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Cornerstone House Reopens: The Ideal Spacious Venue in Cumbernauld Town Centre to Hire During Social Distancing
Cornerstone House Centre’s community-owned building reopened its doors to the public on Monday 10 August 2020 after a four-month closure enforced by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with room and facilities hire once again available.
Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s COVID-19 lockdown address to the nation of Monday 23 March 2020, the building had been closed at all times except a Thursday evening opening of crisis service provider Bethlehem House of Bread Food Bank.
With Scotland now in Phase 3 of its route map out of lockdown, the popular facility at 1 Esk Walk (Town Centre, Cumbernauld, G67 1BZ) has resumed operation with relevant safety precautions, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and high standards of cleanliness in place.
It is recognised that, because of social distancing measures, many Cumbernauld groups and provisions are currently faced with the challenge of finding an alternative suitable venue for delivering services in a safe and protected manner.
In relation to social distancing, one major advantage which Cornerstone House has over many other community venues in Cumbernauld is that the facility is large, wide and highly spacious, making it a perfect place for organisations to set up base in a spaced-out pattern for various purposes including training, meetings, exercise classes, community events, trading and much more.
Notably, the disabled-friendly building has a very open and roomy layout with easy opportunities to see and assess the movement of others from a distance apart. It benefits from having modern spacious toilets, an open-plan kitchen area and the absence of tight corridors and blind corners.
The largest amenity in Cornerstone House is an adaptable Conference Hall, which under normal circumstances has a capacity to accommodate 500 theatre style, 250 for tabled meetings and 80 for fitness classes. Even at 25% capacity due to social distancing measures, the Conference Hall is comfortably able to safely host a significant number of people.
The Centre also contains a modern ICT and Soft Skills Suite, several large and small meeting rooms suitable for one-to-one meetings, group meetings and weekly activities, and office facilities which can be employed as a permanent or outreach base for local organisations.
Each room within the building has been customised to meet social distancing requirements. A full overview of facilities available and pricing can be accessed by clicking here, noting that the capacities highlighted relate to normal operation and non-social distancing. Mary McNeil, Development Manager at Cornerstone House Centre, commented:
“Cornerstone House Centre is delighted that its community-owned facility is reopen and we look forward to welcoming back our regular and occasional service users.
“Indeed, we thank all tenants and visitors for their patience and understanding during the period of building closure over these unprecedented past few months.
“Given its considerable size, openness and suitability for social distancing, Cornerstone House potentially has a very significant role to play in enabling local community groups, voluntary sector organisations, social enterprises, businesses and public sector agencies to cautiously yet safely return to providing face-to-face services.
“Crucially, for groups which ordinarily hire small, contained facilities in and around Cumbernauld, Cornerstone House Centre can offer a short or long term suitably alternative venue as the local area recovers and rebuilds from the coronavirus pandemic.
“Those interested in hiring space can be assured that a full health and safety risk assessment in relation to COVID-19 has been undertaken and that Cornerstone House Centre as an organisation is committed to taking every reasonable step to ensure the safety of all visitors from the moment they enter until the moment they leave the building.
“This includes clear instructions for safe walking routes around the premises, the installation of several hand sanitising stations and Perspex screens at reception and other areas where Centre staff and volunteers are operating.
“Furthermore, including fire exits there are six possible access points to the building which can safely be made use of by hiring groups in agreement with Cornerstone House Centre and other facility users.”
Since opening in 2010, Cornerstone House has become an established, popular and contemporary meeting place for Cumbernauld citizens.
Its central location, ease of access for parking and close proximity to Cumbernauld Bus Terminal, Antonine Shopping Centre, Tesco Extra and Fleming House make Cornerstone House a prime venue for many groups to utilise.
Visitors to Cornerstone House can also sample the breakfasts, lunches, snacks, refreshments and takeaways of Cornerstone Café, which also reopened this week and is providing a 50% discount for all customers during August.
The Cafe is entirely segregated and shielded from the community facilities area of the building. As such, there is no possibility of Cafe customers unintentionally entering or passing through areas being used by hiring groups.
Enquiries relating to one-off, time-fixed and longer term bookings for the 2020-21 school calendar year are now being taken by Cornerstone House Centre.
Meanwhile, The Community Space facility within Antonine Shopping Centre which is managed by Cornerstone House Centre will open for specific events only at present.
The first of these will be a Cancer Awareness Roadshow taking place on Thursday 13 August 2020 from 10.00am-4.00pm, with members of the public able to drop in to seek information and advice from Cancer Research UK expert cancer nurses.
If you would be interested in making enquiry about hiring rooms or facilities, please contact Cornerstone House Centre on 01236 739220 / 07940 569527 or e-mail admin@cornerstone-house.org.uk. Alternatively, enquiries can be directed through our website contact page.
