A New Sports Facility for West Lothian

Aim

We are a small local team, passionate about bringing new sports facilities to West Lothian and forming an inclusive, community-run club.

Our Vision

We believe that regular participation in sport brings many benefits to a community. As well as improved physical and mental wellbeing, a real sense of community is achieved through organised activity, volunteering and in the running of an active club. Sport can bring together young and old, boys and girls, teams and casual players of all abilities. And now, more than ever, it is so important that those who are socially disadvantaged, disabled or recovering from health issues also have the opportunity to benefit from sport. 

After conducting extensive research across the community, we are now in the process of establishing Murieston Tennis and Sports Club, a not-for-profit charitable organisation, comprising 3 tennis courts and 1 multi-purpose court (supporting basketball, netball and football) on an easy-to-access area of ground adjacent to Livingston Cricket Club (see image below). The club will be open to all communities in the West Lothian area, there will be no restrictions on membership and there will be opportunities for concessionary arrangements. These new facilities will also play a key role in the newly-created Livingston South Community Sports and Wellbeing Hub, which is based at the cricket club and acts as a focal point for a wide range of sports clubs and social activities.  

In addition to general play, we intend to provide open days, coaching and free access to equipment. We will also work closely with local clubs and coaches and the Active Schools and Tennis For Free programs to encourage wider participation of school-age children and disadvantaged groups and will provide a regular program of coaching across all of the sports available to the club. We will also develop a team of volunteers to run the club and organise the activities. 

Our Challenge

We are very grateful to have had the full support of sportscotland, who awarded us a maximum grant of £100,000 in August 2022. West Lothian Council have also backed the project and recently granted the club a 25-year community benefit lease for a piece of ground near Livingston Cricket Club, who have also been hugely supportive of the project from day one.

But now, in order for us to progress the project and see it through to completion, more funds are needed. With an overall cost likely to be in excess of £265,000, we are actively targeting new funders to cover these remaining costs. However, in addition to these larger grants, the club needs some short-term funds to allow it to make progress. Depending on the amount raised, these funds will be used in a number of ways, as follows:

• As a priority, planning permission is currently the critical next step for the project. In order to submit an application, a number of surveys and reports are required eg site investigations, drainage plans, ecological, lighting and noise surveys. The cost of submitting an initial planning application is likely to be in the range of £2,000 - £3,000, depending on the surveys required. Further costs may also be incurred as the application moves through the planning process. 
• One of our potential large fund targets, Scottish Landfill Communities Fund, requires applicants to contribute 11.1% of the total sum awarded, due to Tax Relief conditions imposed on them, so if we were to apply for and were awarded eg £30,000, we need to be able to provide the Landfill Trust with a cheque for £3,330 from our own funds.
• To help us to deliver coaching sessions and provide support for disadvantaged members or newcomers who want to try out the sports, £500 - £1,000 would allow us to purchase a starter quantity of equipment such as tennis rackets, basketballs, netballs and various coaching aids.

It is for these reasons that we are launching this Crowdfunding campaign. While getting awards from sportscotland is a tremendous boost, we are not able to access any of these funds until all the funding and the planning permission is in place. This puts the project in the tricky position of needing short-term funding to move forward with the issues described above. 

Our Target

Our campaign will run for a period of 6 weeks. We have set ourselves a target of £5,000 with an ambitious stretch goal of £10,000. As an incentive to donate, we are offering a limited range of rewards to donors, ranging from branded items to offers from local business as well as advance membership deals for larger donations. We would therefore welcome donations large and small, from individuals, families or from businesses. Every penny counts.

This is an entirely voluntary project. The club is registered as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCO51583) and will be run not-for-profit. The beneficiaries will be the communities of West Lothian; the kids, the older folks, the netball and basketball teams, the walking football groups, the Active Schools, the coaches and clubs and anyone who wants to come along, learn a new sport and make new friends. 

Please note that in the event of the project not going ahead, we will return any remaining funds (less any fees incurred) on a pro-rata basis or donate them to a nominated charity, as per the donors preference.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you can lend the project some support.

This project successfully funded on 25th June 2023