Communities set to benefit from sportscotland funding

Wednesday 8 February 2006

sportscotland continues to honour its pledge to improve sports facilities for communities across Scotland with an investment of just over £1 million from the Building for Sport Programme. This investment of £1,080,000, of which £580,000 is sportscotland Lottery funding, will see communities benefit in Edinburgh, Banff and Achiltibuie.

Currie Community High School in Edinburgh is set to receive an award of £500,000 to build a four-court sports hall with changing area. The new hall will be a major addition to the existing sport facilities at the school which include a synthetic turf pitch, two gyms and swimming pool. The new hall will allow the school to continue to provide its pupils with a superb curricular provision of PE and also the wide variety of additional after-school sporting activities and clubs. The high school is also fully involved with the implementation of Active Schools.

The school has excellent links with the local community and provides a wide-ranging programme of daytime and evening activities, with around 1,000 people each week taking part. Inverleith Hockey Club became a sports partnership club of the school following the installation of the sportscotland funded synthetic grass pitch in 1997 and the new sports hall will allow the club to develop its youth coaching and training.

Councillor Rev Ewan Aitken, Executive member for Children and Families, City of Edinburgh Council said: "We are absolutely delighted with this new facility for the Currie community. As well as being a fantastic new hall for the High School pupils, it will also benefit pupils from the new school being built for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The new school, being built next to Currie Community High School, is planned to open in August 2007. Currie is a community high school, which will also give local people extensive access to the new hall."

Also receiving an award of £500,000 is The Princess Royal Sports & Community Trust in Banff to assist in constructing a Better Life Centre. The custom-built integrated sports and community centre will allow the Trust to offer a wider range of sporting activities which in turn will hopefully increase sports participation within the local community.

Additionally, The Coigach Community Trust in Achiltibuie has been awarded £80,000 to provide a multi-purpose playing field adjacent to Achiltibuie Primary School. This community-driven project will increase the sporting opportunities available to young people in the surrounding area, and provide the community with a much needed resource.

Julia Bracewell OBE, Chair, sportscotland said: "sportscotland continues to demonstrate its commitment to providing communities with quality facilities with this investment of £1,080,000 from the sportscotland Building for Sport Programme.

"Good facilities and resources must be available and accessible to bring people into sports participation and encourage those who already participate to do so more often. Widening sporting opportunities for local communities will help to achieve sportscotland’s vision of creating a fitter, more active nation."

• 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.

sportscotland Building for Sport Programme – February 2005

Community Facilities Strand

City of Edinburgh Council
Project Title: Currie Community High School Sports Hall
Award: £500,000
Contact for Press: Sara Dunbar, Communications Officer, Children & Families, City of Edinburgh Council
Tel: 0131 469 3356

To provide a sports hall (34m x 19m) complete with four changing rooms, including disabled changing.

Princess Royal Sports and Community Trust
Project Title: Better Life Centre (Banff, Aberdeenshire)
Award: £500,000
Contact for Press: Sarah-Jane Burkinshaw, Project Development Co-ordinator, Princess Royal Sports and Community Trust
Tel: 01261 818303

To construct a custom-built multi-functional facility to incorporate a multi-purpose sports hall with retractable seating for up to 240 spectators. The facility will be equipped for sports, including badminton, basketball, archery and five-a-side football.

Coigach Community Trust (Achiltibuie, near Ullapool)
Project Title: Achiltibuie Playing Field
Award: £80,000
Contact for Press: Harold Hassall, Secretary/Treasurer Playing Field Group, Coigach Community Trust
Tel: 01854 622425
To provide a multi-purpose community playing field adjacent to the Achiltibuie Primary School.

3 awards totalling £1,080,000