Kinlochleven
Current Project News
Trial Bike Project
This project involves the development of a bike park for the young local people providing a safe environment for bmx type bikes. The park will be fenced off with specially constructed tracks, ramps, jumps etc. The project will also involve landscaping of the park area with tree and shrub planting. Kinlochleven Community Trust along with a local group from Kinlochleven High and Kinlochleven Primary Schools will be working together to complete this project. An offer of site was previously made by Rio Tinto Alcan and this site has now been handed to KCT.
Five High School Pupils (William Taylor, Alex Whittaker, Aidan Symmers, Ben Miller and Elizabeth Gibson) and three Primary School Pupils (Tyler Murphy, Ben Wilson and Aaron Hartley) have recently formed a sub group to come up with a wish list of what they would like in the park so that KCT can then apply for various funding to takeforward this project. The sub group distributed questionnaires to all High School and Primary School pupils in early June 2009. All questionnaire results have been collated and this will enable some draft drawings to be made so that various funding applications can begin. £2000 has already been raised locally for this project by a group of young people a number of years ago, and this group will help the Trust and sub group deliver this project.
Funding has been approved from Highland Council to assist with the cost of a design brief for the bike park subject to receiving a letter of support from both Sportscotland and the Scottish Cycling Association. We have received the approporiate letter from Sportscotland, but there has been a delay in gaining a similar letter from the Scottish Cycling Association. However, Robert McFarland, Highland Regional Development Coach, has made contact and now has this matter in hand.
A site visit took place on Wednesday 9th December 2009 with Phil Saxenna (who led the Nevis Range Bike Project) to establish how to make best use of this area for the youth along with the sub group to come up with some firm ideas before any designs are completed.
Special thanks are due to Ennstone Thistle for all their hard work and effort in clearing this site. You may have noticed some activity and all assistance given has been an invaluable starting point for this development.
