Inclusive Community Engagement
Owning land or buildings is an exciting step for a community group. As you move forward with your plans for ownership, it is important to involve everyone.
This page helps community groups consider how they engage with their local community and get ideas for improvement. It was produced by Govanhill Baths and the Community Ownership Hub: Glasgow and Clyde Valley. First, the Community Ownership Hub gives key considerations. Then Govanhill Baths explain what they’ve achieved and how they work to involve everyone.
We always welcome feedback. Let us know if this site is useful and what your most important considerations are to engage with everyone.
Where to start?
In engaging with everyone who lives in
a local area remember to:
Quick Inclusivity Tips:
The Perspective of
Govanhill Baths
Govanhill Baths Community Trust was born from a community-led campaign to save Govanhill Baths from closure back in 2001. The community, refusing to lose this important resource, occupied the Baths for 141 days. The longest occupation of a public building in British history. Local people from many different backgrounds were inspired to come together to save their pool. It was this act of unity that saved Govanhill Baths for future generations to use and enjoy. The people of Govanhill will swim again because a community stood together to protect what it knew it could not lose; and because of this solidarity won the fight to save it! This is why 2021 was a landmark year for us, with Govanhill Baths coming into community ownership once and for all. After twenty years, we are proud to say that work to turn it into a new wellbeing centre is now well underway.
The ‘Save Our Pool’ campaign showed how important a role Govanhill Baths had played in the cultivation of community spirit and pride. What was clear to everyone fighting to reopen the Baths was that a community had real power to make a difference when it worked together. At GBCT, we aim to make Govanhill a more welcoming and inclusive place by building upon the unity at the heart of the campaign. With Govanhill being one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse areas in Scotland, increasing community involvement of marginalised communities relies on our ability to make people feel that they are valued. We do this by creating opportunities which celebrate diversity and that bring people together. As we all have different starting points, we’ve had to ensure that our projects are easy to reach for everyone who needs them. This has meant identifying and working to remove the barriers which have historically kept people from having access to resources and services which could improve their wellbeing and their quality of life.
We believe that no matter your background, origin, ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality: we all belong here. This community is ours and we all have a stake in it. Govanhill Baths has always been a place that has brought people from all walks of life together and made them feel welcome. It will be that again. The people of Govanhill can count on us to listen and to take what they say seriously so that the new Wellbeing Centre will serve the needs of this vibrant and diverse community; making it a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling place for everyone to live.
This site has been co-produced by Govanhill Baths and The Community Ownership Hub: Glasgow and The Clyde Valley, a project of Community Land Scotland. If you are interested in understanding more about inclusive community engagement or if you have any feedback, please feel free to get in touch.