Strachur and District Development Company
The principal objective of the Development Company is to provide facilities for recreation and other leisure activities for the public at large within the district in the interest of social welfare. The two main activities at the moment are the Heritage Park and a new Sports Field. Some details of these are given below. Progress on these and other developing activitoes will be reported on this page.
Heritage Park
This area, immediately to the south of the Memorial Hall, had been forested. After the trees were harvested it was bought by the Development Company with a view to being a public amenity.
Consideration was initially given to making it a sports field but the
cost of draining the low-lying, boggy site was prohibitive and also it
was too small for a regulation shinty pitch. It was decided to lay
pathways, retain much of the boggy areas and encourage native plant
species, turning it into a peaceful oasis in the village. Part of the
land was also used for a much needed overflow car park for the Memorial
Hall. Grant funding to-date has come from the Scottish Land Fund, Fresh
Futures, Scottish Natural Heritage, West Highland Leader+, Kist (WHELK)
and the Scottish Rural Partnership Fund.
Sports Field
Strachur and District Shinty Club currently play their home matches at Strachur Park within the grounds of Strachur House. There is a desire within the community to relocate the pitch and have ownership of a sports facility for the benefit of the whole community including the Primary School. The need for such a facility was also identified from a survey carried out as part of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Communities Futures Programme. A suitable, well drained, site of 3.85 ha was bought by the Development Company in the summer of 2003.
The following requirements have been identified and costed:
- Association standard shinty pitch - 175 x 85 m
- Full sized football pitch - 100 x 50 m to be accomodated within the shinty pitch.
Pavilion/Club House to include:
- 2 changing rooms with shower facilities
- Club Room
- Youth Club/Creche
- Kitchen and canteen
- Storage for equipment and maintenance machinery.
Funding is currently being sought from a number of key public sector agencies. The Development Company is very hopeful of success as it has legal ownership of the land, it has demonstrated the physical and financial feasibility of the project and it has unamamous local community support. Some monies are already avaiulable but, as many funding bodies will not make grants for work in progress, the building stage must await the full funding package being agreed.