Penicuik Athletic Youth F.C. was recently awarded funding from the SFP Trust to assist in the development of a new 3G pitch at Beeslack Community High School. This multi-agency project was officially opened by the Hibernian Captain, David Gray (pictured above).
Penicuik Athletic Youth F.C. was formed in 2012 from the merger of two football clubs with, at that time, a playing membership of around 200 players. This was a big step for the clubs involved, but both were willing to move forward and use their best efforts to offer improved facilities for the players. Since the merger, the club has grown rapidly adding approximately 30-40 new players per annum and developing links with Penicuik Athletic Junior FC and Penicuik Amateur FC as well as local schools and the local Community Sports Hub.
Following the merger, the potential of developing the old shale pitch at Beeslack Community High School was identified as a prime opportunity to meet the club’s current and future needs. Dialogue was quickly established with Maureen Sanford at the school who was very keen to explore this further. Together, an application was made to the MOD for an award from the Army Covenant Fund and an award in the amount of £200,000 was received for the project. This fantastic funding acted as a cornerstone and from there applications were made to sportscotland and Midlothian Council who also provided significant funds towards the project. The Scottish Football Partnership Trust also received an application for funding and we were delighted to be able to offer support for this project. At that stage, Penicuik Athletic F.C. were also able to secure a Licence to Occupy granting the club first right of access to the facility outwith school hours. This fantastic facility will enable PAYFC to continue on their journey, which has seen them assist in the development of a facility which will be available to the wider community including pupils at Beeslack Community High School, local primary schools and other local sports organisations.
Shaun Millican from the club said “PAYFC would like to acknowledge the support of The Scottish FA, The Scottish Football Partnership Trust, The Ministry of Defence, sportscotland and Midlothian Council. We would like to extend special gratitude to Maureen Sanford who worked tirelessly over 4 years to see this facility to fruition.”