New Community Football Hub Proposed for Europark
A state-of-the-art community football hub has been proposed in our updated plans for Orchard Brae’s ambitious Europark development.
The nationally significant mixed-use development is situated in a prime location, along the M8 corridor, between Carnbroe, Calderbank and Chapelhall.
The impressive plans will see our partnership with Gartcairn Football Academy and stakeholders deliver a £2.5 million investment, creating a clubhouse, spacious changing rooms, and two FIFA Pro quality pitches. The hub would become the main base of the area’s Gartcairn Football Academy and is expected to welcome more than 700 young people per week.
Gartcairn Football Academy has been instrumental in the design and layout of the proposed community football hub to meet its ever-growing membership. Post-pandemic, the club has seen a surge of interest peaking at more than 800 per cent, with particular interest from young women looking to get into the sport.
In the meantime, we have committed to supporting the club by providing new facilities at their current site within Airdrie Leisure Centre including changing rooms, public toilets and a kitchen area.
Local man Robert McCallum, who runs the academy, said: “We are very excited at the prospect of a new home that will meet the needs of our young people perfectly. Sport is so much more than just competition, it is about diversified friendship, learning to work as a team, health and mental wellbeing as well as building confidence, so a hub like this will be ideal for the club and its young people to continue to thrive.
“The interim support we have received has helped us greatly. It means our young people have a proper facility to change and prepare for games, while ensuring we can accommodate the rise in numbers of young people attending each week, so it’s a fantastic addition.
“The overall plans for Europark bring together a strong sense of community through the country park, neighbourhood centre area, new school and the community sports facility. It has potential to bring investment, jobs and much-needed new homes, including affordable housing. We are very much look forward to seeing these plans progress and hopefully come to fruition to become something that the area can be truly proud of.”
Gartcairn Football Academy was set up in 2007 and is a registered charity in Scotland. Its ethos is ‘those who wish to play, shall play’, welcoming children of all abilities into the sport with the emphasis on wellbeing, playing and friendship.
The new community hub fits in well to the plans for the Europark development, which will include 980 homes in exclusive pockets surrounded by lush parkland. Approximately 60 per cent of the development will remain green and will be home to a new country park which will be the jewel in the crown. The proposals support wellbeing and a strong lifestyle balance, whilst protecting much of the woodland and heritage sites such as the North Calder water Canal which runs through the site.
Steven Tucker, master planner and spokesperson for Orchard Brae, said: “We are excited to help support and include this new state-of-the-art football complex within our plans. Post-pandemic, we recognise the importance to create a development that has community as its very core, and this is something we have carefully considered when revising the plans for EuroPark.
“We aspire to create a sustainable place to live, work and play with a strong emphasis on wellbeing, community and carbon net-zero to meet the needs of 21st century living. We are confident that with the addition of the neighbourhood centre, creating the community football facility and the employment hub, that the mix is just right.”
Orchard Brae Ltd has submitted updated and enhanced plans to North Lanarkshire Council for its landmark Europark development.
Europark remains one of the most exciting and significant proposals of its kind progressing through the Scottish planning system. It has a prime location on the M8 corridor, adjacent to the Eurocentral and Maxim business hubs.
