Council approves controversial transfer of Old Kilpatrick's Napier Hall to foodbank

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The future of a community hall in Old Kilpatrick has been secured - despite warnings that transferring the lease to a foodbank charity could create “significant bad feeling” in the village.Members of West Dunbartonshire Council’s Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development (IRED) committee last week voted to approve the transfer of Napier Hall’s lease to Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels (OKFP) for a 10 year period.Labour chair of the IRED committee, Councillor David McBride, said OKFP’s bid made more sense for the council - and for the community.However fears were raised over the future of a playgroup currently using the hall, with the SNP’s Lauren Oxley calling for a decision to be delayed until later in the year.OKFP plan to relocate from their existing Station Road Industrial Estate Unit to the hall.Four groups had applied to take on the running of Napier Hall, which was one of seven council owned facilities the cash-strapped local authority had earmarked for a move into community ownership, or closure, in their budget earlier this year.Old Kilpatrick Community Council, Napier Hall Community Group and Saint Patrick Lodge all applied to become keyholders, initially on a short-term basis, whilst Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels submitted a bid based on becoming tenants on a decade-long lease.Julie Hunter, a member of Napier Hall Community Group, also runs the Old Kilpatrick Playgroup.Addressing members, she said she feared the group would be forced out of the village if the OKFP plans were given the green light.She presented a comment from the Care Inspectorate that said they would risk assess any situation, but ‘wouldn’t expect a care service to share a hall with such an operation’.Ms Hunter said: “Our charity has been