8 March, 2007
A revised nationwide Sports Strategy will improve and develop Scottish sport improving health, self-confidence and quality of life, Patricia Ferguson announced today
She said that the revised strategy, ‘Reaching Higher: Building on the Success of Sport 21’, took into account the need for greater participation and elite performance improvement, and recognised that strong leadership was required to deliver legacies from a London Olympics and a Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
The Minister emphasised that substantial funding for facilities underpins the commitments made in the strategy.
She announced final approval for work to begin on the £27 million Stirling Sports Village
Stirling Sports Village, with a nine court sports hall, 25m swimming pool, water-based hockey pitch, ice rink, synthetic football pitch and health and fitness facilities is the third of ten projects to receive stage two approval under the Scottish government’s £50 million National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy (NRSFS), which includes £21.2m from sportscotland Lottery Fund.
The Executive is supporting the Stirling project with £2.5 million, through sportscotland, with Stirling Council providing the remaining £24.5 million.
Sports Minister Patricia Ferguson also announced £6.3 million of additional capital funding to support other NRSFS projects.
The Minister said:
“The strategy is primarily about the improvement and development of Scottish sport but it is also about improving health, developing self-confidence and improving quality of life.
“It is, I believe, a new strategic approach, which provides clear leadership and direction for sport in Scotland.
"Having state of the art facilities can help realise our sporting ambitions. That’s why the Scottish Executive and its partners are investing tens of millions of pounds in new training and competition facilities across Scotland.”
Julia Bracewell OBE, Chair of sportscotland said: “We welcome the launch of the revised strategy which provides a strong framework from which to increase participation and improve performance in Scottish sport. We look forward to working with the Scottish Executive and key partners in delivering it.
“We also commend the Scottish Executive’s decision to provide an additional £6.3 million to further underpin the National and Regional Sports Facilities Strategy. The new sports facilities, including the one to be built here at Stirling, will play an important part in developing future successful sporting generations, supporting the pathways from participation to excellence.”
Stirling Council’s Executive Member with Portfolio for Community Councillor John Hendry on welcoming the announcement said:
“We are delighted with the support from the Scottish Executive and sportscotland for our pioneering sporting facility. This development will help us achieve our vision for facilities that will be second to none across the Forth Valley and will cater for the needs of all, whether casual leisure users or aspiring athletes.”
1. The revised Sports strategy “Reaching Higher: Building on the Success of Sport 21” is available on the Scottish Executive website at: http://scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/03/07105145/0
2. The strategy details 6 national priorities for sport, the proposed roles and responsibilities of the Scottish Executive, sportscotland, local authorities and sports governing bodies and the proposed arrangements for monitoring and evaluating delivery of the strategy.
3. The aim of the Executive’s NRSFS is to develop a network of multi-sport facilities across Scotland, including a national indoor arena and two versatile municipal stadia.
4. The remaining seven projects which received allocations, subject to successful completion of their stage two applications are located in: Falkirk, Edinburgh and North Lanarkshire.