South Lanarkshire Council has received an asset transfer request from a football club to lease pitches.
Blantyre Victoria Youth FC submitted the request with hopes to secure a five year lease of the council-owned Stonefield Football grounds.
The club is requesting to lease the pitches as well as the changing rooms with the opportunity to upgrade the quality of the facilities including providing new fencing, signage, pitch surface and lighting.
The club is looking to pay £1 up front for the lease of the park as it believes the increased usage and upkeep of the pitches will benefit the community.
The group will take on the maintenance of the pitches as well as changing facilities and pay for electricity, gas and regular inspections of the property taking the cost away from the council.
Initially, the club wish to lease the pitches for five years but is requesting the opportunity to take full ownership or an increase of the lease to 100 years of the area once the five-year lease period has expired, if there are no plans in place for a new Blantyre sports centre.
The club aims to use the existing pitches to their full potential by creating a new community football training facility to enhance the development of football in Blantyre and the surrounding areas.
Another aim of Blantyre Vics is to generate wider community benefit through football, sport and non-sporting activities especially in the areas of health and wellbeing, educational skills, social inclusion and volunteering.
The club has stated that the development is needed to provide football pitches in the centre of Blantyre which will be more accessible to the local community than they are currently and to address the continued growth in numbers in football around Blantyre.
Blantyre Vics will be constantly looking to improve the football pitch by raising funds through fundraising, grants and with hire fees charged for use of pitches to the clubs teams and other community groups that rent the park.
Anyone can make representations about this request to South Lanarkshire Council – they must be made in writing including the name and address of the person making it. These should be made by June 24.
Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
