Union Park receives a £50,000 to go towards a pitch drainage system

Union Park in Carrick Knowe is set to receive a £50,000 funding boost from SUEZ Communities Trust and the FCC Communities foundation.

Corstorphine Cougars RFC hub at Union Park.

Both Corstorphine Cougars RFC and the city of Edinburgh council are said to be overjoyed with the funding for the rugby pitch drainage project.

It is understood that SUEZ Communities Trust and FCC Communities Foundation each contributed £25,000 through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund to the £65,000 project.

Funding from the council’s North West Locality Community Grants Fund, the Scottish Rugby Union, Friends of Scottish Rugby and the rugby club itself made up the remaining balance.

Corstorphine Cougars currently lease two rugby pitches from the council at the park.

One of the pitches is floodlit to facilitate evening training sessions and the growth in playing numbers in recent years has meant that the pitch is regularly in demand 7 days a week.

The club’s success in recruiting primary and secondary schoolchildren - both girls and boys - and senior women players, has been hampered by poor drainage effectively making it unusable for long periods during the winter months.

It is hoped that the funding will enable the installation of an environmentally sustainable drainage solution at the park.

The aim is for the project to be completed in late March by Groundwater Dynamics using their patented EGRP technology.

Stewart Pilkington, Corstorphine Cougars RFC president, said “We’ve been very successful in growing the club in the last few years. This project will be a game changer in improving the club’s training and playing facilities as we push forward with our development plans and continue to encourage participation in rugby in the west of Edinburgh. We are very grateful to each of the funders for their valuable contributions.”

Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, culture and communities vice convener said: “As a council we are committed to promoting and supporting access to sport and physical wellbeing and this is a fantastic result for Union Park. I look forward to seeing work get underway to install the environmentally sustainable draining solution and seeing the pitches being enjoyed all year round. We will continue to work with sports clubs across the capital to look at how we can best manage facilities.”

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