'We've got the community spirit back'- the centre that's breathed new life into Calvay

Nestled in the Barlanark area of the east end of Glasgow, the area of Calvay is emblematic of post-pandemic Britain.

A proud and diverse community with roots going back decades, its housing association and residents face many of the challenges which have arisen as a result of the rise of the internet age and the cost-of-living crisis.

Spending the day at the Calvay Centre, however, you can’t help but conclude this is a community that’s risen to the challenge. Through investing in its community and working in partnership to meet tenants’ aspirations, Calvay is again proof of how housing associations make lives and places better.

I’m joined on the visit by SFHA’s Policy Lead Annabel Pidgeon, and as we pull onto Calvay Road across from the Calvay Centre, the work going on in the community is already apparent. Scaffolding surrounds many of the flats as Calvay Housing Association embarks on a £5million external wall insulation project to upgrade many of the buildings. The area is bustling with activity: construction workers, service users, and residents are all situated on the streets.

It brings into sharp focus some of the key issues facing our housing associations: developing new homes, maintaining existing stock, and continuing to play that unique role as the community anchor to connect and empower people.

The centre not only serves as the offices of the housing association but hosts a catalogue of activities which are put on by Calvay’s wider role team. It is also home to the Calvay Centre Events Committee (CCEC), a separately constituted voluntary group which supports the local community.

Even from entering the centre and making our way towards the housing association’s sign-in desk, the walls are adorned with information leaflets and pictures of the various community events going on throughout the area. In the photographs it’s striking to see how diverse the community is: the activities involve children, young adults, the elderly, people from all ages and backgrounds.

Clearly none of this can be achieved without a dedicated team, and it’s here that we’re greeted by Calvay’s Wider Role Manager Ali Smith and the Centre Manager Eddie Cusick.

Both have a wealth of experience in community investment projects and regeneration, the passion they have for the community is apparent. Their presence in the area and technical support is a lifeline to the volunteers-based activity and partnerships going on throughout the centre.

We’re also joined by Calvay Housing Association’s chair, Steven Blomer, someone with years of experience in local government and who lives locally within the area as a Calvay tenant.

As we sit down in the meeting room over coffee, the enthusiasm Smith, Cusick and Blomer have for the community is palpable.

Since the Calvay Centre was relaunched in September 2023, it has gone from strength to strength. From providing beauty and IT courses, to sewing groups, creches, dance groups, movie nights- you name it, you’ll probably find it at the centre. All of these activities have been driven from the community itself with Calvay responding to community feedback in delivering its wide range of programmes.

Smith tells me that Calvay, like many of the areas in Glasgow’s east end, scores highly on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, which has underlined the need for the Calvay Centre and the housing association’s work in the community. This unique connection the housing association has with tenants has allowed it to coordinate and then distribute resources to fill gaps in many frontline services.

Smith says: “We know that housing associations aren’t just about bricks and mortar, it’s also about building stronger relationships throughout the community, tackling social isolation, and improving health and wellbeing.

“Prior to the relaunch of the Calvay Centre, we [Smith and Cusick] went out to the local community and consulted with them what community events were happening at the time, what wasn’t happening, and how we could plug that gap.

“Since then, the centre has been integral to the community and overcoming many of the challenges it faces. For example, one of the biggest barriers facing parents has been accessing childcare and providing young people with social activities: working alongside in partnership with CCEC we’ve managed to put on a variety of activities for local children, the centre also has a creche, and children throughout the area have even benefited from things such as free school uniforms through our partnership with the Halliday Foundation.”

Cusick adds that what has been instrumental in the centre’s success is ensuring that events and activities are consistent, with the housing association able to provide a long-term view for the centre.

“One of the major things is that there are so many different activities ongoing, and it’s constantly evolving. The centre’s open on evenings and weekends too, so it’s accessible and the community know the door is open whether it’s to attend events, participate in activities, or just grab a bite to eat in our community café.”

As well as benefiting the area’s residents, the centre and the wider role team have been hugely beneficial to the housing association too.

Blomer, the association’s chair, tells me that it has had a considerable impact on tenant engagement.

He said: “We’re in the midst of our rent setting for the next financial year, and this year we’ve had the biggest ever response to our rent consultation, and I think that’s testament to the work that Ali, Eddie, the events committee and the whole team have achieved through the Calvay Centre.

“The activities and events aren’t just for tenants, it’s for the full area, but so many of our tenants are among the service users and that’s really strengthened our relationship with them.”

After hearing so much about the centre’s history and the variety of the day-to-day activities and events, the conversation turns to the centre’s future and the objectives of the wider role team.

Calvay, like many housing associations and co-operatives throughout Scotland, has benefited from the Scottish Government’s Investing in Communities Fund (ICF). In the first year of its funding award until March 2024, the association’s highlights included: over 800 tenant households benefiting from £100 fuel support payments, over 2000 participants engaged in activities in and around the Calvay Centre, and dozens of people receiving accredited and informal qualifications and training.

It's clear that the results speak for themselves, whether that’s just through walking through the centre and seeing the esteem in which Smith and Cusick are held or drilling down into the data itself.

But nearly two months on from the Scottish Budget at the beginning of December, the status of the Investing in Communities Fund is unclear and is something SFHA continues to press the Scottish Government and civil servants on. We are asking for urgent confirmation of a fully funded ICF in 2025-2026 to enable the continuity of these high performing initiatives which represent excellent value for money.

Whilst the Fund is supposed to run until 2026, Blomer tells me that as a Board the association have been “left in the dark” about its future running into the next financial year.

“As a Board we continually have to justify- quite rightly- every penny we spend as a housing association to our tenants. Our wider role team and its work are a huge asset to our organisation, but we need clarity about funding to plan ahead with certainty. The track record of the Investing in Communities Fund speaks for itself, but it seems we’ve been left in the dark about its status, and it’s hopefully something the Scottish Government can provide certainty on as soon as possible.”

Cusick adds: “Whilst we benefit from a range of funding streams, the Investing in Communities Fund is essential to our plans for the future. For us a lot of our future work is going to focus on legacy planning: we’ve already supported the CCEC to establish an events committee who have laid some excellent foundations, but we’d really like to build on this work over a number of years and see those relationships grow stronger.”

Following the meeting in the housing association, it was now time to make our way to the Calvay Community Café, based shortly down the corridor of the centre itself. We were then joined by the association’s vice chair, Bryce Wilson, who perhaps best explained the importance of the centre when he told me: “we’ve got the community spirit back.”

On our way down the corridor, we pass a room which is used as an IT suite, with equipment supplied by Glasgow Kelvin College, and in the hallway itself there are bookshelves containing dozens of novels.

Smith said: “It’s just another community feature, people are welcome to drop in, take a book and return it, they can also donate books too. The wider role team work in partnership with Glasgow Kelvin College which runs courses, and Jobs and Business which assists with overall employability.”

Wilson added: “For many people living in Calvay, the library is just too far away and is inaccessible, it’s another way the centre has made a difference.”

Onto the community café, where a mug of tea costs just 50 pence, and the first thing I notice is how busy it is for a frosty Wednesday morning in January; there aren’t many tables left, so we sit towards the back of the room.

It’s testament to the strength of this community that we’re joined by a couple of the association’s tenants: members of staff, management committee, and tenants all sat at one table.

Around the café, there are construction workers in hi-vis jackets on their coffee breaks, there are parents and children, there are friends meeting for breakfast.

My final reflection for the day is that in an era when we spend so much time online, where those local meeting places like our libraries continue to close; it’s refreshing to see our housing associations continue to offer those spaces where communities can come together and benefit from a variety of opportunities which make lives and places better.

SFHA is continuing its advocacy work in calling for the Scottish Government to protect the Investing in Communities Fund. If you have any questions on this, or other articles for SFHA News, please contact features@sfha.co.uk.