New sports pitch will be up-and-running next year

Jun 17 2009 by Graham Mann, East Kilbride News

COUNCILLORS have rubber-stamped a funding package to build a new sports pitch at Whitemoss.

South Lanarkshire Council’s executive committee approved proposals to replace the out-dated red blaes pitch with a new artificial grass pitch at a meeting last Wednesday.

The facility, which is expected to be ready for use in August 2010, will provide pupils at St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High School with outdoor sports facilities on a par with other high schools in the town.

It will also be available to the wider community and will be a key venue for the forthcoming International Children’s Games in 2011 when about 2000 children from 60 countries will descend in Lanarkshire for the sporting extravaganza

The committee approved additional capital funding of £900,000 to be added to the Community Resources capital programme.

The new build St Andrew’s and St Bride’s High opened its doors to pupils in August, 2007, after parents voted to retain the merged school on the original St Bride’s site.

They turned their backs on two other options at the time: to move to the site of St Kenneth’s Primary or the former St Andrew’s High, even though the St Bride’s plans did not include any outdoor sports facilities.

However, parents and local councillors mounted a prolonged campaign to have an outdoor pitch provided and their efforts paid off when council leader Eddie McAvoy announced last month that funding for a new pitch would be made available as part of the council’s ongoing investment in leisure and recreation facilities ahead of the Children’s Games.

South Lanarkshire will host five key areas of competition including athletics, swimming, tennis, golf, and football.

The reported stated: “It is proposed to build a synthetic sports pitch with associated fencing and floodlighting at the John Wright Sports Centre adjacent to Whitemoss Roundabout. Improvements would also be made to the existing access road and additional car parking facilities would be provided.

“This new facility will accommodate 11-a-side football and hockey pitch and will significantly enhance the excellent sports facilities at John Wright Sports Centre.”

Addressing councillor McAvoy, SNP group leader Anne Maggs said: “I would like to thank you for the hard work you have put in over the last year-and-a-half. The young people of St Andrew’s and St Bride’s I am sure are absolutely delighted at this decision and I would like to thank you once again.”

Her fellow SNP and Central North councillor Sheena Wardhaugh asked when the project would be ready for youngsters to use and was told the anticipated completion date was August, 2010.