Outdoor Adventurers To Transform Former Police Club Into Community Hub

Rope, Spoke, and Paddle take over the old Greenock Police Club building (Image: George Munro)

A historic Greenock building which has been part of the town for more than 100 years is to be transformed into an outdoor activities base and community hub. 

The former Greenock Police Club on Thom Street has been harnessed in a long-term lease by the team at Rope, Spoke, and Paddle (RSP) Off-Grid Adventure Centre. 

The lease was agreed by The Home of Property - Bowman Rebecchi on behalf of its clients, Dalglen1810.

Located adjacent to Murdieston Dam, the building was bought by Sandy and James Easdale in January 2021 following the club’s fall into liquidation. The property was available for sale but a new long-term lease has been agreed with RSP (Rope, Spoke and Paddle).

RSP provides young people with new experiences focused on the outdoors including climbing, kayaking, paddleboarding, archery, and axe-throwing. 

Running in tandem with their activities, the team at RSP want to use space within the building to host a dementia café and run a wellbeing drop-in for local people. 

Young people from 5th Greenock and District Scouts will have it as their base, RSP will run community events, and there's also potential to set up study zones and after-school clubs. 

Jordan Graham, RSP's director of outdoor adventures, said the team want to transform the building in to a 'proper community hub'. 

He said: "It feels really good and really exciting to be launching. There is nothing like this currently in Inverclyde. 

"Young people will get the chance to learn different skills and take on new challenges which will give them a sense of purpose, and there will be community events to bring people together. 

"It will be something really different for people."

One of the group's founders, Calum Rennie, said the team started looking at venues in 2022 and kept coming back to the police club. 

Calum, who used to be a member of the club before it closed in 2020, said it's been great to see the transformation of the building over the last few weeks. 

He added: "We got the keys at the start of November so it's been a really busy time. We've been doing all the redecorating, reupholstering, joinery, refitting floors, and gardening ourselves. 

"It's great to see how far we've come already."

Jordan said the indoor and outdoor space offered by the building offers up a lot of potential. 

He added: "There's a crag nearby where we can abseil and a lot of ground area around the back, so there's a lot of scope for different activities."

Young people will be able to sign up for activities via the RSP website from the new year. 

Greenock Police Club was the world's oldest free-standing police club prior to its closure, having been formed in 1898 and located on Thom Street since 1932.

The club's doors closed at the start of the Covid pandemic and members decided six months later to pull the plug on the facility permanently.

The RSP team will be launching the facility officially at an event on Saturday, November 30 from 11am. 

A quiz night will be held at the venue on the same event from 7.30pm, and the Scouts will be putting on a show on December 5. 

A Christmas party night is planned for December 6, and there will be a Hogmanay event for all the family. 

Co-founder Ashley Rennie said people living close to the building have been very supportive. 

She added: "They're so happy that the building is being used for something that will benefit the community."

This article and image appeared in The Greenock Telegraph.