Kevin Coe
Happy New Year to all our members and to the whole community of Alyth! We’ve got an exciting 2023 ahead of us with several projects on course to make big strides forward. Why not find out more and get involved? Our next board meeting is scheduled for this coming Monday, 9 January, via Zoom and starting at 7.00pm. Send us a message and we’ll send you the login details – you would be very welcome!
Skateboarders in Alyth can look forward to an exciting 2023 now that a working group set up by Alyth Development Trust has identified a suitable site for a brand-new skatepark in the town.
The working group has selected the unused site on the banks of the Alyth Burn behind the recycling point on Mill Street and is submitting a planning application to Perth & Kinross Council (PKC) this month.
At the same time, the working group intends to start consultations with the community of Alyth on the detailed plans, aiming to order equipment and begin preparing the site for installation in the first part of 2023.
Total funding for this first phase is £40k for site preparation and purchase of equipment and installations. Two thirds of the money is coming from the Scottish Government’s Community Led Local Development Fund and the remainder from Alyth Development Trust’s funding from Temporis Ltd, the operators of the Tullymurdoch Windfarm.
The Mill Street site has been lying derelict and unused for many years, but is thought to be ideal for the proposed skatepark, with plenty of room for a variety of equipment, good access and close to the centre of town. Currently PKC-owned, the site is to be transferred to community ownership as part of the project.
ADT director and leader of the working group Laura Rodger said: “Alyth’s young people have wanted a skatepark for a long time, and our Community Action Plan last year reflected this by including it as a priority project. We believe this site is ideal for a skatepark and we’re excited about securing planning approval and then working with the community, especially Alyth’s young people, on turning the dream into reality next year.”
Angus Gray, an experienced skater on the working group, commented: “I joined the working group to help bring a skate park to Alyth as it adds something missing and helps encourage people, young and old, to try something new. It also adds to Alyth’s wheeled sports facilities. We have the downhill track for ‘off-road’, so why not have a place for more urban sports?”
George Annan of Alyth Youth Partnership said: “It’s something young people have been asking for for a long time. I am personally delighted that the working group have taken it forward to make it happen.”
The minutes of our December board meeting are now available for you to read. See what we’re currently up to, and let us know if you’d like to join our next board meeting in January. It’ll be an online meeting via Zoom, on Monday 9 January starting at 7.00pm.
The agenda, minutes, financial report and presentation from our 2022 AGM on 17 November are now available to see online. We had a great meeting in the Town Hall, looking back over what had been challenging but productive year. Hope to see you sometime during the year ahead!
Alyth is celebrating an early Christmas present with almost £24,000 of extra funding now confirmed for the Jubilee Park, allowing new benches and play equipment to be installed in over the coming months.
The Jubilee Park Working Group has secured grants of £10,000 from SSEN Transmission’s Drumderg Windfarm, £8,000 from Perth & Kinross Council’s Community Investment Fund, and almost £5,000 from Alyth Development Trust.
The funding comes on top of more than £50,000 already raised and invested in building the new multi-user path around the Park, which was opened earlier this year.
Two new benches have already been installed along the new path using the latest funding, and they will be joined soon by three wheelchair-friendly picnic benches. A hammock-swing has also been ordered for installation early next year, and the Working Group are now investigating the purchase of outdoor gym equipment.
Working Group chair Steven Boath (pictured above with Group members on one of the newly-installed benches) commented: “This is a massive boost to our plans to make the Jubilee Park an even a greater asset for the community.
“Better facilities for everyone to enjoy the Park, and especially more attractions for children, were highlighted in both our community consultation on the Park and the Community Action Plan last year and it’s great to see things actually taking shape on the ground,” he added.
Here’s the agenda for this Thursday’s AGM:
https://lovealyth.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AGM-2022.pdf
You can see the minutes of last year’s agenda here
The minutes of our Directors’ meeting on 7 November are now available to read and/or download here.
We need a web officer to help turn our vision for Alyth.Online into reality. If you think you fit the bill, please get in touch! Download the job details here.
It’s at Alyth Town Hall on Thursday 17 November, starting at 7.00pm, open to anyone and everyone with an interest in making Alyth a better place to live and work. Come along on the night and find to what we’re doing, and maybe even join us in the exciting projects we have or are planning. Even better, join us as a member via the form at right – it’s completely free!
Our next board meeting is on Monday (7 November), starting at 7pm via Zoom. Why not login and find out what we’re up to? Drop us a line via “Contact Us” above and we’ll send you the login details.