Sports clubs and community facilities across Scotland will benefit from £450k of investment from sportscotland’s Sport Facilities Fund to local partners.
A total of £451,038 will be shared across eight projects to help develop existing facilities or create a new home for sport and physical activity. This investment is made possible thanks to National Lottery players, who raise £30 million each week for good causes across the UK.
A diverse range of projects will benefit including in Glasgow where an extension at Shettleston Boxing Club will allow the club to offer more people the chance to take part, particularly women and girls.
A new 3G pitch with floodlights at the South Skye Community Campus will allow athletics, football, rugby and shinty to take place during darker months and when weather isn’t favourable, greatly increasing sporting opportunities in the area.
The Daimler Foundation have been awarded funding to upgrade and extend its existing equestrian centre in Fenwick, just outside Kilmarnock. The charity work with many people living with disabilities, additional support needs and also have many participants from disadvantaged areas of Ayrshire and Glasgow.
The award will mean the facility will have a warm-up area, competition arena, training and therapy arena and crucially an enclosed riding arena to ensure it’s available for members year-round.
Chief Executive Officer of sportscotland, Forbes Dunlop, said:
“The physical and mental health benefits of sport are well documented, but equally important is the ability to create a space where everyone is welcome to participate at their own level.
“We are facing challenging times with significant financial pressures at all levels, but thanks to the continued commitment of our local partners more people will have an opportunity to become physically active and feel part of their local community."
This latest round of funding sees much-needed investment in rural communities, areas of deprivation, and for projects designed to make sport more accessible and inclusive.
Pauline Crossan, The Daimler Foundation, said:
“With the sportscotland funding we will be able to create an indoor riding facility for all, people of any age or background can benefit from equine-assisted learning. The people we work with are taken through several different lessons, learning how to look after the animals which develops confidence, builds communication skills and helps regulate their emotions.
“We help several children with learning disabilities like autism and ADHD and children who struggle at home and in mainstream education, and youngsters with anxiety and poor mental health.
“We will have a safe enclosed arena for these sessions to take place, with the unpredictable Scottish weather and reduced daylight hours in the winter, we really needed an indoor building to allow these sessions to continue and allow us to increase the number that we can help.”
South Skye Community Campus have been awarded £150,000 towards the new pitch, floodlights and fencing.
Shirley Grant, Chair of South Skye Community Campus, said:
“This funding award from sportscotland is a crucial first step for the South Skye Community Campus’ development plans for sports and recreational facilities in South Skye.
“It is also recognition from an external funder of the huge need for investment in sporting facilities here in South Skye. The population of South Skye could expand exponentially in the next few years and we are delighted to have a funder that recognises the need for essential infrastructure to support the health and wellbeing of our local and visiting communities.”
The aim behind the sportscotland Sport Facilities Fund is to support capital projects which are designed to create or improve the places where people take part in sport and physical activity in their local community.
Priority is given to projects that widen access to participation or allow people to progress further within their chosen sport locally by removing barriers, particularly in rural areas or areas of deprivation and for under-represented groups.
In addition to the investment, projects can benefit from the expertise within sportscotland’s facilities team to maximise the impact that their plans will have, ensuring they meet the needs of their local communities now and in the future.
Since April 2004, sportscotland has invested over £227m of Scottish Government and National Lottery funding to help sports clubs, community groups, local authorities, sport’s governing bodies and other organisations deliver new and upgraded sporting facilities across the country.
The full list of projects who will benefit from this round of funding are:
Aberdeen
Sport Aberdeen - £26,474
• Northfield Sports Centre new tennis court floodlights
East Ayrshire
Daimler Foundation - £60,000
• Arena upgrade
Fife
Dunfermline Skatepark - £50,000
• Upgrading existing skatepark
Glasgow
Shettleston Boxing Club - £68,346
• Club extension
Glasgow Life - £29,114
• Two new courts in Victoria Park to be used for netball, basketball, wheeled sport and parkour
Highland
South Skye Community Campus - £150,000
• New synthetic pitch, floodlights and fencing
North Ayrshire
Largs Thistle Community Football Club - £27,104
• New floodlights
Renfrewshire
Bishopton Tennis Club - £40,000
• New floodlights
Find out more
About the Sport Facilities Fund
