MID ARGYLL Athletics Club has been brought back from the brink of ending its training sessions due to a lack of storage space and facilities at the new high school site.
The club was just hours away from making a decision on the future of its training sessions when Fyne Homes, the new owners of the old high school site, stepped in to save the day.
MID ARGYLL Athletics Club has been granted permission by Fyne Homes to use the old blaze pitch and long jump pit as a short-term solution to their training problems.
Speaking on Monday of the news, coach Bill McCallum said he was thrilled Fyne Homes had allowed them permission to use the facilities.
He said: ‘This has really saved the day for us and they (Fyne Homes) have been so helpful and understanding of our situation.
‘As of Monday, we will be able to continue our training sessions at the old site so I’m hoping this will now give the council a bit of time to get things sorted at the new centre.’
Mr McCallum explained the problems the club faced at the new sports centre, including the lack of storage space.
‘We still have a lot of our equipment stored in a Portacabin at the old sports centre because there just isn’t any storage space at the new site.
‘We also don’t have a long jump pit so it means those athletes need to train inside all the time and that’s not realistic.’
Mr McCallum said he was given assurances by the council at the public meeting in February that the pit and storage facility would be in place by the end of the financial year.
‘We were told at that meeting, in front of 200 witnesses, that we would have the pit and the storage by the end of this financial year. Well that’s passed and we’re still waiting,’ he added.
Peter McDonald, New Business Director for Fyne Homes said he was happy for the group to use the outdoor facilities at the former school site.
Mr McDonald said: “We are entirely happy for the group to use the outdoor facilities including the pitch, long jump pit and Portacabin.’
A spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council said: ‘Whilst storage is a matter for the club, the council are endeavouring to assist.
‘We recognise the value the club adds to the local sports community and the council’s project team, together with Operational Services who operate the Mid Argyll Sports Centre, are in the process of looking at the provision of additional storage at no cost to the club.’
