Latest news with #TommyWhiteside
Daily Record
08-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
NHS Lanarkshire highlights garden projects to mark Green Health Week
Staff from the health board's grounds and biodiversity team are working with patients on garden improvements at a number of healthcare centres. NHS Lanarkshire is marking the current Green Health Week by highlighting the work of its grounds team – whose projects are supporting patients at facilities across the health board area. Staff in the grounds maintenance and biodiversity team help to encourage nature and environmental sustainability, with their projects including improving gardens at Udston Hospital and Caird House in Hamilton and at the Lanarkshire Beatson centre at Monklands Hospital. They are also working to add new pollinator-friendly plants at the health board's headquarters at Kirklands in Bothwell, and say the project will be a 'trailblazer rolled out across the wider estate'. Greenspace staff worked with patients at Caird House forensic mental health services base to rejuvenate the garden area, setting up a gardening group at the start of this year. Forensic support worker Tommy Whiteside said: 'The gardens needed some TLC and with the help of our community mental health, occupational therapy and grounds maintenance & biodiversity teams as well as patients, it is now starting to look amazing. 'The goal is to make the garden a welcoming place for everyone to use as well as give our patients a sense of achievement in the project they have engaged with. Feedback is that they feel pride on what they have completed and are looking forward to carrying on with the group, and they also feel it is more welcoming and relaxing.' Staff have also created new wildflower areas at the Udston CAMHS unit and improved the garden at the hospital's Brandon ward which supports patients with dementia, through funding from Vitalenergi, as well as improving the Beatson garden at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie. NHS Lanarkshire say greenspace accounts for more than one-third of its grounds, and say these 'can make a real difference to biodiversity to encourage having lots of variety in nature, which in turn keeps the planet in balance. 'This also offers specific patient groups a chance to take part in outdoor activities that promote social inclusion, can improve their mental health, or [allow them to] enjoy some time in nature during their visit.' Lanarkshire has a newly-created role of horticultural and biodiversity grounds manager, described as one of the first positions of its kind in NHS Scotland, and say their greenspaces provide benefits ranging from homes for plants, insects, birds and more, to the health and wellbeing impact for patients, staff and visitors. Head of sustainability and environmental performance Craig Brown said: 'NHS Lanarkshire is committed to improving our environmental sustainability, as well as making our sites a safe and clean place for staff, visitors and patients. 'Our greenspace accounts for 36 per cent of our grounds, and it's great to be able to use these spaces as an opportunity to support, and positively impact, those who spend time there, as well as contribute to the planet, environment and wildlife.' Green health partnership lead Vicki Trim said: 'Our work within the hospital gardens is possible thanks to the Greener Communities Fund, a partnership between NHS Charities Together and environmental charity Hubbub, supported by Starbucks' 5p cup. 'NHS Lanarkshire is working to provide good quality greenspaces to improve biodiversity. It also showcases how much patients and the wider community gain when we connect with different people and engage with the outdoors, so it's win-win for people and the planet.' * Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Coleraine FC seeks quarter of £36.2m stadium fund
Coleraine Football Club has applied for more than a quarter of the money available in a new fund aimed at improving stadiums in Northern Ireland. A total of £36.2m is to be shared out, and Coleraine wants £10m of it. Applications to the Northern Ireland Football Fund closed on Friday, with 41 clubs in the men's and women's game eligible to apply. A decision from the Department for Communities on the allocation of money is expected this summer. Glentoran, Cliftonville, Larne, Ballymena United and Derry City were among the clubs expected to apply to the fund, which was launched in January by Communities Minister Gordon Lyons. Coleraine has defended its application for a large slice of the £36.2m, saying it wants to turn its ground, The Showgrounds, into a "state-of-the-art footballing hub for the North West". A spokesperson for the club told BBC News NI: "Without this redevelopment, Coleraine FC could be without a home ground within the next five to 10 years. "The club's board has worked tirelessly to ensure that the North West Regional Stadium project is fully shovel-ready, positioning it for swift implementation upon securing funding." While many clubs have been reluctant to say exactly how much money they are seeking, Coleraine's decision to go public may lead to more bids becoming known. Tommy Whiteside, the treasurer of Crusaders Football Club said his club had also applied for a 'tier three bid' of at least £6m, adding that he believes that at least eight clubs would be making similar bids. Speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Ulster Programme he said that "teams who compete regularly in Europe need these facilities or they will not be able to play games at home". Mr Whiteside said the total amount on offer "isn't enough". "We've put in a strong bid and we will either be successful or we're not. "But won't it be great to see facilities in Northern Ireland football being invested money in," he said. "Even if we do miss out we'll be arguing for money in the future." At the end of last year, the Coleraine announced that a 24-year-old local property developer Henry Ross had become the club's new majority owner following a "significant investment". In order to be granted money, clubs must demonstrate they will contribute at least 5% of the total project costs. For council-owned grounds this rises to 40%. Last week, a proposal offering Derry City a long-term lease of their home ground to help them proceed with a multimillion-pound bid for funding was approved by councillors. Three levels of grants were available in the application process: projects with a total cost of up to £1.5m up to £6m more than £6m Although the total amount in the fund is £36.2m, some of that money may be distributed separately, to grassroots football and a proposed new national training centre. The Northern Ireland Football Fund dates back to 2011, when it was called the Sub-Regional Stadia Programme. When it was launched in January, Lyons admitted much more money than the existing £36.2m was needed but insisted the new fund was "only a beginning". An estimated £200m is required to bring facilities in Northern Ireland up to the necessary standard. The 41 clubs eligible to apply are all members of the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) or League of Ireland, and play their home matches at a venue located in Northern Ireland. Although applications closed at 17:00 on Friday, the Department for Communities has yet to reveal how many bids were received. A spokesperson said: "Applications are currently being reviewed before details are confirmed." Northern Ireland football fund open for applications Ross becomes Coleraine majority owner Stadium proposal to assist club with multi-million pound bid
BBC News
18-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Crusaders receive £2.2m funding boost for Seaview
Crusaders will use £2.2m of levelling-up funding from the UK Government to help make Seaview a "vital piece of community infrastructure".The money has been earmarked to develop a skills centre in the south stand of the stadium with the club believing it will "offer opportunities for people, young and old, to achieve and improve their lives""The club developed a very strong application and a robust business case within a very competitive, UK-wide challenge-fund," said Tommy Whiteside, the project director and treasurer of Crusaders."The skills centre will be a vital part of our infrastructure at Seaview as we seek to develop our premises as an open and welcoming modern small stadium."The facility will be open to the public and offer courses and vocational opportunities, as well as pathways to further and higher education partners. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said the funding will "help the local community to flourish" in north Belfast. He said: "It's wonderful to see that Crusaders FC's Seaview stadium in north Belfast, with its unique football heritage, will now be supporting new skills for the next generation."This state of the art skills centre will see the redevelopment of the south stand at Crusaders into a new community education, event and skills centre. The Shore Road facility will therefore help the local community to flourish."As this project shows, the UK Government's Plan for Change is delivering for people in Northern Ireland and across the rest of the UK, boosting skills and opportunities and enhancing the quality of life for local people."
