Nearly £1 million is to be invested to build two new mountain bike facilities in Glasgow.

The council has approved £940,000 to develop two sports facilities in the city - a new international standard BMX Centre in Knightswood and the mountain bike trails at Cathkin Braes Country Park.

The new BMX Centre will be built on the site of redundant red football pitches at Knightswood Recreation Ground. A total of £332,930 has been allocated for the project, which will also become home to the Western Titans BMX Club.

The main track will accommodate riders of all ages and abilities, and will feature eight and five metre start ramps for advanced riders.  There will also be a pump track for learners, and the tracks will be floodlit. Other features will inclide sanitary facilities, a meeting room, a car park and an access road from Archerhill Road. The playpark and MUGA (multi-use games area) on the edge of the current blaes pitches will remain.

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Elsewhere, £616,766 in funding is being provided towards the extension of the existing mountain bike trails and the creation of skills development areas at Cathkin Braes Country Park.

A new start/finish will be built to UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) standards for the European Championships located closer to the community in Castlemilk, with changes to the trails to ensure it can accommodate all abilities of riders.

Additional funding for the Cathkin Braes facility will come from Glasgow City Council, sportscotland and LandTrust.

Both facilities will be made competition venues for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships.

A council spokesman said: "This funding will add to Glasgow's outstanding collection of sporting facilities, with these two fantastic venues open for the people of Glasgow and our visitors to use, and capable of hosting local, national and international events. There will be fantastic opportunities for local communities to take part in the development of cycling in Glasgow."

(LM)