sporsnis

SPORSNIS FACEBOOK

2011-07-12T13:42:00.002+01:00

Sporsnis now has a Facebook page so for any up and coming events or whats new at Sporsnis just type in Sporsnis in your Facebook search box and confirm that you like us.

Bowling Alley - Now Open

2010-08-31T14:26:00.004Z

We are delighted to announce that the long awaited bowling alley is now open.

Prices are £3.60 per game for an adult and £2.60 per game for Under 16's and Over 60's. We also offer a family ticket for 2 adults and up to 3 children for the bargain price of £10.20 per game.

To book please call reception on 01851 810 039.

What about a gift voucher for those hard-to-buy for relatives? Available from Sporsnis reception.

Opening hours for all Sporsnis facilities are:

Monday, Friday and Saturday 12pm - 9pm
Tuesday and Thursday 10am - 9pm
Wednesday 12pm - 10pm
Sunday Closed

However opening hours are subject to change and we will do our best to accommodate bookings outwith these hours.

fios reports opening ceremony celebrations

2008-08-20T03:57:00.008+01:00

Guests and officials from throughout the island joined the north Lewis community on Friday the 25th July to celebrate the official opening of the new £2.1 million state-of-the-art spòrsnis facilities at Lionel School.

The opening ceremony was launched by Chairman of the spòrsnis committee, Calum Iain MacLeod. Outlining some of the key milestones, Mr MacLeod thanked the many individuals and companies who had supported the organisation over the years. He also highlighted the work that had been put into the centre over the past thirteen years by the committee members, finishing with thanks to the community of Ness for their patience and understanding.

Anne Macaulay from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Alex MacDonald, the Convener of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, also gave speeches, summing up the achievement of the Ness community. The official part of the evening was concluded with school pupils from each of the three local schools, Catriona Rennie from Airidhantuim, Joseph Wilson from Lionel, and Katie MacDonald from Cross, unveiling a plaque in the Main Hall that commemorates the various individuals and organisations that have supported the spòrsnis project over the years.

In the evening a family ceilidh took place in the Main Hall which was well attended by the community. Entertainment was provided by the Ness Melodeon Band, the Eilean an Fhraoich Pipe Band, Oidhche Chiadain, Ceitlin Smith and Eilidh Maciver and the young sisters from Cross, Rachel and Kirsteen Macritchie.

Opening

2008-06-13T14:20:00.002+01:00

Yes really!!!
We're finally there and 7th July is the date.
There's been alot happening behind the scenes... More of that soon but this is just a quick message to let you know the good news.

see you soon we hope

Sláinte

Fios report

2007-02-23T12:47:00.000Z

Sporsnis Reaches the Finishing Line

With work having recommenced on the Sporsnis project it seems completion is not too far away. At a committee meeting last Monday night it was agreed to hold a public meeting to raise awareness in the community again, now that things are reaching a climax.

It is nearly 12 years since the first public meeting about the proposed Sport’s Centre took place, and now the £2M building should be finished by May, according to Gordon Anderson, Project Manager, who attended the meeting and gave a progress report to those present.

The building features a range of facilities including a cavernous sports hall which could also be used for a variety of functions such as conferences and social events. There is a large sauna, shower, toilet and changing area, which no doubt will prove popular, particularly in the winter months! The state of the art fitness suite will accommodate all ages and will be equipped with cycling machines, treadmills, multigym and a concept rower.

In this day and age, when the watchwords seem to be ‘global warming’, this impressive building boasts £200,000 worth of renewables in the shape of two wind turbines on Lionel machair behind the school and a ground source heat exchanger. With these in place it is hoped that the building’s heating system will be totally self sufficient.

Speaking to Fios, Chairman Calum Iain Macleod said: ‘Work is progressing well at the Sporsnis centre with completion expected in May and the centre opening shortly afterwards. It is a really exciting time and it is hard to believe that, after 12 years of hard work by both the Sporsnis committee and the community that the finishing line is now in sight. The sporsnis committee still has a great deal of work to do prior to the opening of the centre and we hope people turn out on Friday to show their support and also that we get some new blood on to the organising committee. It is acknowledged that different skills will be required in running the centre to the skills required in getting the building completed and I sincerely hope that people with the necessary skills are happy to volunteer their time. We have been delighted with the support we have had from the community over the years and trust that this support continues. Then committee are extremely grateful too for the many monetary donations that have been made.

This is the last push to get the building open and we would stress that funds are still required and more fundraising events will be organised to raise the money to buy the finishing touches such as chairs tables and crockery. We are also extremely thankful to all our funders for their support and their patience, in particular, Members and officers of both Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and HIE Innse Gall.’

This has probably been the biggest and most complex capital project to come to Ness, and the dedication and determination of the committee, and the commitment of the community to achieving this is to be applauded. No long hike over the Barvas Moor now, and no excuse either not to get fit!

To facilitate more fundraising the website www.sporsnis.co.uk has been redesigned by Helen Alexander to allow donations to be made online.

a public meeting - 2nd March 2007

2007-02-20T17:44:00.000Z

Things are looking up for the completion of the spòrsnis structure. After last night's meeting with the project manager we hear that work could be completed in the middle of this year. As many will know with any building project like this there are often things to juggle with hold ups from small to large. This makes forcasting a completion date some thing a kin to "don't count you're chickens..." but we're definately getting there bit by bit.

A full update will be available at the public meeting to be held on the 2nd of March (2007). This will be in Lionel School at 7.30pm so please come along and support it. Making this a priority will help refresh the project's momentum and support the existing work as it continues towards completion.

It is of course vital we make a move to generate income for the equipment and furnishings now and we are looking for input from everyone so we can have the centre up and running as soon as possible.

See you there...

Spòrsnis team

2007-02-18T17:12:00.000Z

There are many contributors to the team work which makes such a project as spòrsnis happen in a community. I'm just writting as one who has set up the webpage and this news blog. This should be useful and interesting way of keeping you up to date and well informed about the progress of the scheme so I've sent out some invites to team members to open up the ability to post here on this news page. It's great to see Calum Iain has signed up - he's our chairman so keeps his finger on the pulse of all things spòrsnis, but there are many more still to come (though it is appreciated that some who provide vital support may not wish to do the "web thing").

There are quite a few email addresses that I am short of, so please, if you are involved in the development of spòrsnis and would like to post here but haven't received an invite, let me know by dropping me a line at sporsnis@sporsnis.co.uk and giving me your email address so that I can add you.

Welcome to spòrsnis online news

2007-01-30T21:20:00.000Z

To start the new year off we are updating the look of the spòrsnis website and have designed this journal space to keep you up to date with information on the project as it is available.

We've added many of the reports over the last couple of years for you to have a look through, as they illustrate the hard work and dedication of the community in this ongoing development.

The building is now looking like the realisation of the architects drawings but there is still much to do inside and we are looking forward to raising the funds to continue the project soon.

From the spòrsnis committee

2005-08-26T01:23:00.000Z

WE WERE ALL saddened and shocked with the news of John “Balloch” Matheson’s death. He will be sorely missed. John worked on spòrsnis for several months in 2000 and indeed was responsible for our successful funding application to Sportscotland.

Committee members Norman Thomson and Iain Gordon Macdonald met with Donald MacRitchie (Domhnall a’ Mhinisteir ex 26 Swainbost) recently to discuss assistance with the carriage of equipment from London to Ness. Donald is delighted to help and has offered to collect and deliver the equipment at no cost to spòrsnis. This is a wonderful gesture and will save us a substantial sum. He is also happy to assist with any other equipment we may require to be delivered. We are grateful to Donald for this. Donald and his wife Catriona were given a guided tour of spòrsnis with which they were most impressed.

The pace of work at the site has now increased considerably following the trade holidays and we will continue to monitor progress and report significant developments.

blue is the colour

2005-08-12T01:22:00.000Z

TWELVE MONTHS ago building work started at the spòrsnis site and, with the main structure now in place, the community eagerly awaits the completion of what promises to be a wonderful facility.
Last week, some of the Spòrsnis Board met with Gordon Anderson of the consultant architects, Anderson Associates, to consider colour schemes for the internal and external walls. The main hall will be finished in sky-blue with the other spaces mostly in pastel colours with brighter finishes to the exposed steelwork.
With more of the main contractor’s workforce now back on site following a two week break, painting and finishing the interior will start to give a clearer picture of what the centre will finally look like. It is already impressive, with excellent design features, notably the all-round viewing gallery on the first floor, the attractive entrance/reception area and the good natural daylight for the central main hall through the clever positioning of the roof windows. There are splendid views from many of the rooms across the machair towards Traigh Shanndaidh and Eoropie Dunes.
No date has been set for the opening but it should be early in 2006. Some funding is still required to furnish and fit out the spaces and the committee is busy examining all the options.

spòrsnis update

2005-07-14T01:22:00.000Z

The largest and probably the most complex building project ever undertaken in north Lewis is progressing well with the new community facility at Lionel now two-thirds of the way to completion. Work on the internal walls of the £1.9M centre adjacent to Sgoil Liònail is almost complete. New boilers are being installed along with a sophisticated energy management system to link in the innovative renewables which are expected to account for 80% of the power requirements. A system to monitor closely the contribution from renewables is also being considered.

At the regular committee meeting on Monday, Chairman Calum Macleod, gave an update on the funding requirements to equip and fit out the facility. An estimated £85,000 will be needed and the committee is engaged in a number of fundraising events and applications to funding bodies. One of the items agreed was a regular competition in fios which appears for the first time in this issue.

The fine detail of some of the equipment and the internal finishes is now being considered. The installation of a climbing wall in a corner of the main hall was agreed subject to funding and suitability of the hall.
A number of external works require to be undertaken including: upgrade of the access from the main road to the school with the provision of a footpath; provision of water storage tanks to increase the water pressure, as the present system is not adequate, and the re-instatement of one of the two all-weather courts adjacent to the school, one of which was damaged and the other on which part of the new facility is built.

A representative of one of the private trusts which has already supported the project visited the site last week. Christine Scullion of the Robertson Trust was given a guided tour of the facility by Norman Thomson and was reported to be ‘very impressed’ with the development, and particularly delighted with the close proximity to the school. Norman also took Mrs Scullion to see the GAIN playpark with which she was equally impressed. The Robertson Trust was established by the Miss Robertson Sisters in May 1961. Miss Elspeth, Miss Agnes and Miss Ethel Robertson inherited, from their father William, a controlling interest in Robertson & Baxter and Clyde Bonding Company now known as The Edrington Group.

spòrsnis - past, present and future

2005-07-01T01:21:00.000Z

A look back at ten years in the making of the spòrsnis project was the focus of a presentation by the chairman Calum I Macleod at Lionel School earlier this week. It was also an opportunity to look forward to the expected completion of the centre early in 2006 and address some of the challenges of successfully running the facility once it opens.

Almost ten years to the day since the public meeting resulting in the formation of Ness Sports and Recreation Association, and in the very same classroom in Lionel School, Mr Macleod highlighted the major milestones of the project at the public meeting on Monday evening. He noted that almost everyone on the original committee was still involved and thanked them for the amazing spirit of co-operation and unity throughout the ten years. He recalled the many plans that had been produced and the struggle to raise the funds to provide a facility which would meet the community’s aspirations. He thanked the many bodies which had supported the project and continued to do so.

The first breakthrough in the fundraising came when Sportscotland approved a grant of £500,000 back in 2000. This was followed by a similar commitment from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. There was generous support from Western Isles Enterprise and substantial European funding along with contributions from Crofters’ Commission, Robertson Trust, Gannochy Trust and the Hugh Fraser Foundation. There were several large private donations and tremendous support for the many local fundraising initiatives which included the launch of fios, a door-to-door collection, sponsored walks, curry nights, ceilidhs, carnival and a grand raffle. Additional funds were secured for the renewable energy elements.A community appraisal was conducted which resulted in 927 individual responses - a return of 85% - and over 30 local organisations sent in letters of support. All these helped to secure commitment from the funders and inform the design of the facility.

Early last year the design team led by Neil Ferguson of the Comhairle’s Technical Services Consultancy finalised the plans and the detailed specification. Tenders were invited from six contractors and of the three that responded the lowest was from Alex Murray Construction.A number of savings had to be introduced to match the funding available. This was achieved without having to reduce the overall size of the building and construction started in June 2004. The design team, including representatives of the spòrsnis committee, continue to monitor progress and have regular meetings with the consultant architect and the contractor.

Mr Macleod then invited questions and comments especially about how to make the best use of the available spaces.In response to one question he confirmed that funding was still required for equipment and furniture. This was expected to cost in the region of £80,000, some of which was already secured. There was a suggestion that the new status of the nearby Loch Stiapabhat as a Local Nature Reserve could benefit the centre through provision of interpretation facilities. Other suggestions included beautician/stylist service, a soft play area and crèche, and youth café space.

It was confirmed that the intention is to have the centre open to the public every day till 10pm. The programme for the day-time let of the main hall will link in with the school timetable with slots for community use each day and all evening. One full time post is expected to be created to manage the centre with a number of part-timers.

Mr Macleod thanked everyone for their contributions. He thanked the design team and many of the Departments of the Council for ongoing excellent support and finally paid special tribute to Carola Bell for her unstinting work. “If it wasn’t for Carola we would certainly not be at this stage with the project today.”

local cadets support spòrsnis

2005-06-17T01:19:00.000Z

SPÒRSNIS HAS RECEIVED a donation of £200 from the Ness Detachment of the 1st Highlanders ACF. At the Cadets weekly drill at their base in Lionel on Monday evening, the cheque was presented by Lance Corporal Alasdair Smith to Donald A Morrison, vice-chairman of the spòrsnis committee. Thanking the cadets for their donation, Mr Morrison said: “I want to pay tribute to you all for making this very generous donation from your hard earned funds. We are delighted that you are able to support us financially but also for your interest in the centre. I’m sure that you will enjoy the facilities that will be on offer at spòrsnis early next year and behalf of the spòrsnis committee I wish you well in your activities over the summer months and for the future.”Detachment commander C/Sgt Anne Marvin explained how they had raised the funds: “On 14 May eight of us walked across the moor from Tolsta to Ness. It was a fine day and we all enjoyed it. We raised around £400 - we decided to split the money with spòrsnis and the rest will go towards buying some adventure training gear.”

The Ness ACF Detachment has been active for many years and is always encouraging more local youngsters to join up. There is an action packed programme including a two week summer camp and participation in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme at various levels over the coming year. Recently they had a weekend away in Benbecula where they took part in clay pigeon shooting, abseiling, rock climbing, mountain biking and experienced the rigours of camping out in the Hebrides in summer.Later in the summer Corporal Emma Wren will be one of 13 cadets from Scotland going to Fallingbostel in Germany for training.

Any youngster interested in joining the cadets can go along to the Lionel Old Schoolhouse on a Monday evening and speak to the cadets and the instructors and see for themselves what is involved.

early 2006 opening predicted for spòrsnis

2005-05-17T01:17:00.000Z

Completion of the new community facility at Lionel is now expected early next year.

With the external structure of the £2M complex now largely in place, and mechanical and electrical services being installed, the design team is confident that an opening date in January or February can safely be predicted. But as with all major projects – and spòrsnis is the largest and most complex building contract ever awarded in Ness – there could be delays. However the spòrsnis committee will continue to monitor progress and intends to have regular updates in fios and on the new website www.sporsnis.co.uk.

A public meeting will be held in Lionel School on Monday 27 June at 8pm, where a presentation will be made to give everyone a preview of what will be on offer. The committee encourages all potential users of the facility including community groups to come along to the presentation and contribute their views particularly on the preferred use of some of the rooms and spaces allocated for child care and life long learning.

The committee is now engaged in finalising the specifications for some of the main leisure equipment. The £50,000 roller bowl package has been ordered from the leading supplier, Brunswick, and negotiations are in progress with Technogym UK to supply top quality units for the fitness suite. Each piece of gym equipment will be fitted with a TV monitor to ensure we can all get fit but not miss out on the latest instalment of our favourite soap. A £6000 sauna unit is to be supplied by Nordic Saunas. The logistics of running the centre once it opens is also being considered with visits planned to other similar community facilities next month. Fund raising to ensure the centre will be fitted out with the many pieces of furniture and equipment required continues.

The recent raffle raised about £2500 and the local Army Cadets contributed £200 from their sponsored walk in May. Spòrsnis Chairman, Calum Iain Macleod said: “The committee is grateful to all who supported the recent raffle and for the very generous prizes offered by the sponsors, Scottish Coop, Kenneth McLennan (Oils) and BP. We are also very thankful for the contribution from the cadets and for all who have supported the project over the past ten years.”

sporsnis fundraiser

2005-04-16T01:14:00.000Z

Sally Bell pushed herself to the limits today by entering the Edinburgh University Sprint Tri-Athlon.

As reported in "fios" last week...

SPÒRSNIS COFFERS will soon be topping up thanks to the efforts of
South Dell student Sally Bell and her pals from St Andrews University. The gruelling event will push them to the limits with a 750m swim, an 18km cycle and a 5km run.

Co-athletes Carie Hoover and Toby Reynolds visited Ness with Sally in
January and were so impressed with the place and its people that they too
decided to take part in the event and raise funds for spòrnis.

The three athletes will be in top condition for next week’s event but Sally admitted to fios that she was not quite the picture of peak health a few months ago.

“All three of us have been following a training programme dowloaded
from the internet called ‘From Couch Potato to Triathlete in 12 Weeks’ and
have made great progress. I wasn’t quite a couch potato but I was certainly
not up to a trithalon then. Now, a few months later, we are all quite confident
of finishing in good form.”

More news of how they got on will be here soon...

Well done for so much effort guys.

Gymnastics winners

2005-03-25T01:12:00.000Z

THE LEWIS & HARRIS Sports Festival Gymnastics competition was held in Stornoway last week and four of our local youngsters performed in the event. Pictured above are, Ceitlin Russell Smith who won both a Gold and Silver medal in the Under 14s, Katie Vann, who won 2 golds in the Under 12s, Laramie Finlayson, who won 2 Bronze medals in the Girls under 10s and Calum Vann who won 2 silver medals in the Boys Under 10s. Congratulations to all four of them and to their coach Catriona Macaulay of Cross Skigersta Road.

New funds for spòrsnis

2005-02-25T01:11:00.000Z

THE SPÒRSNIS facility came one step closer this week with the announcement of £77,000 worth of new funding for the first phase of equiping the centre with the large scale capital items needed for the 10-pin bowling run and for the Sauna.

The funding is made up of £20,000 from the Comhairle’s Capital Grants Scheme for community initiated projects, £17,000 from the European funded Economic Development Programme and £40,000 from Western Isles Enterprise. A small shortfall of £8000 is still to be found for this first phase and fundraising will continue over the coming months.

Carola Bell of the spòrsnis committee told fios, “We are taking it one step at a time and are now looking at the fitting out and equipment required for other areas of the building. This includes the Childcare area and the Learning spaces. There’s also all the smaller equipment like tables and chairs and sports equipment. There’s still a long way to go before the the building is ready for use and the fund raising is finished, but the effort by the community and the support of public funders have been the vital ingredients to get the project this far and everyone is determined that spòrsnis will be an excellent
and well equipped facility.”

Although the project has suffered minor delays due to the recent storms, the committee are confident that the building will be up and running by the end of this year.

Spòrsnis latest

2005-02-11T01:05:00.000Z

CONSTRUCTION of the sporsnis building at Lionel was delayed by the recent storms but no serious damage was caused to the structure.

The committee met on Tuesday and are confident that the work will be completed by the end of this year and that the district will have a state-of-the-art community facility.

There will be fundraining events in the coming months to ensure that the Centre will be fitted out to a high standard.

Spòrsnis shapes up

2004-11-05T01:04:00.000Z

THE NEW community sports facility at Lionel School is progressing well and the site of its huge, red steel skeleton framed against our winter skies brings hope to the hearts of those of us who have so far failed to acheieve ‘peak fitness’.

The concrete foundations are all in place and the steel work is well on the way to being finished by the end of this month. The new facility will include £200,000 worth of renewables in the shape of two wind turbines on the machair behind the school and a ground source heat exchanger. The exchanger is known in the trade as a ‘slinky’ and consists of around 375 metres of coiled pipe buried under the ground. The pipe acts as a closed circuit, pumping water around the system. The water begins its journey at a temperature of 5º, comes back above ground level at 10º and is then fed into a compressor which reduces this large quantity of low temperature heat to a smalller quantity of higher temperature heat allowing it to reach the average 30-40º needed to operate the under floor heating system. As the turbines provide all the electricity needed to operate the slinky, it is hoped that the building’s heating sysytem will be totally self sufficient.

Site Manager Iain Donald Macdonald who gave fios a guided tour of the work in progress. He said,“We have a team of eight here, most of them Ness and West Side boys and we’ve been working away at the foundation stage with not much to show for our efforts – all the work being at or below ground level. But now the structure is up, you get a better feel for the building – and I have to say, its looking good.” The next phase will involve the block work walls and the constuction of the roof and for that, the team need good weather. Alec Murray told fios he was pleased with the job so far and had every hope of completing the project on time and on target.

Calum Iain Macleod, Spòrsnis chair, added, “We are absolutely delighted with the progress so far. Fundraising work will continue to ensure that the new building will be fully equiped when it opens in November 2005”

Spòrsnis Ltd

2004-10-08T01:04:00.000Z

FUND RAISING for the spòrsnis community facility at Lionel School is continuing and the committee will shortly be exploring a number of options relating to the furnishing and equipping of the centre.

Following legal and financial advice, the committee has agreed that the existing voluntary organisation should be wound up and replaced by a company limited by guarantee. This offers a better structure for the organisation and ensures that members’ interests are protected.

The new company will have the same name as the existing voluntary body – Ness Sports and Recreation Association.

£10,000 spòrsnis donation

2004-09-24T01:06:00.000Z

ANGUS JOHN GILLIES, who is well known to fios readers for his occasional letters from Canada, has remembered the community he was brought up in in a very tangible form with a donation of £10,000 to the spòrsnis project. His cheque was received on Saturday by spòrsnis treasurer Christina Maclean.

Angus John - a close friend of Christina’s late father Ruairidh Bàn Morrison - has agreed to his donation being acknowledged publicly in the “hope that it might encourage others to contribute.” fios readers may recall an earlier, £10,000 private donation to spòrsnis which it has now revealed was also from Angus John - making an incredible total donation of £20,000 towards the new community facility being built at Lionel.

Calum Iain Macleod, sporsnis chairman said,
"This is absolutely wonderful news. The whole community will, I am sure, join all of us involved in the spòrsnis project, in warmly thanking AngusJohn for his truly generous contributions".

Sitework starts at sporsnis but fundraising efforts continue

2004-08-13T00:57:00.000Z

THE building of a state-of-theart community facility, adjacent to Lionel School, has now started with local contractor Alex Murray (Construction) Ltd screening off the site and commencing the groundworks.

The sporsnis committee has been involved in the project since June 1995 and a major milestone has now been reached with the help of a generous community and regional national and European funding agencies. However the fundraising committee and other volunteers are still very active to ensure that the new centre can be fitted out with top quality equipment.

Recently a family barbecue was held at the Eoropie Dunes park and a car treasure hunt organised to raise funds. More activities are planned throughout the coming months.

Treasure trail leads to Cross

2004-07-30T00:56:00.000Z

CONGRATULATIONS to the winning team in Tuesday nights Spòrsnis fundraiser Treasure Trail.

Danda, his wife Marie, their daughter Donna and Marie’s sister Suzanne and brother John are the lucky winners of a fine commerorative plaque and a free
MOT courtesy of Galson Motors - (With Suzanne now a qualified driver, there is a fight on for the MOT).

The trail started at the Social Club with the first clue “He may be a small dot but we wish him well” which led to Dotag’s garden - ten clues later brought the trail to a close at the Sheriffs with the following clue “This man can
clothe you or arrest you”.

Nine cars took part in the event and the spòrsnis committee would like to thank them, and everyone who helped organise the event, for their efforts.

spòrsnis community quiz

2004-07-02T00:55:00.000Z

Congratulations to the ‘fios’ team, pictured right, who won last Saturday’s spòrsnis Community Quiz - worthy champions, we feel!

Spòrsnis contract out to tender

2004-04-09T00:54:00.000Z

AN IMPORTANT milestone in the Spòrsnis project was reached last Monday (5 April) with the delivery of the tender documents to all the interested contractors. The detailed plans and specifications were produced by the Comhairle’s Technical Services Consultancy along with Anderson Associates Architects, under the guidance of Neil Ferguson. It is
expected that tender documents will be returned by 30 April with an anticipated site start of Monday 31 May.

The facility is the largest capital project ever to come to Ness and features an 18 x 27 metre multi-purpose hall, a ten-pin bowling area, fitness suite and sauna, child care and play facilities and community learning and resource areas.

At the Spòrsnis AGM on 26 March, chairman Calum I Macleod thanked the Committee for their continuing hard work on the project and paid particular thanks to Carola Bell, Project Officer, and the other members of the Sporsnis/Design Team Working Group who had overseen the technical aspects of the project over the past few months. He paid tribute to officers at both Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and Iomairt nan Eilean Siar for their continuing support and to other main funders for getting the project to this stage. He paid particular thanks to the local community which had been so supportive over the years. On the financial front, over the past year, there had been individual anonymous donations of £10,000 and £5,000 as well as a donation of £2,000 from Ness Football Club. There had also been donations from various other charitable organisations.

He said: “We are now on the threshold of meeting the aspirations of both committee and community following the inaugural public meeting of sporsnis in June 1995. I am confident that, what started off that night as a dream will, over the next 18 months, become a reality and that we will have a first class, state-of-the-art facility.”

Because of financial constraints, fitting out of some of the spaces, including the bowling alley and the fitness suite are not currently included in the first building phase. It is however hoped that local fundraising will continue and will enable these facilities to be completed at the same time as the main contract. Several key fundraising events have already been planned for the coming weeks and months. The Chairman urged all members of the community to have one last push at fundraising, and to support future
events to ensure that all facilities be included on the opening day, hopefully in autumn 2005.

The following were elected to the Committee for the coming year:
Chairman – CI Macleod,
Vice-Chairman – DA Morrison,
Secretary – IG Macdonald,
Treasurer – C Maclean
Committee Members – I Gillies, N Thomson, P Murray, A Morrison, JM Macfarlane, KA Campbell, N Finlayson

The hard work and perseverance of the community pays off -

2004-01-30T00:52:00.000Z

The building of the state-of-the-art spòrsnis community facility is moving ahead with momentum and work on the site is scheduled to start in just a few months. The overall design is now cast in stone and tender documents will go out by 26 March, with the selected contractor starting work at the Lionel School site on 31 May. Construction work is expected to last for 15 months.

Gordon Anderson of Gordon Anderson Associates, the Architect appointed by CNES, is now progressing the detail design, supported by a number of other professional companies. A small local working group comprising Carola Bell, Kenneth Angus Campbell and Norman Thomson has been appointed to work closely with CNES’s Design Team and the Architect over the coming weeks and during the tendering period.

The funding package for the £1.5 million building is in place, the most recent award amounting to £360K from HISTP. An additional sum of around £200,000 has also been secured for renewable energy measures which will result in much reduced running costs for the building. Further funding will be sought to complete the fitting out of some of the spaces such as ten-pin bowling, the health and fitness suite and soft-play area. The spòrsnis committee will shortly launch a new local fundraising drive with a dedicated team to lead the campaign.

“It is very exciting, after many years of work on this project, to know
that it is at last going to happen – it will be of enormous benefit to everyone in the community.” Calum Iain Macleod, spòrsnis Chairman

Phase One of the construction will include:
• Main Hall
• Team changing area
• Social area / Roller Bowl
• Ramps and Special-needs access and platform lift
• Minimal landscape works, drainage and car parking
• Reception / vestibule
• Storage
• All age fitness suite
• Seminar room / conference suite.
• Seminar room / music room with adjoining stores
• Sauna (including toilet / shower / changing)
• First aid / nappy changing area / small kitchen
• General office
• Mechanical & electrical plant area

Plus remodelling the existing school area by the provision of school wet weather area & storage at gym / stage level, the provision of sauna & toilets / changing by relocation of the Depute Head Teacher’s room.

solar power lights the way

2003-06-20T00:49:00.000Z

The spòrsnis community facility at Lionel is to receive a grant of £42,000 for solar panels to reduce the running costs of the proposed £1.8M building.
Brian Wilson, the former Energy Minister who resigned recently, announced last week that the project was one of 21 throughout the UK to share £2m for new renewable energy features.

Mr Wilson said:
“Solar power is an increasingly important part of the renewable energy revolution. It is a clean and low impact source of energy that is making a valuable contribution to reducing our carbon dioxide emissions.”

The funding is part of the DTI’s £20m Photovoltaic Major Demonstration Programme. Photovoltaic panels contain cells that generate electricity directly from light and can be incorporated into building products for use as roofing or cladding. The units to be installed in the Lionel facility
will be a 10.2kWp monocrystalline photovoltaic system consisting of BP Solar 5170 modules which will be mounted on the roof of the building.

Calum I Macleod, Chairman of the spòrnis project warmly welcomed the announcement and paid tribute to the Solar power lights the way Comhairle’s design team. He said: “This is excellent news and is all down to the hard work and dedication of Donald Macritchie and team working on the energy saving features of the spornis building.” Mr MacLeod said that the project was to go out to tender shortly with a proposed start date in the autumn.