Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust completes purchase of the historic Bridgeton Bus Garage from City Property Glasgow (Investments) LLP

City Property Glasgow (Investments) LLP and The Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust (GVVT) are delighted to announce the completed purchase of Bridgeton Bus Garage which marks a major landmark for the Trust and its long-term future.  

Ownership of the garage gives GVVT the best opportunity to fulfil its aims and objectives, to keep the vehicles together as a ‘collection’ and ensure the greatest security for vehicle owners.  Ownership will also give the Trust more opportunities to attract grants or loans which will be required to cover continuing development of the Trust’s activities, in particular the ‘Back on the Road’ social inclusion programme.

Speaking on the day of the announcement, Steven Booth, Chairman of the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust said,

“This is such good news for the Trust.  We have been working hard to progress the purchase of the garage for some time.  We have always thought that ownership of the building represented the best option for our long-term future and in doing so provides a secure home for the large collection of vehicles.  It is a building made for looking after buses and other large vehicles.  It is steeped in transport heritage as it represents the last bus garage in the city built by Glasgow Corporation.  It is ideal for our purposes to continue the work we are doing and to develop our concept of creating a ‘working museum’ for visitors to enjoy.

The garage is the perfect base for our events and other activities.  Most importantly, it offers security for our ‘Back on the Road’ social inclusion programme.  ‘Back on the Road’ has been operating for over 15 years helping those who are recovering from addiction problems allowing them to gain new skills to improve their chances of employment.  This news ensures that the programme will have a secure place to operate from and so continue to deliver benefit to the local community.

On behalf of the Trust, I would like to take this opportunity to thank City Property Glasgow (Investments) LLP for engaging with us to help make the purchase happen.  It has been a big team effort involving many people across a range of other organisations too, all of whom have actively played their part.  In particular, all those who have supported our funding effort deserve special mention.  We have received donations from all sorts of sources, everyone a valuable contribution, from many individuals through to those from grant awarding bodies such as the Robert Barr Charitable Trust.  Thank you all.  We are especially grateful to our principal funder, RBS Social & Community Capital, who have been really supportive of us right from the start of our interactions with them.

Our funding efforts will now continue as we look to support the development of plans to become a ‘working museum’.  This will include refurbishing parts of the building to improve the visitor experience as well as the facilities for our members and the ‘Back on the Road’ programme.  We have a number of ways to donate such as our text option or through our crowdfunding website on totalgiving.

We now look forward with confidence as we take the next steps in our development and continue our work to contribute to the life and social fabric of the city.”

Megan Peat, CEO, RBS Social & Community Capital said,

“We are delighted to support the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust with the purchase of their building.  Not only does this support the Trust with the restoration and preservation of historic passenger carrying and commercial vehicles, but it will also provide a safe place for the Back on the Road programme, promoting the welfare and social inclusion of former addicts.”