New Building

Introduction

Prize Draw

The Organisation

The Halkirk Community Sports Foundation (HCSF) is a Company founded in 2005 in accordance with the The Companies Act 1985 (as amended). The Company is limited by guarantee and has no share capital. The Company's Registered Office is 28, Queensgate, Inverness, IV1 1YN. The Company Number is SC286036.

The Company has a Board of Directors comprising:

  • William Manson, Chairman
  • Andrew John Sinclair
  • James Edward Sutherland
  • Kenneth Charles Donaldson
  • James Bain Gunn

A Management Committee has been established and reports to the Board of Directors. The Management Committee comprises representatives nominated by each of the main interest groups who will make use of the facilities to be built, in fulfilling the objectives of the main Project. The Management Committee, importantly, includes two nominees representing youth interests and a member of the Caithness Sports Council.

The Company has appointed the following specialist Advisers:

  • Banking & Investment: The Royal Bank of Scotland, 11 Olrig Street, Thurso, Caithness, KW14 7BL.
  • Solicitors: Macleod & MacCallum, 28 Queensgate, Inverness, IV1 1YN.
  • Accountants, Tax & Business: Reid & Fraser, 15 Princes Street, Thurso, Caithness, KW14 7BQ.

Project Summary

There is no large scale indoor sports facility in Caithness; indeed the nearest such facility is in Dingwall which is over 100 miles away - a 2¼ hour journey. This project seeks to remedy this discouraging situation by creating a high-quality indoor sports hall and a multi-function recreational complex which will serve the people of Caithness and North Sutherland. The scope of the complex to be built is intended to complement other indoor sports and recreation facilities in the area.

The centre-piece of the complex will be the indoor sports hall measuring approximately 60m by 40m with an artificial turf surface. This will primarily be available for those sports people and coaches who participate in football, rugby, athletics and golf. Outdoors, the principal facility will be a football field constructed and enclosed to allow local clubs to seek full membership of the Scottish Football League.

The indoor sports hall will be served by a reception area, office and changing rooms. The outdoor football pitch will have separate changing facilities for two teams and the match officials.

On the first floor there is a fitness room, sauna, a sports injury clinic and general recreation space.

The complex will be constructed on a debt-free capital basis, which means that the operational income will only have to cover annual expenditure costs.

Within the sports hall there will be space for an indoor climbing wall.

There is also the prospect of the sports hall hosting cultural and other similar events.

The new centre in Halkirk will be much more than just a sporting centre of excellence. The facility will play a pivotal role in the ongoing economic and social regeneration of the North of Scotland, by being a hub for the wider community and a mainstay of sporting and social life in Caithness and North Sutherland.

Caithness and the Far North

Caithness and the neighbouring areas of North and East Sutherland (the Far North) face special socio-economic challenges. Caithness, with a population of around 25,000, is nominally 100 miles from the city of Inverness, the headquarters for local government in the Highlands and the main business centre in the Highlands.

About 65% of the population of Caithness live between Thurso and Wick. Surprisingly, this Wick/Thurso 'corridor' is (after Nairn and Inverness) the second most densely populated area in the Highland Region.

The area of Scotland that includes Caithness experiences the problems of rurality. A poor transport infrastructure coupled with inflated fuel costs, even compared with Inverness, are drawbacks which its residents face daily. The tendency towards centralisation of facilities and services in Inverness is another factor.

The Northern Counties of Caithness and Sutherland, as a consequence of their latitude, endure long hours of darkness from late Autumn to the end of Winter. This, together with the prevailing climate, especially the wind, discourages the majority of the general public from taking part in outdoor recreational activities. Being on the northern periphery of Scotland, and indeed of Europe, the area has not attracted and enjoyed the same levels of investment in sports and recreational facilities as has been seen elsewhere.

Changes that could progressively impact on the stability of the Far North population are the decommissioning and rundown of UKAEA Dounreay and the prospect of a downturn in agricultural activity. Both could lead to reduction in employment and the consequential risk of migration of people away from the Far North.

However, not all is doom and gloom. One contribution to attracting inward migration and population stabilisation is through improvement of the local infrastructure and building on the positive progress that has been made in recent years. There are some initiatives that have proven the benefits of channelling the enthusiasm of the local population to make living here worthwhile. Health related services have been maintained and improved, for example in retention of the maternity unit, the establishment of the renal dialysis unit and the development of a palliative care unit. There has been some localised upgrading of the A9 north of Inverness. Currently the establishing of a retail park in Wick with nationally known 'High Street' brands trading locally for the first time, provides an aspect of local infrastructure that expect to have available. These recent developments and other initiatives such as the extension of Scrabster Harbour, Castle of Mey promotion, the North Highland Initiative and this proposed Sports and Leisure Centre are in line with the Scottish Executive's objective to reinvigorate the Highlands. But to make the Far North an attractive place to live requires more to be done. At the moment the availability of indoor recreational facilities is limited and yet there is a history of sporting success in Caithness in particular. Although the population may be regarded as relatively small (when compared with Inverness), the area is capable of producing sports people with real talent.

Representatives have competed or participated at National and indeed International levels, and this in spite of the limited availability of adequate facilities for coaching and training.

The spectacular progress in recent years of Caithness sports clubs illustrates what can be achieved. However, even now it is acknowledged that better training and playing facilities will be needed in order to continue to make progress through the various Scottish league structures.

In football and athletics there are youngsters with real talent and potential. Good indoor facilities are needed to ensure year-round coaching and training opportunities. All clubs, whether local or national, will only thrive if there is a supply of new talent coming through the age groups. It is an undisputed fact that without good facilities encouraging children and young people away from sedentary pastimes is so much more difficult.