£50,000 grant gives Drumsagard youngsters a sporting chance

Monday 17 March 2008

More than 2,000 young people from across a south Lanarkshire community are set to get access to new all-weather sports facilities after a £50,000 donation from a local employer.

The Hamilton-based Banks Developments is making the donation to the Drumsagard Trust, a charity set up by the Drumsagard Village Residents Association to install and improve new facilities which would benefit all members of the Cambuslang community.

The money will be used to design and install a range of top quality facilities which can be used for a number of sports, including football, netball and basketball, in an area which currently has no open spaces or sports pitches of any kind.

And the Drumsagard Trustees believe that the fitness, social and health benefits of the new facilities will be invaluable to the whole community.

A cheque for £50,000 will be presented to the Drumsagard Trust at 12pm on Thursday (13 March) at Drumsagard Village.

Work is scheduled to start on the new facilities in the summer, with the first pitches expected to be available for use before the end of the year.

And William McPadden, one of the members of the Drumsagard Trust, hopes the new pitches are just the beginning of the sporting story for the local area.

He says: “When we were first looking into carrying out this project, we carried out a feasibility study which found that there was a real need to provide outdoor facilities for more than 2,000 young people living in over 1,300 homes in and around the village.

“We knew the demand would be there if we could find the funding to make it happen, and the support that we’ve now secured from Banks is going to make a tremendous difference to our local community.

“Once the facilities are up and running, we’re hoping to provide additional activities like coaching and competitions, and are already looking at additional sources of funding which we will now be able to access to help make things even better.

“This is the sort of scheme that really builds community spirit, and we’re very excited at the prospect of our young people finally having somewhere safe and well-maintained to go to practice and play their favourite sports.”

Drumsagard Village is a community born out of the successful redevelopment and regeneration by Banks Developments of the former Hallside Steelworks and three local colliery sites.

Work commenced on site some 15 years ago with the remediation of the steelworks itself and has now delivered 1,400 homes, a local neighbourhood centre and a park & ride facility, in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council and other stakeholders.

It is part of the development philosophy of Banks to develop community relationships and to maintain these over time, with the aim of helping to create and deliver community ownership.

This latest initiative has been driven by the community itself and is a clear sign of the success of the project.

Banks Group Environment and Community Director Mark Dowdall adds: "The Drumsagard community has been crying out for facilities like this, where young people can enjoy themselves and get some exercise in a safe and high quality environment.

“The members of the Trust have put in a huge amount of work to make this project a reality, and we’re already looking forward to returning in a few months’ time to see the difference that the new facilities will make to the local area.”

 

 

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