A Perth sports group has revealed plans to build a new purpose built community pavilion in Letham.
Letham Community Sports Club want to build the permanent structure at Seven Acres football pitches as the number of clubs using the facility continues to grow.
The organisation has been based at Seven Acres for a number of years and currently rents one changing room building, along with some surrounding land, from Perth and Kinross Council.
On the land the club has portable units and containers to provide additional changing rooms and storage for their activities.
The group has now applied for a further three-year extension to their temporary planning permission for the portable buildings and believe that will give them enough time to build the pavilion.
Jon Kidd, club secretary, thinks the new facilities are needed due to the growing number of clubs that use their ground, including the rise in women’s football teams.
“It has long been recognised by the club and our partners within Perth and Kinross Council that the current accommodations at Seven Acres are not ideal for what is needed and leave much scope for improvement in terms of our ability to meet the needs of our members and the wider community,” said Jon.
“After the mammoth effort that went into funding and developing the 3G pitch (in 2014) it was always our intention to develop a new community pavilion.
“It is our intention that as well as providing much needed new facilities for the 22 football teams that we have, it will also provide multi-function space for the local community such as schools, colleges and the very many active community groups in Letham and North Perth.”
While the temporary measures are in place, Jon hopes the club can hold consultations with the community to see what they want from the pavilion.
The timeframe will also allow them to work with the local authority to develop a plan for the site
Jon said: “This planning application is for three years temporary permission for the buildings onsite which we hope will be sufficient time to allow us to engage with the community about their aspirations, prepare plans and seek the necessary consents from the various departments in Perth and Kinross Council.
“Securing these permissions then allows us to progress with fundraising for the project to take it through to completion.
“The club has 22 teams at present including an ever growing girls and women’s section and the club hopes with the new facilities to be able to provide a greater range of facilities to all the members of the club and community.”