Stromness squash courts set for new life as weightlifting hub
An Orkney sports club has created a bit of history outside the grit and grunt of its normal activities.
Orkney Amateur Weight Lifting Club is getting ready to take on a long lease of part of Stromness squash courts, after the green light was given to the club to benefit from the island’s first community asset transfer.
Its application was approved at Tuesday’s meeting of OIC’s asset management sub-committee.
Sub-committee chairman Leslie Manson put his weight behind the community transfer request.
“I’m absolutely delighted we’re moving towards our first community asset transfer,” said Councillor Manson.
“This has been bandied about for five or six years, I guess, and we’ve had one or two people biting at it and then retreating, completely discouraged by what appears to be a fairly onerous and bureaucratic process.”
Councillor Manson added: “I’m just delighted that the weightlifting club has had the resilience and energy to pursue this through to the end.
“Our officials have also clearly worked hard to support this organisation and we’ve ended up with a really, really fine outcome.
“I hope very much it’s a harbinger of other community asset transfers in the future.”
Kenny MacPherson, interim head of IT and facilities, said that the club tabled its request in April.
Under the terms of the Community Empowerment Act, OIC had to approve it within six months unless it found reasonable grounds for refusal, and a public consultation had been generally positive.
The club aims to support and develop weightlifters and Paralympic powerlifters of all abilities.
It has hired gyms in Kirkwall but has found the facilities impede its efforts to attract newcomers, particularly young and para athletes.
A move to a permanent base in Stromness would help address these issues and also allow the club to buy equipment to allow it to run virtual sessions for people living off the mainland.
An added benefit would be to help regenerate the squash venue, which has suffered from a lack of use in recent years.
The club’s 50-year lease is to cover the squash court, main entrance lobby, two showers and a toilet.
The football changing room, shower and toilet facilities would remain in existing use.
Chairman and head coach at OAWLC, Matthew Byers, said: “Everyone at OAWLC is over the moon with the verdict from our CAT request.
“Whilst we still have a lot of work ahead of us we feel like we have overcome the largest hurdle so far.
“This will allow us to offer the sport to more people than we have ever been able to accommodate in the past, offer paralympic powerlifting to the community for the first time, as well as putting the club on a secure footing to grow and develop well into the future.”