Renfrew campaign trail is child’s play for Nicola
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Renfrew’s Robertson Park over the weekend as she outlined plans to support people in staying active.
Ahead of residents hitting the polls next Thursday, the SNP leader
joined
Renfrewshire North and West candidate Natalie Don on the campaign trail in the hope of boosting the party’s chances of retaining the seat held by former finance secretary Derek Mackay.
Ms Sturgeon and Miss Don spoke with passers- by and outlined the nationalists’ commitment to investing £ 60million in renovating and upgrading play parks across the country.
Meanwhile, the First Minister pledged her party would increase investment in sport and active living to £100m a year by the end of the next parliament in 2026 and create a new national plan to break down barriers preventing people from engaging in physical activity.
Miss Don, who is a councillor in Renfrewshire representing Bishopton, Bridge of Weir, and Langbank, gave her party leader a tour around the play area in Robertson Park which underwent a £1m makeover in 2017.
She said: “I was delighted to show Nicola around the stateof-the-art play area in Robertson
Park which is a tremendous facility helping to improve local children’s health and social inclusion.
“I welcome the SNP’s commitment to renovating play parks which will enable many more youngsters from their early years to get chances to enjoy physical activities.
“It is pleasing the number of women taking part in sport in Scotland has risen substantially in recent years but, as the First Minister said during her visit, more can be done to create a level playing field allowing everyone to become more active.”
The SNP has also committed to helping sports fans become more involved in the running of their club by creating a so-called Fan Bank.
This will be designed to empower communities that do not have access to capital to acquire a share or control of their local sports club.
Successful applicants will be required to show how their proposals will benefit their community, such as how their involvement could boost women and girls’ participation in sport.
During her visit, Ms Sturgeon said: “The SNP has already set out plans to capitalise on the uptake of cycling seen during the lockdown, by providing free bikes to all school children who could not otherwise afford one, and increasing investment in active travel infrastructure.
“And by investing in play parks we will ensure our youngest children have the outdoor space to play and be with their friends.
“We are also determined everyone in Scotland can benefit from investment in sport and we will back up this by doubling the Scottish Government’s investment in sport and active living to £100m a year by the end of the parliament.
“We will work with organisations and individuals to devise a new national activity plan. As a priority, this will include supporting the participation of more women and girls. The last year has also tested sports clubs to their limits. We know fans care deeply about how their clubs perform and although they may have great ideas for how their clubs could be better run, they may not have the funding to put these into action.
“The SNP will set up a Fan Bank which will allow those fans to access capital to turn this dream into a reality.”