Seven projects will share a total of £715,500 of National Lottery funding, distributed by sportscotland, to help develop existing facilities or create a new home for sport and physical activity including an extension and upgrade at Annan Rugby Football Club.
A range of projects have been awarded funding to help improve access to sport in their areas. These include a new athletics track in Aberdeen, an upgraded and extended skatepark in Pitlochry and an extension at Annan Rugby Football Club which will greatly increase the number of people playing rugby in the area.
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 groups who are underrepresented in sport.
Annan RFC have been awarded £200,000 to help upgrade their existing pavilion. The changing rooms at the existing facility are restrictive and the work will help the club to improve their offering particularly for women and girls and youth teams. The club has good links with a number of community groups, the improved facility will support greater access for underrepresented groups and multi-generational participation.
A project to build a new sports hall specifically designed for adults with learning disabilities at Camphill Blair Drummond, a day and residential facility for people with learning disabilities, has been awarded £200,000.
There are currently no suitable spaces at Camphill to deliver sport and physical activity, students have to make do with a corridor or hallway. The students want to be more active but opportunities are limited. Staff currently have to take students off-site to take part in any sport and physical activity, but most community venues are not suitable for adults with a learning disability. The hall will greatly increase physical activity among the 140 students and other possible users in the wider community.
Aberdeen City Council have received £100,000 towards an athletics track which will benefit pupils, local clubs and the wider community. The track will be part of the new Hazlehead Academy Campus and will provide a home for the athletics community in the area for years to come.
Projects at Pitlochry Community Action Trust, Inverness Rowing Club, Shetland Gymnastics Club and Gordon Community Sports Field Group have also been granted funding.
Chief Executive Officer of sportscotland, Forbes Dunlop, said:
“This investment will have a significant impact on communities the facilities serve. To see this level of National Lottery investment in Scottish sport is very encouraging. Everyone involved in these seven projects have demonstrated a real commitment to ensuring that sporting opportunities will be greatly increased in their local community and more people will experience all the positives we know that sport brings.
Jason Glass, Chief Executive of Camphill Blair Drummond:
"We are incredibly grateful for sportscotland’s support. This is a key grant that enables us to create a truly unique sports and activity centre, designed around the needs and strengths of adults with a learning disability. It is hard to accurately capture what it means to see this becoming real.
"To know that through the enjoyment of sport, adults with a learning disability will have opportunities that not only encourage them to be active, but also be empowered to discover new passions and achieve greater satisfaction and health in their everyday lives.
“For many this new centre will offer the first real opportunity to take part in sport in a space built for them. This funding makes our dream a reality, enabling us to offer a space where adults with a learning disability can enjoy sport and feel completely at home. We are excited to see the positive impact this new centre will have, both for the individuals we currently support and also the wider learning disability community as a whole.”
Aberdeen City Council Councillor Martin Greig, Convener of the Education and Children’s Services Committee:
“We are delighted to have been awarded funding to add an athletics track to the new Hazlehead Academy Campus, and I look forward to seeing it become a high-quality sporting facility that will inspire pupils, staff and the wider community to embrace physical activity for years to come.”
Since April 2007, sportscotland has invested over £215m 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:
Aberdeen
Aberdeen City Council - £100,000
New Athletics track
Dumfries and Galloway
Annan RFC - £200,000
Pavilion extension and upgrade
Highland
Inverness Rowing Club - £30,000
Extension of boathouse and purchase of boats and equipment
Perth and Kinross
Pitlochry Community Action Trust - £50,000
Upgrade and extension to existing skatepark
Scottish Borders
Gordon Community Sports Field Group - £53,500
New multi-use games area
Shetland
Shetland Gymnastics Club - £82,000
Redevelopment of existing facility to create a dedicated gymnastics space on Shetland.
Stirling
Camphill Blair Drummond - £200,000
New sports hall
