Local youngsters enjoy the new BMX track at Rattray which opened yesterday after a campaign by Rattray and District BMX club. Picture: Mhairi Edwards.

Four-year campaign pays off as Rattray recreational site is brought back to life

A Perthshire town’s BMX park, which attracted bikers from near and far in its 1980s heyday, has been resurrected thanks to a huge community effort.

The once-thriving cycle track at Rattray, which was used by Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, became neglected and was reclaimed by nature.

As memories of the park faded, the Hatton Road site became a disused and unremarkable looking piece of common ground.

But the track has been fully restored and reopened for BMX cyclists and mountain bikers after an exchange on social media spiralled into a four-year campaign.

Rattray and District BMX Club chairman Greg Morgan said it was not an easy ride.

“I was involved in a chat on Facebook about the history of Blairgowrie and Rattray when a guy named Scott Mitchell mentioned the BMX track from the 1980s,” he said.

“Over the next few days I got in contact with Scott and asked if he would be up for trying to gain interest in reviving the old track.”

Shortly afterwards, a group was formed to explore the possibility of reusing the site.

Volunteers spent nearly three weeks sprucing up the track but found the old jumps and ramps were ruined.

It was decided to strip the site back to flat ground and start from scratch.

A £10,000 windfall from Tesco’s carrier bag scheme was used to build a new track.

“It looked great, we were chuffed to bits,” said Greg.

“We finally got what we wanted: a track for the community and a fun, safe area for kids to play.”

To spread word about the new facility, a family fun day was planned and riders from across Scotland had agreed to come and try it out.

“Things were looking really good,” said Greg.

“But two days before the fun day we had the worst weather we had seen for a long time, with heavy persistent rain. The track flooded and did not drain at all.”

The event was cancelled and the committee began discussions about how to pay for flood-proofing work.

“Months went by with the track full of water and not being used,” he said. “Our spirits were at an all-time low.” Then the project was jump-started with funding from Perth and Kinross Council that allowed for the construction of a new motorcross track, laid by SD Clark Groundworks, and fencing.

“As a committee we have been overwhelmed by the support we have had,” he said.

Sir Chris used the track as a youngster, during his competitive BMX-biking days in the late 1980s. He raced with Scotia BMX and the GT Factory BMX team.

I got in contact with Scott and asked if he would be up for trying to gain interest in reviving the old track. GREG MORGAN

Picture: Mhairi Edwards.