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Strathy opinion:





HIGHLAND Council has completely changed their plans for a community football pitch in Aviemore which forms part of the overall development for the new £12 million school.

Whilst a surrounding fence was always in the plans, the local authority now also wants to install eight 16 metre high floodlights and a maintenance shed along with the all-weather pitch.

Furthermore, the artificial pitch will have to be booked in advance for anyone wanting to use the facility should it get the go-ahead which is not a foregone conclusion given the concern of nearby residents.

They say they went along with plans for a like-by-like replacement for the grass pitch and it is hard to argue with their claims now that Highland Council has moved the goalposts with these latest proposals.

And speaking of goalposts, the village playing field was always a popular spot for youngsters and others just to turn up and kick a football about and enjoy other ball games

Should this all-weather proposal get the go-ahead there will be no such open community space. There is nowhere else in Aviemore at present for dads, mums and their kids, and teens to go for a knockabout.

An artificial pitch would be a wonderful addition for Aviemore if it was complementing a grass pitch in the village and even the restrictions on public use could be tolerated if there was somewhere else to go.

One answer might be for Highland Council to create a smaller artificial five-a-side pitch within a larger playing field area by the new community school and to come good on their plans for a proper football pitch by Lochan Mor.

Local residents there insist that this was always the case and that money was put aside by the developers Robertsons Homes for the football pitch and not just the jumpers for goalposts as they have been informed by the project’s contractor.


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