Residents’ chance to shape new sports facilities

PEOPLE in east Perthshire are being given the opportunity to shape sports and leisure facilities for the area.

In a wide-ranging consultation exercise, they are to be asked what they would like a new £17.7 million recreation centre in Blairgowrie to offer.

Perth and Kinross Council has appointed PMR Leisure to conduct a series of community engagement events to gauge opinions on the replacement centre which would be built near Blairgowrie High.

As part of the consultation process, PMR will meet with a range of stakeholders including the school, Live Active Leisure and local sports groups, as well as conducting a number of drop-in events for members of the public.

PMR will be in attendance at Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council open day which will take place in Blairgowrie Town Hall on April 21 from 11am to 6pm.

PMR director Penny Lochhead said: “I very much look forward to meeting members of the community over the next couple of months and gathering views about what is needed in this fantastic new facility for the school and community.”

Councillor Bob Ellis said the new centre — for which funding is in place — would revolutionise community facilities.

“I am absolutely ecstatic — it is something I have campaigned on for quite some time because the existing recreation centre is more than 30 years old and past its sell-by date,” he said.

“The consultation is not j ust for Blairgowrie and Rattray — it is for all the towns, villages and hamlets in the catchment area of Blairgowrie High School.”

Mr Ellis said his personal wish list included a 25-metre pool, an all-weather pitch for various sports, improved changing facilities and meeting rooms for community use.

Councillor Bob Ellis