PRESS RELEASE -WORK SET TO START ON ALL-WEATHER PITCHES 

 

Work on constructing two synthetic pitches in Moray including one at Buckie is to begin at the start of next month.

It follows the award of the contract to Blakedown Sport and Play Ltd who specialise in the installation of synthetic pitches throughout the UK.

The full-sized pitches - the first to be built by Moray Council - will be located at Buckie Community High School and Speyside High School in Aberlour.

In addition to a third-generation synthetic turf carpet, both will have floodlighting and fencing.

Moray Council leisure and healthy living project officer Robin Paterson said the pitches would provide an excellent playing surface for five-a-side and 11-a-side football and would also be suitable for other sports, including hockey at club training level.

He said: "The pitches will be used by the schools during the daytime and will be accessed by the wider community during the evenings and weekends.

"With each pitch able to withstand 20 to 30 times the amount of play of a natural grass pitch, the shared access arrangement will help address the significant demand, particularly from local football clubs, for high quality playing facilities in the Moray area."

The Buckie pitch will cost £371,364 and the Speyside pitch £354,125. At the beginning of February, sportscotland announced grant assistance amounting to 40% towards the cost of the Buckie pitch.

Councilor Anne McKay, vice-chairman of the council's children and young people's services committee, said the provision of synthetic turf pitches was an integral part of the council's leisure and healthy living programme.

"Ensuring that local clubs can access both pitches outwith school hours is a good example of how we can maximise the use of council resources and achieve best value," said Councillor McKay.

"I am also heartened that inviting tenders for the construction of both pitches as a single package stimulated a significant amount of interest by potential contractors. I understand that we were able to secure a very competitive price for both pitches."

Mark Duncan, president of Highland League club Buckie Thistle, said the new pitch would be the biggest thing to happen to football in Buckie for 40 years.

He said: "A large number of football teams in the local area will benefit from the pitch, including ourselves, Buckie Rovers, Buckie United, Cullen, Portgordon Victoria and Buckie Thistle Boys' Club.

"The pitch will also open up opportunities for the development of girls' and women's football and the establishment of leagues for the over 40s and 50s.

"A major boost that will come from this facility is that it will allow teams at all levels to train on a surface that is decent, clean and floodlit, with up-to-standard changing facilities."

Steven Park, principal PE teacher at Speyside High, said a synthetic turf pitch in the school grounds would be of considerable benefit in delivering the school's physical education curriculum.

"The outdoor facilities are used for football, hockey, rugby and athletics as well as a variety of other games but at present, as a result of wet conditions, some of our lessons are inevitably cancelled.

"A synthetic pitch will allow us to have a reliable and high-quality playing surface which will allow our students to develop and improve the standard of their performances."

While work on both pitches is expected to be completed by October, the new Grant Park pavilion at Forres is nearing completion and good progress is also being made on the Buckie skate park.

Mr Paterson said: "All these projects are part of the council's leisure and healthy living programme and reflect the authority's commitment to develop and improve recreational and sporting opportunities for all throughout Moray."