Forfar’s Phoenix Gymnastics Club’s dream of developing a state-of-the art base has taken a tumble.
The thriving outfit hoped to set up home on the site of the old tennis courts beside the town’s former Lochside leisure centre.
Their ambition was to create a purpose-built training facility for hundreds of young gymnasts.
In 2019, Angus councillors backed their bid for a 99-year lease.
But spiralling costs and uncertainty around the fine detail of the community asset transfer (CAT) have sunk the five-year dream.
On Tuesday, the club announced it had instructed its solicitor to formally withdraw the CAT plan.
“This was an extremely difficult decision to take, and not one that was done lightly,” said head coach Shona Forbes.
“But we had to take a final decision based on the most up to date funding information and take into consideration our overall experiences so far.
“The club started this project in November 2017 so we’ve been determined to see the process through as far as possible, and we’ve been reluctant to call a halt before now, as significant time and money has been invested by us to get to this point.”
But Phoenix said four key factors led to the painful decision.
- Current funding. National impacts on funding streams would have required a large loan to finance the project.
- Lease T&Cs. The exact details of maintenance/upkeep of access road and parking areas were uncertain.
- CAT costs. The CAT deal for common good ground has to be signed off by the Court of Session and would have cost around £2,500.
- Council legal fees. Phoenix was required to pay Angus Council legal outlays.
“Unfortunately the committee had to make the decision that with so many unknown factors still at play, enough was enough as we must financially protect the interests of the club going forward,” said Shona.
Team Scotland success
She says they are still desperately hunting for a permanent base.
“We have over 320 registered members with a further 220 on our waiting lists which demonstrates the continuing popularity of the club,” added the head coach.
“One of our young male gymnasts was selected to represent Team Scotland at regional finals in Telford last year which was a huge accomplishment.
“We still have aspirations to expand what we offer and are keen to support our 14+ members with free access to education courses that will strengthen their CV’s for their own future career choices.
“We would also love to expand on our pre-school sessions, include sessions for children with additional needs and adult sessions with British Gymnastics’ Love to Move programme.
“However, none of this will be possible at our current venue due to storage and time constraints.
“A move must become one of the club’s top priorities.”
What now for the tennis courts?
The courts are a stone’s throw away from the site of what was Lochside leisure centre.
And after a six-year saga surrounding that building it is now a cleared site.
Landscaping is being carried out following the demolition of the building.
It has emerged that the total bill associated with Lochside since it shut in 2017 is in excess of £1 million.
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