Top Toe`s

  Girls Changing Rooms Transformation into Braveheart Top Toes Clinic

This project was funded through community money. Voters in Ward Eight of Falkirk District Council voted this initiative into second place during last year's Community Choices award. To apply for this Community Chest, small charities like ours had to submit a project proposal with cost estimates to the District Council. Our dedicated team of unpaid volunteers worked hard to prepare this documentation, aiming to demonstrate to the council that they could trust us to manage their former asset.

We obtained quotes from three builders, estimating the transformation costs to be around £5,000. Our application was accepted by the council, and the project was included in the participatory budgeting voting system for community members to decide what they wanted to see funded. These budgeting initiatives are designed to build community wealth, foster togetherness, support local businesses, and manage resources in an environmentally sustainable manner. While it’s not always perfect, these are the sustainable development goals we strive to achieve in our district.

We were given nearly £5,000 one year ago, but we could not begin changes to the changing rooms until the community officially owned the hub. Once that occurred in December 2025, we contacted our preferred contractor from the quotes we received. We chose this reputable company to alleviate the pressure of sourcing materials and managing the entire project, as well as finding skilled, competent tradesmen who would meet our insurance requirements. Additionally, a larger company would provide a warranty for any work done, covering accidental damage or installation issues.

This funding had to follow a trail that allowed the council to monitor expenditure, ensuring that community money was not used for environmentally harmful practices or to support modern slavery, while also promoting the local economy. By hiring one contractor with a single bill, we believed this approach would simplify our supply chain management and audit trail.

 We were really excited for this project to begin, as the toe clinic has been operating out of an unsustainable room. This made it difficult for our unpaid volunteers to transport equipment in and out once a week for the clinic. Although the builders initially dragged their heels, they eventually sent in two workers who worked extremely hard from morning until night, transforming this area. We have before and after photographs documenting the changes.

We were eager to share these photographs on social media because a local elected councillor had requested evidence that we used council funds for this project. At that time, we explained to the councillor that we needed to wait for the completion of the asset transfer process. We also asked for this information to be communicated back to the two groups in his constituency, who were upset about not receiving funding for their projects during that years particitatory budget event. This discontent led them to make allegations of misappropriation of funds to their elected representative. About us, we could now disprove this, but we are still saddened that these other groups and that councillor thought this off us, we have a proven track record of delivering community benefits free of charge

However, when they left, stating that the job was completed, we were extremely disappointed with the extensive snagging list we had to compile. Without going into all the details, our major concern was the electrics. This building is over 30 years old, and all the electrical systems need to be upgraded. 

Currently, our main management team consistently reminds us that to keep our energy bills down, we need to manually turn lights on and off and control the heating in various rooms. Our management team is diligent in this regard, which highlights why this issue with the electrical work was so significant. 

The workers changed the lighting and the shower extraction fan to newer models but bypassed the isolation switch. As a result, when entering the room, both the lights and the extractor fan in the toilets turn on automatically. This not only creates a noisy environment in the clinic but also sucks out all the heat, leading to unnecessary heating costs. The changing room becomes unusable unless the shower room door is kept firmly closed, or we install an additional heater to keep customers warm. 

The contractor returned to fix some of the issues on our snagging list, but the extractor fan and lighting, which were our biggest concern, were not addressed. This has resulted in a complete waste of money, as the lights in that room now stay on constantly, while the lights in the main girls' toilets have stopped working. 

The contractor has attempted to suggest that they did not work on the electrics, but they are unaware that our chairman was once a commissioning technician for large international corporations, overseeing gas and oil installations. He observed the workers but did not conduct a toolbox talk or request to see their qualifications. Although he is now just an unpaid volunteer, he can clearly see discrepancies, such as the isolation switch on the new ceiling fixture that previously had electrical screws but now has wood screws in place.

He can also point out the differences between the lighting and extractor fan systems in the girls' newly refurbished changing rooms and the gents' changing rooms, which have not been upgraded. For the contractor to suggest that they did not conduct electrical work that could have caused these issues is nothing short of ridiculous.

He would gladly outline the other items on the snagging list that, on the surface, appear to have been addressed, particularly regarding the unsupported pipelines on the hot and cold water pipes. He is concerned that these issues could weaken over time, potentially leading to flooding and wasted water. However, he believes that the work related to those issues is now satisfactory, and he is willing to sign off on that aspect as complete.

Our focus then became to resolve the ongoing issues related to the electrical snagging, which remain incomplete. The demands for payment from the contractor for work they claim is finished are unreasonable, especially since a community volunteer, lacking the necessary training, signed off on a completion sheet indicating that the work was finished—with the exception of the electrical issues. This situation has caused undue stress to our volunteers, to the point where it feels like harassment.

The contractor has sent a series of emails demanding payment while fully aware that we are unhappy with the electrical work. This unwarranted harassment is troubling, as we are not satisfied that the job, particularly concerning the electrics, is complete. The ongoing electrical issues have continued to incur costs for our charity for months now. We have not yet calculated how many kilowatts per hour the running fans have wasted during this time, but we are in the process of hiring a qualified electrician to investigate the quality of the lighting and extractor fans to ensure they meet electrical compliance standards. It appears that this work may have been conducted by unqualified personnel, which could jeopardise our insurance and is already impacting our utility bills.

We experienced continuous and stressful email communication with a customer service team that barely functions, if we can even call them that. Ultimately, we resolved the entire conversion and contract issues by retaining a portion of the funding for a qualified and competent electrical company to handle the necessary repairs. The bill was paid, a new contractor was sourced, and we moved on. 

As is often the case with busy firms, this process took another week, maybe two or even three. Meanwhile, we, in the third sector of society, just continue to get on with it.