Work has started on a new £269,000 skatepark and multi-use games area (Muga) in Benarty.
It has been a long-held ambition to provide the facilities for local youngsters who have been actively involved in its design so much so that they were named as the area’s top young citizens.
Being built between Benarty Centre and Benarty Primary School it has been funded by the Legacy 2014 Active Places fund, Fife Council’s Cowdenbeath area committee, Fife Environment Trust and the Benarty management committee and is due to be completed in the spring.
Cowdenbeath committee chairman Willie Clarke said: “The hard work of the Benarty Skatepark Project has certainly paid off and it’s great to be here to mark such an important milestone in their accomplishments.
“Their successful funding bids to the Legacy 2014 fund and Fife Environment Trust mean that the local community will benefit from a multi-use games area as well as a great skatepark facility.
“It’s been a fantastic learning curve for the group too, and they very much deserve their Benarty Young Citizens of the Year award 2015 for the work they have done on this.”
The Benarty Skatepark Group has been supported by the Benarty Forum Group and Benarty management committee, which contributed £20,000 towards the cost of the facilities.
Councillor Mark Hood, who chairs Fife Sports Partnership, added: “This project is a great example of young people telling us what sort of sports facilities they want and need in their local area, and then helping us to deliver it where council budget alone was not enough to meet the cost.
“The Benarty Skatepark Group are a credit to their local community and I look forward to seeing them enjoy their new facilities later this year a real community facility if ever there was one.”
Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, said the organisation was working with partners to build a world-class sporting system for everyone in Scotland with communities right at the heart of that system.
“The construction of a skatepark and Muga in Benarty is a fantastic example of what can be achieved when a pro-active community group develops a proposal and encourages partner organisations to invest resources to make it happen.
“These facilities will be an excellent asset for the local community, providing a purpose-built facility to enable people from Benarty and the surrounding areas to develop their skills across a range of sports. Congratulations especially to the young people who were central to the success of the project.”