Orkney Islands Council has secured £1.2m from sportscotland for a new swimming pool and squash courts at the Picky Centre.

The project will see a new pool built at Picky which will be 25m long, contain six lanes and will have a moving floor and an adjacent area of leisure waters which includes a shallow/beach recreation area and a number of other minor leisure facilities. Three new squash courts will also be built

Kieran Henderson, the Council's Recreation Services Manager, said: "We are delighted to have secured this funding for the project, which is an important part of the Council's Schools Investment Programme.

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"We received the maximum award applied for in our application and the highest award out of the eight projects to receive grants by sportscotland in this cycle of bids. We feel that this is a strong indicator of the importance of physical activity in Orkney and the recognition of this by sportscotland and the Scottish Government."

The Council's allocation is part of a substantial investment of nearly £3.5m to improve sports facilities across the country, as part of its drive to increase participation and deliver a legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Louise Martin CBE, Chair of sportscotland said: "The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 provide a clear focus and opportunity to develop many aspects of Scotland's sporting infrastructure. We believe that improving Scotland's stock of sports facilities across the country is one of the most important and greatest challenges which we must jointly tackle if we are to encourage more people to become active.

"Our investment of £3,415,499 from existing resources demonstrates sportscotland's commitment to starting now to address this issue and maximise the benefits that hosting such a major Games can bring."

(GK/JM)