BENARTY Skatepark & Multi Use Games Area Facility is one of several Fife projects to be awarded Games legacy funding.

There are 47 projects across Scotland which will share £2.4 million from the Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund, the £10 million pot to upgrade or create new sports and physical activity infrastructure.

These include the Benarty skatepark project and also Cairneyhill Play Park, Warout Outdoor Learning Space, and Skate Colinsburgh.

The Benarty skatepark will see a top class facility which has had influence from a group of young people from the four villages all along the way.

The Benarty facility is one of five planned for the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area as part of an initiative launched by Cowdenbeath Area Committee.

Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games and Sport Shona Robison, said, “The Commonwealth Games was Scotland’s biggest ever sporting event and the Active Places Fund is creating a lasting Games legacy of better facilities for sport or physical activity. “The Active Places Fund is about creating new and different ways of getting people walking, running or taking part in sport, often in imaginative ways. This new round benefits 47 projects and takes the total number of initiatives across Scotland to 156. From upgrading existing facilities to taking on entirely new challenges, communities are embracing the Games legacy and coming together to deliver fantastic projects that are helping people become more active.” The Benarty skatepark will be sited at the back of the grounds of the new Benarty Centre (above).  Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland said, “It is terrific news that a further 47 deserving ventures will benefit from the latest Active Places Fund tranche, which has already invested in over 100 projects. sportscotland is committed to providing more and better opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.

“We are working closely with the Scottish Government to continue implementing the successful sporting legacy from Glasgow 2014 and, consequently, Scotland’s sporting system is the most sophisticated it has ever been.”