Work is well underway to transform Raydale Park in Gretna into a community sports hub.
A community partnership led by The Raydale Community Partnership, Gretna FC 2008 and Cunninghame Housing Association have already installed a brand new 3G pitch and have a clear plan to make the site as inclusive as possible.
DGWGO went along to meet up with Dougie McGregor and Stewart Rome to find out more.
Dougie McGregor Said “We’ve developed a 3G pitch and we’re now developing the new gym and education room. We’ve spent £600,000 developing this park and over the next year, we want to do the next phase 3 which would then be to put another MUGA in if we can when we get the funds. Next few months, we’ll be fitting out the gym and fitting out the education room and getting the security in place so that people can come and go. It’ll be a 24/ 7 thing You can use the gym whenever you want.”
“It’ll all be done through pitch booking. So, all you do is you go online, you book the slot you want. Well obviously the 3G pitch will be there not just for football for anything else you want to do on a on a on a good surface. We’ve got lighting so we can do it at night and we’ve got an education room that you can use for anything like you know ladies groups, kids groups, whatever. So that’s what we intend to do.”
That would develop in the whole concept of Raydale sports. In front of the portacabins we are hoping to develop a MUGA pitch. This will be available to everybody who wants to use it. In particular, we hope to encourage disabled sport.
Stewart Rome added ” Yeah a lot of activity going forward now with the new facility which is fantastic for the community. We’re also looking at other projects like Man V Fat and Five a Sides and the Soccer Sixes so you know with the new surface and the new facility it’s engaging as a big way in the community now”
