The group behind ambitious proposals for an Aberdeenshire centre’s multimillion-pound expansion has claimed it could be a “centre of excellence for sports”.
Local residents will get the opportunity to voice their opinions on the Garioch Sports and Community Centre in Inverurie at a public exhibition next week.
The plans to create a sports facility that will rival the Aberdeen Sports Village in scale were submitted to Aberdeenshire Council by the Inverurie Sports Development Project (ISDP) in August.
The new centre would include a gym “four times the size” of the current amenity in the town, alongside leisure and spa facilities, tennis courts, a multi-sports arena and an all-weather pitch.
The site would also become the new home of Highland League club Inverurie Loco Works FC.
Chairman of the Garioch Sports Centre, Graeme Hay, said last night the local community had reacted “extremely positively” to the proposals thus far.
Members of the design team, working on the project and representatives from the football club will be on hand to chat to the public.
Mr Hay added: “It is a great opportunity for us to engage with the community in relation to our plans we launched for the Garioch Sports and Community Centre, with community being that key word.
“It is also a chance to engage with other groups interested in our plans.
“This is an opportunity for the public, in addition to other interested parties, to come along to see the scale of what we are (aiming) to provide, and to get more detail of what we will provide, which is a centre of excellence for sports.
“We are delighted with the feedback to date. We have taken on board quite a bit of feedback we have been getting.”
Council co-leader and chairwoman of the education, learning and leisure committee, Alison Evison, added: “This survey will give sports clubs the chance to put forward their views on what they might need in the coming years.
“It also gives local residents an opportunity to highlight the kind of facilities they would like to see in the town.”
The ISDP are hoping that, if planning permission is granted, the centre could open in some form by early 2018.
The public exhibition will take place at the current Garioch Sports Centre on Tuesday, October 11 from 7.30am to 9pm.
