Sporting Chance: 'We took over a pit and we will make it our palace'

The Dynamos have undertaken a dynamic regeneration project of the South Gyle sports pavilion to give their club a home and the local community a hub of which they can be proud.

The club was offered the pavilion on a lease by Gyle Recreation Association (GRA) back in April this year, on the basis that they would help to revive the dilapidated site.

Hundreds of hours of volunteer work has been put into improving the site and Vice Chairman and Saturday team manager Iain Briggs juggled time with his young family and planning his wedding that is set for November.

The Dynamos have undertaken a dynamic regeneration project of the South Gyle sports pavilion (pictured after) to give their club a home and the local community a hub of which they can be proud.

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He added: “We have got the hub to a stage where it can be used, with functioning changing rooms, a main hall, kitchen and all the work, but there’s still a mammoth task ahead to fix a roof in disrepair and rotten window frames among other issues.”

The Dynamos have been working with The Friends of the Gyle Park group and were recently invited to the Corstorphine community council meeting to share their aims and goals for the club and how the hub can become a community asset. Since April the team has raised around £1,500 from sponsorships and £2,500 from the club in order to carry out the work, with many of the tradesman players offering their own free expertise.

JOIN OVER 2,500 EDINBURGH RESIDENTS AND SIGN OUR PETITION FOR CHANGE HEREDave Whelan, Hub manager and player, said: “The club itself has put around £2,500 and countless man hours and late nights into the hub. When you add in the support, donations and freebies of materials from local business the value rises to around £4,000 put in. Roddy at Travis Perkins as been instrumental in this as well as Specialized Signs sponsoring the rebranding of the hub and the sponsorship deal with planetgrass.co.uk that has allowed us to make a home changing room like no other with an AstroTurf floor.”

The Dynamos have undertaken a dynamic regeneration project of the South Gyle sports pavilion (pictured before) to give their club a home and the local community a hub of which they can be proud.

Mr Whelan states that the club has formed a partnership with Beechwood Youth Club in order to reach a goal of improving and developing adult and youth football in the Corstorphine area.

He added: “The feedback has been fantastic from anyone that has seen the hub and we are still only getting started. I must thank the GRA for this opportunity as well as all players and coaches and anyone that has done their part and of course Specialized Signs and Neilsons solicitors for getting behind the Dynamo project with sponsorships.”

The club also stated that local councillors Brown and Bridgman had been extremely supportive of the project.

Mark Brown, councillor for Drum Brae and Gyle Ward, said: “I am delighted to see the hard work put in by the volunteers at Corstorphine Dynamo starting to come to fruition.

“Having met with a club official last year to hear of their vision and embryonic plans, it is great to see such progress over a relative short period of time. As a local councillor, I am thrilled to see what the club has done in transforming what they now can refer to as a ‘Hub’ – a true place to call home. I wish them all the very best for the season ahead and I’ll be keen to get along and see their progress on the field too.”

Cllr Cammy Day, depute leader of City of Edinburgh council said: “We have a range of outdoor courts and pitches in Edinburgh but some sites are better used than others. We are always open to discussing ways we can work with local users, clubs and community groups to upgrade and add to the facilities where we can within our budget constraints in the hope of inspiring more people to get into sport and physical activity.”

OUR MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE

Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city and one of the most affluent cities in the United Kingdom.

It is a centre for culture and the arts, with its world famous Festivals, as well as for business, education and politics – and a great sporting city.

Yet grassroots sport in the city is suffering. It is getting harder for young people to get involved. Part of the problem is years of cuts to the budget of Edinburgh Leisure, which operates the city’s public facilities. Edinburgh now spends less than half of what Glasgow does per visitor to its sports facilities.

The Edinburgh Evening News now says enough is enough. Please support our Sporting Chance campaign calling on the City of Edinburgh Council to work with the Scottish Government and other funding organisations to deliver the following pledges for sport:

1. Cut the grass in public spaces and take it away!

2. No more reductions in the budget of Edinburgh Leisure and a commitment to look at reducing the cost of access to facilities

3. A commitment from the city council that there will be no net reduction in the space used for pitches and sports facilities across Edinburgh

4. If developers want land for other reasons, it should be mandatory for them to pay for, and construct, alternative facilities before any development happens

5. Every public pitch and other sporting facility to be maintained to an agreed standard by the council or in partnership with local clubs

6. Open up the school estate on trusted volunteer basis during holidays and at weekends to allow local clubs to work with schools to have access and care for facilities

You can visit our petition, like over 2,500 Edinburgh residents have done so far, and sign it HERE'It's a cycle of inefficiency for which we all bear the cost'

A scout leader has spoken of his frustration after he and his troop were left furious after being granted a permit for a hall at St John’s Primary in Portobello only to find out days before they required it that the space they were promised was in use by a Pilates class.

Colin MacDonald, group Scout leader of the 14th Edinburgh north east Scout group, said: “For the second year in a row, the 14th Edinburgh North East Scout Group are suffering at the hands of the council.

“The council appears to have no attention to detail when dealing with applications for school lets, which results in a cycle of inefficiency for which we all, as council tax payers, bear the cost.”

The whole ordeal was made worse by School Lets promising alternatives only for them to fall at the final hurdle.

Mr MacDonald has been in regular contact with School Lets since April and the council more recently through the complaints procedure.

Normally scouts will start up at the same time as the school term however the group has had nowhere to go for their opening week.

It is believed that the council has recently presented the group with alternative options.

A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the issues the scout group have had with their school let bookings and apologise for the inconvenience caused. We have today been able to offer them a choice of different venues for their activities and look forward to hearing which one they want to use.”

Sporting Chance: 'We took over a pit and we will make it our palace' - Corstorphine Dynamo