Local communities celebrate lottery funding from sportscotland

Monday 25 October 2004

The communities of Fintry in Dundee and Embo in the Highlands are celebrating today’s announcement of Lottery investment totalling over £96,000 from sportscotland’s Building for Sport programme.

The Finmill Community Safety Panel (Dundee) are delighted to have received £53,736 towards the Cheviot Sports Project. The project to build a multi-purpose sports court, specifically targets the young people of Fintry, widening the opportunities for participation in football, basketball, tennis and volleyball in the area. 

Situated in a Social Inclusion Partnership area, the court will provide an accessible and affordable facility for young people to participate in sporting activities to develop a healthy lifestyle, build self-confidence and community spirit.

Commenting on the award, John Gilruth, Chairman of the Finmill Safety Panel, said: “This is a wonderful announcement for the young people of Fintry. Thanks to sportscotland and the other funders, they will now have a state-of-the-art facility which they fully deserve. We all hope that we can see some superstars of the future developing from our local community.”

Embo Amateur Football Club is also receiving an award of £42,270 today. To date the community of Embo situated on Dornoch, Firth in the Highlands, has had no changing provision to service the sports pitch in the village. sportscotland’s funding will support the building of a two team changing pavilion, officials changing, showers, kitchen and committee room to provide a facility for the players and spectators.

Embo Amateur Football Club has been in continuous existence for 26 years, however football has been a played in the village since the early 1900s. The new pavilion will enable the club to provide coaching sessions for youngsters and play matches all year round, encouraging sport for all ages.

David Mackay, Secretary, said: “The football club and village will now be able to welcome visiting teams, instead of the embarrassment of asking them to change outside. Although Embo is a small village, the locals are very keen and active about their sport. This facility should now ensure that local people can enjoy their activity for many years to come.”

Alastair Dempster, Chairman, sportscotland, said: “sportscotland is committed to providing quality facilities for people of all ages, abilities and social backgrounds across Scotland. I am sure the combination of  Lottery Fund support and the enthusiasm and commitment of these local organisations will have a major impact on the sporting provision and widen the opportunities for more people in these communities to be more active, more often. I wish these projects every success for the future.”

• Organisation: Finmill Community Safety Panel
  Project Title:  Cheviot Sports Project
  Award:   £53,736

Creation of a multi-purpose sports court which will become a focal point for sports and leisure activities primarily for young people.

• 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 will mainly be led by local authorities, clubs and trusts and covers the provision or upgrading of facilities for the local community.
• The Training and Competition Facilities Programme will concentrate on the provision or upgrading of centres designated as a national or regional facility by the relevant national governing body for sport. 
• The  investment from the BfS Programme is complementary to the £49.5m recently allocated through the National & Regional Sports Facilities Strategy as we continue to invest in projects that will enhance Scotland’s sports facilities infrastructure, which is essential if we are to deliver the targets of ‘Sport 21’- the national strategy for sport.