ADVANCE Construction has come to the rescue of Glenrothes Community Sports and Health Hub following an ‘urgent request’ for help to complete their building.
The hub asked Advance if the firm could provide any support with laying slabs and mono blocking a walkway to allow safer access for older people.
Advance, the civil engineering contractor on a development of 850 homes being built at the former Tullis Russell paper mill in the town, agreed to donate materials and labour and do the whole works.
Kenneth Crichton, hub chair, said, “We needed to cover a really substantial area and we estimated it would have cost us around £3,000 to do it ourselves. We knew Advance were building in the area and we just asked them if they could do anything, we didn’t expect them to say they would do it all.
“Thanks to Advance Construction’s help a much wider group of people are now able to enjoy and benefit from the facilities on offer at the hub.”
Located in Gilvenbank Park, the hub opened a year-and-a-half ago and has provided a lifeline for the community during the pandemic, acting as both vaccination hub for the local health centre and the destination for a wide range of activities including yoga, pilates, wellbeing clubs, and Beavers’ meetings.
Lance Gordon, technical director of Advance Construction, added, “Glenrothes has been very welcoming to us, and we are delighted to give something back to the community and help increase the access to the hub. It is an incredible project and we are happy to have played even a small part in it.”
The sports and health facility is the brainchild of Kenneth and Sandy Waterson, who worked to raise funds to build a centre, originally just for the local cricket and football clubs. Plans snowballed and the hub now offers sports, health, and wellbeing activities along with a Food Larder twice a week, supplying donated food from local supermarkets.
Kenneth was just 24 when the project was launched and has spent the last nine years working on the project, alongside his day job. He said, “Sadly Sandy passed away in October 2020 and so it is really emotional that work is finally completely finished and he isn’t here to enjoy his legacy. It is much bigger and better than we ever thought it would be and I am so proud of the local community for working together to make it happen.
“I would like to thank Advance Construction, our funding partners and the many other people who have made donations and volunteered their time to make this project such a success. Glenrothes is quite a built-up area so to have this incredible facility in a beautiful setting, with deer wandering past is just magical.”
