Monday 26 March 2007
Scotland’s hills and mountains attract thousands of people each year and when incidents do happen it is the teams of volunteer mountain rescue teams that are called on to help. In recognition of the essential service that mountain rescue teams provide, sportscotland is investing £85,000 towards the cost of a new £500,000 rescue centre for the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team.
The £85,000 Lottery award from the sportscotland Building for Sport programme will help provide the team with a new purpose-built rescue centre in Fort William. The new centre will allow the team to house all its equipment at the one location, create a central communication and control hub and provide training facilities for the team. The team’s current base is in a converted garage at the rear of Fort William Police Station. This is totally inadequate to serve the needs of the team and much of the equipment has to be stored at the homes of the team members, who are all volunteers. The centre will also allow the team to build on its already excellent response time to incidents and provide a focal point to attract new volunteers to the team.
Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, set up in the late 1960s, is one of the busiest in Scotland attending around 70 rescues a year. The Lochaber area which the team covers includes Ben Nevis, this alone attracts some 125,000 walkers and climbers each year.
Iain MacLeod of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team said: "On behalf of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, I would like to thank sportscotland for the significant support they have provided to our much needed new rescue centre, by way of this £85,000 award. Other than the amount the team has raised through public donations, this award is singly the biggest contribution to the project, and for this reason is hugely important to the successful completion of the rescue centre.
"It is mainly through the financial assistance of organisations and companies like sportscotland, that we have been able to raise the half million pounds required to complete the project, which will ultimately ensure we can provide a more efficient service for those who require our help."
Julia Bracewell OBE, Chair of sportscotland said: "Scotland has a fantastic natural resource in its hills and mountains, but potentially they can be hazardous and with more people taking the opportunity to enjoy this resource. sportscotland recognises the essential service that Scotland’s mountain rescue teams provide.
"We are pleased to award the investment of £85,000, from the sportscotland Building for Sport programme, to Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team to assist with the creation of their new rescue centre. This will allow the dedicated team of volunteers to continue their excellent work, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the Lochaber hills and mountains safe in the knowledge that an experienced and well-equipped service is available should it be required."
- Launched in March 2004, the Building for Sport Programme (BfS) is divided into two strands: Community Facilities and Training and Competition Facilities.
- Applications for the Community Facilities Programme covers the provision or upgrading of facilities for the local community.
- The Training and Competition Facilities Programme concentrates on the provision or upgrading of centres designated as a national or regional facility by the relevant national governing body for sport.
- For further information and contact details for Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team, see the team’s website at www.lochabermrt.co.uk.
sportscotland Building for Sport Programme – March 2007 Community Facilities Strand
Applicant: Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (Fort William)
Project Title: Lochaber Mountain Rescue Centre
Award: £85,000
Tel: 01397 700995
New rescue centre incorporating a briefing room, garage, communication/control room, kitchen, wash down area, locker room with toilets and showers, laundry room, drying room, quarantine room and storeroom.