DUCT ANNOUNCES AMBITIOUS PLAN FOR MAJOR COMMUNITY CAPITAL INVESTMENT

Dundee United Community Trust (DUCT) is today delighted to announce that an extensive community consultation is about to kick off as the Charity aims to bring significant funds to the local area by way of a major capital upgrade within Fairmuir Park. 

The Community Trust is aiming to complete a community asset transfer of the current pavilion and one grass football pitch within the park to build a base to expand its work within the Coldside ward for the benefit of its residents and citizens across the City.  Its recent annual report highlighted that the Community Trust has already invested over £1m into the community since its relaunch in 2017 and this new proposed project would significantly ramp up that investment in the coming years, first through capital funding and then in the delivery of an expanded programme of community activity.  The Community Trust has undertaken an extensive scoping exercise which considered the proximity to Tannadice Park, existing amenities, sports and community service provision currently in place and many other factors before identifying Fairmuir Park as its preferred location. 

As part of the ambitious project, DUCT is aiming to initially refurbish but eventually replace the existing football pavilion with a significantly upgraded building; providing improved changing facilities and a multi-purpose community space for delivery of non-sporting projects tackling key local issues such as food insecurity, isolation and loneliness and employability among many others.  The long-term vision is for the eventual upgrade of 1 grass pitch to an all-weather floodlit 3G surface which will bring fantastic training facilities for existing users of the pitches and allow the Community Trust to even further enhance its impact on the local community. 

David Dorward, Chair of the Community Trust said: “The Trust already provide an extensive range of services in the local community, but having the type of facility we plan at Fairmuir Park would allow us to deliver ever more services to the local community. This is an exciting opportunity and we are really looking forward to working with the local community." 

While the primary aim is to improve access to sporting and non-sporting facilities in the local area, ensuring the project is as environmentally friendly as possible is also important and one area the Community Trust hopes to explore as part of the community consultation is supporting with biodiversity within the park.  Understanding the carbon footprint of the project will also play a key role in the planning and implementation and DUCT is committed to minimising this impact by including this as a key component of all decisions being made on its delivery. 

Jamie Kirk, DUCT’s Chief Executive added: “Our latest strategy outlined our ambition to increase our capacity through investing in facilities in the local area and we’re really excited about the potential for achieving this within Fairmuir Park.  This isn’t just about a football pitch and pavilion, this is about improving the park for everyone and increasing opportunities for local people.  We want the community to be actively involved in this project and the upcoming consultation allows us to take on board ideas from local residents, users and beneficiaries that we might not have thought of otherwise.  Our Charity is all about improving the lives of people in Dundee and the first step in getting that right is always delivering what people want and need.  This consultation is the vital first step in this process." 

Further details of the consultation will be announced in the near future and anyone wishing to get involved can email enquiries@dundeeunitedct.co.uk.