Public meeting to discuss better sports facilities for Wemyss Bay

Wednesday, June 09, 2004.
Posted by Webmaster (webmaster@wemyssbay.net).

Ardgowan Football Development and Wemyss Bay Community Association are jointly staging a meeting on Sunday 13th June at 3.00pm in the Community Centre to try and bring together other community groups who would like to be involved in fighting for better sports facilities in the area. Current facilities within the village are far from adequate.

As many people are aware the playing field behind the community centre turns into a mud bath after a couple of heavy showers, while the school blaze pitch also frequently becomes flooded. Indeed AFD have had to cancel many training sessions due to inclement weather and the resultant flooding.

Both AFD and the Community Association have already had discussions about how things could be improved. There is a need for facilities, not just for football, but also for basketball, tennis, hockey, bowls or any other outdoor sport. The ideal option would seem to be some sort of all-weather surface behind the community centre to accommodate the needs of the community as a whole.

If you are involved in a group, or would like to set one up, but have no place to go, and would like to join forces to put forward an application to the authorities for improved facilities, then please come along to the meeting. As with any attempt to win over the authorities, it is vital to show a high level of community support.

Obviously any serious attempt to improve things will depend heavily on the finances available. It is unrealistic to expect that Inverclyde Council will be able to come up with the funds required, although we would hope for a contribution. We have already started investigating the availability of other funding sources.

AFD's constitution is set up in such a way that they are able to encourage and bring on sports other than football, while the Community Association's constitution is to pursue activities for the benefit of the community of Wemyss Bay. The more organisations there are involved in fighting for improved facilities, the greater our voice and the higher the chance of success. Support your local community – come along to the meeting and get involved!

Source: Village News.