EDINBURGH PROJECTS SECURE £413,027 ACTIVE PLACES FUNDING
Legacy 2014 grants awarded to help upgrade community facilities
Seven schemes to develop and revamp facilities in Edinburgh are set to benefit from a £413,027 cash boost.
The projects are amongst 40 initiatives awarded almost £2 million through the Legacy 2014 Active Places fund, to improve community facilities and encourage participation in sport in the run up to the Commonwealth Games.
Warriston Community Tennis Club has been awarded £30,000 to upgrade its tennis courts, Cramond Primary School will receive £41,679 towards the development costs of an adventure course for pupils and the wider community, and Edinburgh Leisure has received £68,310 to install floodlights and refurbish the pavilion at The Meadows.
Meanwhile, separate grants of £100,000 have been awarded to Edinburgh and Lothian Greenspace Trust and North Merchiston Club, to develop a new skate park and upgrade existing sports facilities respectively.
Pupils at Buckstone Primary School are also set to benefit from the cash boost, with a grant of £22,038 to create a learning landscape within the school grounds while Drummond Community High School will receive £51,000 to develop a 3G pitch.
The First Minister Alex Salmond said:-“Glasgow 2014 will be the largest sporting and cultural event Scotland has ever hosted and with less than one-year to go – there is a great sense of pride and excitement around the Games.
“The investment in community facilities across Scotland is part of this government’s vision to deliver a lasting legacy through the Games, by improving local facilities and encouraging people to get active, either through sport or something simple like going for a walk.
“The Games coming to Scotland provides an exceptional opportunity to make our nation healthier, help our businesses to prosper and celebrate our modern and vibrant culture both at home and on the world stage.
“Across Scotland local communities will benefit from the Active Places Fund giving people of all ages the opportunity to be part of the excitement created through the Games.”
Edinburgh has already attracted investment from the first round of Active Places funding, with £87,900 invested in tennis and petanque courts at Leith Links, and upgraded tennis and bike facilities at Liberton High School.
To date, the £10 million fund has distributed £3.1m to 64 projects the length and breath of the country to build play parks, upgrade walking trails and refurbish football pitches and deliver a lasting legacy from the Games.
With additional funding from partners, communities are seeing more than £8.3 million invested in facilities across Scotland.
The fund is administered by sportscotland.
Louise Martin CBE, Chair of sportscotland, said:-“sportscotland and the Scottish Government are working closely to deliver a successful sporting legacy from Glasgow 2014, and the Active Places Fund is a key component of that vision.
“Sporting facilities for both performance athletes and local communities are the best they have ever been in Scotland.
“We are well placed to capitalise on the growing captivation surrounding next year’s Games as we continue to expand Scotland’s stock of excellent facilities and provide more and better opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to participate in sport and physical activity.”
To find out more and apply to the Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund, visit www.sportscotand.org.uk/Activeplacesguidance.
Legacy 2014. Be part of it at www.legacy2014.co.uk
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