New life for Island Park

ISLAND PARK - A VILLAGE GOAL

Iain Ferguson The goal of opening up Island Park in Kinlochleven for sports and community events moved a few steps closer, thanks to the fund raising efforts of keen village footballers.

Monday night regulars who play for fitness and fun at the village astroturf sported their team colours in a Celtic v Rangers supporters match - with a Hibs top and a few neutrals thrown in - to help raise money for the restoration of the grass pitch.

Island park on the Glencoe side of Kinlochleven was once a popular and well-used area for a range of outdoor activities including gala days, fairs and different sports. Despite this history, in recent years it has lain largely unused, gradually becoming overgrown and forgotten.

However, thanks to the efforts of the specially formed ‘The Island Park Community Field’ charity work is well under way to restore it to its former glory as a popular open space and events venue.

One of the charity’s first acquisitions was a sit on mower bought with assistance from Kinlochleven Community Development Fund and The Highland Council Ward Discretionary Fund.

Thanks to the hard work of many volunteers, working over several days, the height of grass has been reduced to manageable proportions with the park already looking usable.

Volunteers also built a shed to house the mower and quotes are being sought from specialist contractors to spike and drain the field to improve its condition and help water drain away more easily, in readiness for use.

Fundraising is an ongoing part of bringing the field back to life and the recent football match has so far raised £1,169 which will help pay for specialised contractors to carry out this work and hopefully other regular maintenance.

Celtic, who were winners of the fixture by six goals to two, were presented with the Colin MacDougall shield, named in honour of the well-known and highly regarded village man, noted for encouraging children to look after the area.

This was presented by his widow Lesley and members of the family to team captain Michael MacLean.

Man of the match was Celtic team member Lewis

Moran and the winning bid on the auction for a Celtic strip signed by the squad was made by Scott Dibsdale who picked up the shirt on the night.

Chairman of The Island Parks Community Field Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation and organiser of the match Matthew Prosser said: ‘We had a fantastic response to the match from players and the many people who made donations, so thank you to all of them for their support.

‘Highlife Highland were also a great help by donating the use of the astroturf on the night.

‘Island Park is really coming along and a lot of work is being done by a great team of volunteers to make sure it is going to be in prime condition for the future. It will be an ongoing process and we are applying for further grants to ensure we can maintain it to a high standard. Regular

‘It was a great fun, night and the boys really enjoyed playing, so hopefully we can make this a regular annual event, perhaps even featuring different teams.’

Other fund raising activities around the football match were restricted due to Covid restrictions, but many more are planned in the village, with information on these, as they are planned, available on social media.