FAIRMUIR PARK CONSULTATION UPDATE

Dundee United Community Trust is pleased today to provide an update in relation to the forthcoming consultation process with the local community regarding our initial ideas for enhancing community benefit delivered via Fairmuir Park.

As noted in our initial communication in May, the Community Trust is investigating the potential for a community asset transfer of the football changing pavilion and 1 grass football pitch on a long-term lease. Our initial idea involved the eventual upgrade of 1 grass pitch within the park to an all-weather floodlit 3G surface but this is no longer in our plans.

The Community Trust is committed to refurbishing the existing building within the first 12 months of the asset transfer, should the application be successful. The long-term ambition of the Community Trust for the pavilion is that it can also become a base for the Charity to support and extend our work in and for the local community. In addition to establishing a new base within pavilion, the Community Trust also wishes to provide enhanced facilities and the consultation with the local community will shape how this looks.

There are no longer plans to change the surface of any of the pitches or to install floodlighting within the park and, if successful, the pitch would become a home for a variety of community-based sport sessions as well as continuing to ensure access to the public. The Community Trust currently caters for a wide variety of members including girls and women, older people and people with a disability and having regular access to these pitches would provide stability to our expansive community programme. 

As noted in our initial news article, this project is about much more than sport and the Community Trust has the ambition of creating a park which can provide benefit to more people of all ages. Initial ideas include improving the maintenance of the park, regular and organised litter and dog mess pick-ups, environmental improvements, security improvements and increasing awareness of the heritage of the park itself. To take this forward, the Community Trust is committed to establishing a “Friends of Fairmuir Park” group to coordinate future developments within the park and ensure local residents have ongoing opportunities to share their views. The Community Trust is also committed to working with other local groups with an interest in improving the park for the local community. 

Jamie Kirk, Chief Executive for the Community Trust commented, “We’re really pleased to be able to provide some more details on our plans to consult the community on this idea. We want to work with the local community to understand what the needs and wants are for the area, how we can help achieve this and whether there is a place for our initial ideas or not. We’re certain that upgrading the existing pavilion is a good idea given how long it’s been since any significant works have taken place within it but beyond that we’re really excited to gauge what else can be achieved in the area for everyone’s benefit.”

David Dorward the Chair of Dundee United Community Trust commented, "The proposed asset transfer if successful would allow the Trust to extend its delivery of community projects within the local community surrounding Fairmuir Park, as well as improve the building and open space areas at Fairmuir Park. It is really important to our charity that we engage in an open and genuine consultation with the local community and that we demonstrate to them the significant community benefits of the proposed asset transfer.”

The Community Trust is now able to provide a timetable for this community consultation, which will be delivered in phases. The first phase of the community consultation is open with a survey being made available digitally to collect opinions on our initial ideas as well as other ideas which would bring improvements to the local area. This survey can be accessed here and hard copies of the consultation papers will also be delivered to the streets surrounding the park. The Community Trust will then provide local residents and existing/potential new users of the park the chance to meet staff members and trustees of the Charity to discuss the feedback collated from the consultation, the ideas in the consultation in more detail and, equally importantly, contribute to how the final project is shaped. Hard copies of the consultation will also be available at this meeting and more details on this event, which the Community Trust hopes to be able to host in Fairmuir Park, will be provided in the coming weeks. 

The closing date for the digital consultation survey is Friday 30th July at 5pm. 

To get involved in the consultation or to assist in the formation of the proposed “Friends of Fairmuir Park” group, please email enquiries@dundeeunitedct.co.uk.