bit of sleeping gem, there is so much potential here.”

If you are interested in hiring the new Tall Oaks Community Hub, email [email protected].

The new Tall Oaks Community Hub, with the tired old building pictured inset before work started a year ago. | National World/ Corstorphine Dynamo FC

The football club, which has 500 players in teams from infants right the way through the ages up to walking football, has exciting wider plans for their Tall Oaks pitch adjacent to the new hub.

Iain added: “We want to put a clubhouse at the pitch, as well as replacing our grass pitch with an all-weather synthetic one, and three new five a side all-weather pitches at the back of the 11-a-side pitch.

“We are also in talks with the council about an extended lease, which will enable us to plan more for the future and push on with our redevelopment plans.”

The club celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and will wear a special strip next season with a map of Corstorphine in-printed into each top.