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Community Sports Developments at Kirkintilloch

Further Funding Commitment brings Kirkintilloch Community Sports Club facilities closer.
 
Kirkintilloch Community Sports Club moved a step closer to establishing new community sports facilities for the area when the Council agreed Capital funding of £1million towards the project at its meeting at the end of last year.

Council Leader Rhondda Geekie believes the Community Sports Club and its facilities will be a fantastic resource for the area.  She said, “This innovative sports project is great news and I welcome the innovative approach taken by Kirkintilloch Rob Roy in developing such a community facility along with other local sports clubs.  Our capital budget commitment is subject to the whole funding package coming together and I hope this commitment enables the remaining funding support to be finalised so that this new facility can become a reality. Council officers and colleagues from the Leisure and Culture Trust have been working for many months to develop the project and bring it to fruition”

Kirkintilloch Community Sports Club was established by Rob Roy and is a partnership with a number of local clubs and organisations coming together with the common aim of establishing sporting facilities that will benefit the area and participation in their sports.  The Partners include: Rob Roy Juniors Football Club, Rob Roy Youth, Strathkelvin Shinty Club, Bishopbriggs Acro Gymnastics, Chung Yong Taekwondo and Lairdsland Primary School.  The new facilities are planned for the Southbank Marina area in Kirkintilloch and the Sports Club logo which has been adopted was designed by Lairdsland Primary School pupils in a competition last year.

Kirkintilloch Rob Roy initiated the Kirkintintilloch Community Sports Club concept having determined that they wanted to invest the proceeds from the sale of their Adamslie Park ground to develop community based facilities benefiting a range of clubs including their Junior Football Team.

Gerry Allen from Rob Roy says of this new venture for the Club, “We believe that this approach delivers a much greater community outcome for Kirkintilloch and that working in partnership with others to achieve this will also provide a long term exciting future for the growth of Rob Roy and all the youngsters who are now playing in the club. We recognise this is a giant step for Rob Roy and feel that the long term future for Junior football in our small towns lies in recognising what our assets are worth and putting them towards exciting community wide initiatives like this.”

Sports Consultants PMR Leisure have been working with Rob Roy to develop the Kirkintilloch Community Sports Club vision, manage the project and support the partner clubs in coming together to meet their own needs as well as the wider common aims – a unique and ambitious approach. The resulting Community Sports Club, a charitable company, is being Chaired by independent community business representative Jim Gilmour, who said, “I have been aware of the project for some time and was delighted to be asked to Chair this dynamic mix of organisations and help drive this project over the next couple of years as we take it from the drawing board to a Living Legacy for Kirkintilloch”.

The Sports Club have developed, with the help of CRGP, a design which brings together all the elements of a high quality community sporting environment and most importantly provides a home for these clubs to enable them to grow and develop their sports in a united sporting environment. The site to be developed is a brown field site within the regeneration area on Southbank Road adjacent to the new Lairdsland Primary School and close to Southbank Marina and business park.

The new facility will comprise of a full size 3G FIFA 2* synthetic pitch to accommodate the football community and Rob Roy along with enabling Strathkelvin Shinty Club to play and train  within East Dunbartonshire for the first time since it was formed.

Camanachd Association President, Archie Robertson is delighted to be part of the Community Sports Club, saying “This is great news for youth shinty in East Dunbartonshire and beyond. Community sports clubs now provide important opportunities for shinty and Strathkelvin Shinty Club must be congratulated for recognising the benefit of being a partner in this innovative project. I am confident that Strathkelvin and shinty will contribute greatly to the future success of Kirkintilloch Community Sports Club.”

Tom Johnston, Association Secretary SJFA said “to see Rob Roy come together with other local clubs to help bring about a new fantastic facility for the whole of Kirkintilloch is a fantastic achievement for all involved and brings forward another route to ensure we secure the long term future of Junior Football in our communities”.

The indoor facilities to be developed include large indoor 14m x 14.5m multi use space to accommodate indoor sports as well as activities such as dance, table tennis and small sided games. Alongside the main hall will be a multi-functional training/meeting room and a social area serviced by a café bar facility. The building will incorporates eight changing rooms alongside office accommodation and backup ancillary facilities.
Kirkintilloch Community Sports Club will now be working closely with sportscotland and other funding bodies to identify the final financial contributions to add to the Council’s commitment and the Adamslie Park receipt to bring this fantastic project to fruition.
 
 
Contacts: 
PMR Leisure: Penny Lochhead at info@pmrleisure.co.uk , telephone 01620 895900 or  mobile 07802500991
Council:   Angela Fegan, Corporate Communications, angela.fegan@eastdunbarton.gov.uk , telephone 0141 578 8078