As reported in today's Courier, I have said it is vital that the City Council supports sport across the city in the wake of the success of the Olympics and said the City Council must support for specific community sports initiatives across Dundee.
I have pointed to a number of ways the City Council can support sporting initiatives in the West End including :
• Supporting the West End Sports and Heritage Association’s (WESHA) bid to move forward sport in the West End. WESHA is looking to take a lease of the Riverside changing rooms and build up their use and the council’s support for moving this forward urgently is vital, as are similar initiatives in other parts of Dundee. As WESHA's Secretary, I was delighted to hear earlier this week that a joint bid by four Dundee Sports Hubs for funding through a Community Payback Scheme to allow changing rooms and other improvements to take place has been successful. This is really good news for the West End Sports and Heritage Association’s work to improve sport across the West End and we are delighted. I am sure this news will also be welcomed by the other three sports hubs in Dundee who bid for the funding and I am grateful to Community Payback and Sports Development staff for all their hard work supporting the sports hubs.
• I have been in correspondence this week with the City Council’s Chief Executive and Director of Education about the need for the City Council to support a hockey initiative at Harris Academy, particularly during the school's decant to the Rockwell site during the school rebuilding project.
• There is a real need for investment in the parts of the city’s sports infrastructure - an example I'd point to is my long-standing concern about the state of tennis facilities at Victoria Park.
West End Sports and Heritage Association is working hard to improve sports across the West End, in partnership with various sports clubs including junior football, amateur football, bowling, boxing, judo and aquatics. Its good to see other sports hub initiatives in other parts of Dundee but the City Council must closely support them.