THROSK COMMUNITY CENTRE

Your community centre at the heart of Throsk

A friendly, volunteer-led Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) and community hub for sport, activities and community life. Scottish charity number SC010856.

Open to all – book our facilities, take part in activities and get involved.

MAKE A BOOKING

Every booking helps support the centre’s running costs. Choose Throsk Community Centre for your next event, club or class.

VOLUNTEER

Join our friendly team of volunteers. Whether you’d like to help at events, look after the grounds or lend a hand in other ways, there’s a role for you.

SUPPORT US

Help us care for the centre and support our activities by making a one-off or regular donation. Every contribution makes a difference.

LOCATION

Throsk Community Centre
Kersie Road
Throsk
FK7 7NA

OPENING HOURS

Open seven days a week, subject to bookings and availability.

PARKING AND ACCESS

The centre offers step-free access throughout and has accessible toilet facilities. On-site parking is available for approximately 20 cars.

Please note that there are currently no electric vehicle charging points.

FACILITIES

Our well-maintained facilities include:

• A spacious, fully matted sports hall
• A smaller hall with a wooden floor
• A boardroom/meeting room
• A well-equipped kitchen
• Separate ladies’ and gents’ toilets
• Accessible toilet facilities
• Baby-changing facilities

BOOKABLE SPACES

• Large Sports Hall – fully matted, for up to 80 people depending on the activity
• Small Hall – for up to 40 people depending on the activity
• Meeting Room – for up to 20 people depending on the activity
• Kitchen – available to hire

Our versatile spaces are available to individuals, clubs and groups for one-off events, regular activities and longer-term block bookings.

GET IN TOUCH

Our facilities are suitable for a wide range of events, classes, clubs, meetings and community activities.

For prices, availability or booking enquiries, please get in touch.

Email: info@throskcommunityenterprises.org.uk
Mobile: 07850 757524
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThroskCommunityCentre

Regular Clubs and Activities
Click the links below to contact each activity directly.

• Throsk Community Council meetings
• Local councillors’ surgeries
• New Heights Dance Academy
• Shoshin Karate Club
• Karate Scotland – National Squad Sessions

About The Charity

About Throsk Community Enterprises

Throsk Community Enterprises SCIO is a not-for-profit organisation and a registered Scottish charity regulated by OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator (Charity No. SC010856).

We work to support Throsk and the surrounding communities by providing facilities, activities and opportunities that promote social welfare, recreation and leisure. Our aim is to bring people together, support community life and help improve the health and wellbeing of local residents.

OUR PURPOSE

Our purpose is to provide and maintain facilities and activities for the people of Throsk and neighbouring communities, encouraging recreation, leisure, social connection and community participation.

VOLUNTEER-RUN

Throsk Community Enterprises is run by volunteers who give their time to help manage and maintain the Community Centre. This includes committee and sub-committee work, administration, events, maintenance and the day-to-day running of the centre.

GET INVOLVED

We’re always pleased to welcome new volunteers. Whether you can offer a little time occasionally or would like to become more involved in the running of the centre, we’d love to hear from you.

Please get in touch to find out how you can help.

HISTORY OF THROSK COMMUNITY CENTRE

Throsk is the smallest of the four Eastern Villages of Stirlingshire. Although small in size, the village has a long history of community spirit, determination and local action – much of it centred around Throsk Community Centre.

THE EARLY YEARS

The houses in Throsk were originally commissioned by the Admiralty in 1918 and later passed to the Ministry of Defence to accommodate munitions workers and their families. According to accounts passed down by the founding members of the Community Centre, German prisoners of war were among those involved in their construction.

When the nearby depot closed, the munitions workers left and Stirling District Council purchased the houses in 1976. Young families, many moving from nearby Fallin, subsequently made Throsk their home.

Residents soon raised concerns about the condition of the properties, including outdated wiring, poor facilities and significant structural problems.

The Council began a programme of renovation, but residents became increasingly concerned about both the condition of the houses and the standard of some of the work being carried out. Further structural problems were discovered during the renovations, including the reported absence of adequate foundations and lintels.

THE TENANTS’ ASSOCIATION

In response to these concerns, the Throsk Tenants’ Association was formed in 1981.

The Association campaigned for a proper assessment of the houses following the renovation programme. With support from the Tenants Participation Advisory Service and Strathclyde University’s Department of Architecture, residents helped produce a report on the condition of the properties.

Their efforts played an important part in securing a programme of further external maintenance and demonstrated what the community could achieve by working together.

A COMMUNITY WITHOUT A CENTRE

When the Ministry of Defence left Throsk in 1976, the village also lost its social club. There were very few local amenities, with the nearest shop in Fallin.

The Council provided a football pitch and a small changing-room building. Despite Throsk not having a football team at the time, the changing rooms soon became an unofficial meeting place for the community.

Tenants’ meetings were held there, along with social events such as bingo nights. Space was so limited that, according to those involved at the time, the bingo caller sometimes had to sit in the shower area.

The community increasingly recognised the need for a proper centre of its own.

CREATING THROSK COMMUNITY CENTRE

The Tenants’ Association approached the Council seeking funding and permission to use a vacant industrial unit as a community centre, but neither request was successful.

With support from the Council for Social Service, the community continued its campaign. Eventually, it was offered a large portable building that was no longer required at St Modan’s Secondary School in St Ninians.

There was one major challenge: the building had to be transported approximately five miles to a site in Throsk.

The committee was given just one day to decide whether to accept it.

A £1,000 Small Projects Grant was secured, but the community still had to organise the move itself. Volunteers came together, supported by two lorries, a forklift and a crane loaned by a local firm.

Over the course of one weekend, the building was divided into eight sections, transported to Throsk and reassembled on its new site. Apart from the electrical work, the project was completed largely through voluntary effort.

It was an extraordinary example of what a determined community could achieve.

OPENING THE CENTRE

The building later had to be moved again at the request of the Council. The Association received £2,000 towards the work, helping to fund improvements including a new roof, flooring and glazing.

Further funding was still needed before the centre could be completed. A local councillor subsequently secured £8,000 from the Leisure and Recreation budget, allowing the remaining work to go ahead.

Throsk Community Centre officially opened on 4 July 1987.

The following weekend, the community held a fair to celebrate the opening and raise additional funds for the centre.

A CENTRE BUILT BY THE COMMUNITY

Since its opening, Throsk Community Centre has continued to provide a home for community activities, meetings, sport and social events.

Over the years, the centre has hosted:

• Councillors’ surgeries
• Polling for local and national elections
• Community meetings
• Local newsletter activities
• Sporting events
• Social events and activities for people of all ages

The centre exists today because generations of local people volunteered their time, skills and energy to create and maintain a place for the whole community.

That same community spirit remains at the heart of Throsk Community Centre today.

Source note: This history has been adapted from original material and recollections provided by the founding members and committee of Throsk Community Centre. Some dates, events and details reflect those first-hand accounts and may not have been independently verified.