THE renewal of the all-weather surface at Cumnock Juniors' Townhead Park ground has received a significant financial boost.
Cumnock Juniors Community Enterprise (CJCE) has been awarded more than £44,000 from East Ayrshire Council's renewable energy fund (REF) to help with the cost of renewing the pitch.
The cash comes from 'community benefit' funds paid out by Scottish Power Renewables (UK) from its Hare Hill wind farm, south-east of New Cumnock.
A CJCE spokesperson said: "We are delighted to announce we have been awarded £44,519.61 from East Ayrshire Council Renewable Energy Fund-Harehill.
"The grant will support the renewal of the new astro pitch at Townhead. We are grateful for the financial assistance of EAC and the developers."
News of CJCE's application to EAC for financial help with the project was reported by the Chronicle in May.
The grass pitch at Townhead Park was removed and replaced with a 3G version in 2015-16, with Nock spending that season ground-sharing with Lugar Boswell Thistle at Rosebank Park.
The installation of an all-weather surface allowed CJCE to make use of Townhead Park for a much wider range of events than was previously possible, and it now regularly hosts training sessions, matches for youth teams and other sporting events in addition to Cumnock Juniors' fixtures.
The ground is also home to Ayr United's ladies' team, and was used by the Championship club's men's team for a Viaplay Cup fixture against Stenhousemuir while the pitch at Somerset Park was being relaid in the summer of 2023.
The recommended lifespan for a FIFA quality artificial pitch is eight years.
The cost of replacing the pitch to Scottish FA standards is £181,732, and CJCE has already secured a grant of more than £127,000 from the SFA for the project.
Hare Hill is one of four wind farms in East Ayrshire which make 'developer contributions' to the fund.
The others are the Afton wind farm south of New Cumnock, Galawhistle, west of the village of Douglas in South Lanarkshire but extending over the boundary into East Ayrshire, and Whitelee, on the Eaglesham moor north of Fenwick, which straddles East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire.
Hare Hill, which has been operational since 1999, is one of Scotland's oldest wind farms.
Its 20 turbines have an operating capacity of 13.2 megawatts.
Scottish Power Renewables submitted an application to the Scottish Government in April of this year seeking permission to 'repower' Hare Hill and the adjoining Hare Hill Extension, which currently have 55 turbines between them.
The company's proposals, if granted, would see a smaller number of turbines, 27, built at the site, with a maximum height of 250 metres, which would put them among the tallest wind turbines in Scotland.
The cash boost for the Townhead Park pitch works isn't the only funding help that CJCE has received recently: as reported by the Chronicle earlier this week, CJCE has received £31,000 in Scottish Government funding for its community work as part of efforts to eradicate child poverty.
READ MORE: Ayrshire football programmes given £300K funds boost to fight child poverty
Meanwhile, CJCE is now looking to hire driven community coaches to join their team.
The application deadline is June 24, and shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.
All queries and CVs are to be emailed to abby-cjce22@outlook.com.
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