Gartmore’s goal of providing sporting facilities for village
Villagers are hoping the next Andy Murray or Erin Cuthbert could come from Gartmore if their dream of sporting facilities becomes a reality.
Gartmore Community Trust is consulting the community about providing an allweather multi-sports facility for outdoor sports on a small part of the existing under-used village sports field.
The facility will provide tennis, football, basketball, netball and hockey courts, with floodlighting to allow for evening use, in the dark winter nights.
The trustees say the need for accessible, all-year-round outdoor sports facilities in the rural areas has been highlighted in the pandemic and that enabling all ages to enjoy team sports and individuals’skills to be developed will be possible with the proposed new facility.
The impact on young people’s mental health during the pandemic has also been highlighted over the last two years, which has galvanised the Trust to develop the proposal. Outdoor team sports are recognised as having a huge positive impact on mental health.
A Trust spokesperson said:“We have carefully considered a number of sites in the village and the proposal we have put to the community for comment, ticks all of our criteria as the best place within the village for the facility. We believe rural village children should have the opportunity to become superstars. We hope the proposal will help not just children develop their skills in their chosen sport but all ages to enjoy outdoor activity all year round.
“With no similar public facilities nearby, this proposal fits with the Scottish Government’s ‘20 Minute Neighbourhood’initiative and by reducing car journeys will play a part in Gartmore’s contribution to tackling climate change.”
Gartmore Community Trust has published their proposal online at https://digitalreset. wixsite.com/gartmorevillage/muga.
The proposal is open for local residents to comment until November 30.