NEWS 
Football pitch improvements at Iochdar Hall
Lead organisation: Iochdar Saints football club
Potential funders: CnES, SportScotland
There is a well-used pitch at Iochdar Hall, home ground to Iochdar Saints. The team keep it maintained, but this is hard, since the grass is rooted into very sandy soil, which is itself sitting on shingle and terram. Any damage to the pitch brings stones to the surface, and the grass wears away easily.
We are working with the Uist football association, Iochdar Hall Committee, Storas Uibhist and Iochdar Saints to improve the pitch. The Council are currently reviewing provision throughout the Uists, and have constulted with us when preparing their budget sumbissions for 2008. Our plans for the pitch will include additional work to improve the parking facilities at the hall, drainage, and adding changing facilities. We have already received planning permission. Now we need to raise money to sort out the lease.
We have prepared a consultant's brief which went out to tender in January 2009. We have appointed MacIver Consultancy, a Western Isles based firm of civil engineers to prepare the plans. MacIver Associates will be providing project management. They will be responsible for producing detailed plans so that we can then apply for funding and tender for the works to be done. We have applied for planning permission for the project, and are also sorting out a lease for the land.
