NEW MULTI-SPORT BUILDING FINISHED

On Friday, Yate Town Council got the keys from the builder for the new multi-sports building on its land at YOSC - behind Brimsham Green School. This has been funded with grants from Sport England, environmental trusts and the Town Council. It will provide a new home for Yate Boxing Club and other indoor users. If you are looking for a new home for indoor sports - check it out.

The photo shows Karl Tomasin and Chris Willmore from the project group with the architects, builders, boxer, and other project group members at the handover this week.

When it is kitted out, it will have a boxing ring, punch bags, mirrors and other training kit. If you would like to sponsor the building, its kitting out or help in any way please contact  chriswillmore@blueyonder.co.uk

WORK RESTARTS ON YATE NEW SPORTS BUILDING

Work has restarted on the new multi-use sports hall being built by Yate Town Council behind Brimsham green School. Project chair, Chris Willmore commented - it was sad when work had to stop, because of COVID, but now it is leaping forward.

This will be a new home for the Yate Boxing Club and other sport and dance groups, within YOSC

PATH ACROSS YOSC CLOSED

Wessex are laying the new main sewer/drainage for the Ladden Garden Development across the YOSC sports pitches and Brimsham Green School pitches in the next few weeks. So the public footpath will be closed. Work is due to start on Mon 1 June. Here is the diversion.

Work starts on new 'multi-activity' sport building for Yate

This week the trenches have been dug starting work on a new sports building at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex - behind Brimsham green School. The building is being funded by Yate Town Council with grants from Sport England and help from Yate Boxing Club.  It will provide a new home for the boxing club and space for lots of other local sports.

The photo shows the Councillors who have been leading the project on site with the contractors  and Yate Town Council estates manager as work starts.

Focus Team win cash for Yate Outdoor Disabled Sports

At last, we have got confirmation that we will be getting a grant for more kit for disabled sports at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex. (You may have seen reports of this in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago, but that was a press release from someone who had not been involved in the grant process, and just heard we had an application in and we were likely to get the money.) Now it has been confirmed.

This is £57,618 for track and field equipment for disabled athletes at YOSC and some additional drainage work.

If you've never been to YOSC or don't know where it is, it is worth going up to have a look. You could pop in and have a drink in the bar and find out more.

A committee, made up of councillors from  the Focus Team  have raised over £1.5MILLION to do the site up since South Gloucestershire transferred it back to Yate Town Council. South Glos had let it get run down, but it now  brand new athletics track and field, a target sprint  facility, brand new all weather surface for hockey and football, grass pitches and work starts next week on a new multi use indoor sports building. All paid for by money the committee has raised from local businesses, councils, Sport England and developers.

The entire facility is run by a group of volunteers, called YOSC Ltd - transforming it from a site that lost £190k a year when S Glos run it, into a self financing project without putting up charges!

Princess Anne visited the site last year to congratulate the councillors and volunteers who have transformed the facility.  So if you are interested in sport, and have not been, do check it out.

(Head for Brimsham Green School and just beyond the School you will find the access road)

Photo - users, volunteers, members of the Focus Team, town council staff and contractors at the handover of the upgraded facilities.

Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC) athletics improvements open, astroturf project starting

Yate Town Council has announced that the refurbished and enhanced track and athletics facilities at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC) are now open for business. Local athletes can resume use of the now greatly enhanced facilities.

Councillor Chris Willmore, Chair of the Project Steering Group commented:

"We are delighted that local athletes now have access to a completely upgraded facility that will last another 25 years, and give disabled athletes, Brimsham Green School pupils and athletes of all ages international quality facilities.”

The first community event to take place at YOSC on the track was the annual Relay for Life on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th July 2019.

In August a Guinness World Record Attempt will be taking place at YOSC. The event will be held on the athletics track, with a relay of 105 people covering the marathon distance of 42,195m, combined with target sprint shooting.

This month sees the next big project at YOSC - Yate Town Council's AstroTurf refurbishment project. Yate Town Council has raised funds through Sport England, Ibstock & Entrust Communities and Suez Landfill Community Trust to replace the AstroTurf and to upgrade the current pitch to competitive standard. 

The works will take place during the summer holiday period and are due to be completed by the end of August 2019.

YOSC is a multisport site including an athletics track, grass pitches and a sand-based AstroTurf pitch adjacent to Brimsham School in North Yate.

Developers' money to fund improvements at YOSC, Chipping Sodbury Rugby Club, Blakeney Mills

It has been decided that almost £73,000 of developers' "Section 106" contributions paid to South Gloucestershire Council will be used for the following projects:

• Yate Town Council – £23,114.89 capital and £11,649.97 revenue funding for pitch drainage improvements on the grass pitches at Yate Outdoor Sport Complex and to purchase grounds maintenance equipment. 
• Chipping Sodbury Rugby Football Club - £23,114.89 capital and £11,649.97 revenue funding to upgrade existing showers and install heating in the Changing Rooms at The Ridings, Chipping Sodbury. 
• Blakeney Mills Play Area (Housing association) - £1,687.50 capital and £1,774.39 revenue (revenue to be capitalised) for enhancements to Blakeney Mills Play Area.

Ready Steady Go for Yate Town Council's inclusive athletics project

Signing on the dotted line: Councillor Chris Willmore (chair of the Project Steering Group),
is pictured seated next to Councillor Karl Tomasin (vice-chair of the Project Steering Group),
with Councillors Mike Drew, John Serle and Tony Davis behind (from left – right).

Yate Town Council is delighted to confirm that they have signed and sealed legal agreements with South Gloucestershire Council so that its project to enhance and refurbish the track and field facilities at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC) can start.

The development of the new track and field facilities at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex is scheduled to start on 9th July 2018 and will continue over the next few months.

Councillor Chris Willmore, the Yate Town Council Chair of the Project Steering Group stated:
"This is a wonderful step forward for sport in Yate.  It will give us modern athletics facilities that will last a generation.  It has been designed so para-athletes will have equal access, and includes innovative sports such as target sprint.  We thank the volunteers at YOSC who run the facility, Yate Athletics Club, the kind donors and governing bodies who have made this project possible.  We are delighted that Sodbury & Yate Business Association has adopted YOSC Ltd as their charity of the year, bringing a whole range of local businesses in to helping all the sports at YOSC, including boxing, football, hockey, rugby and walking football.”

Yate Town Council would also like to acknowledge a very generous donation received from an anonymous donor towards the project in the sum of £50,000.  The additional money will enable the project to provide enhanced facilities at the site.

The remainder of the funding for the replacement and enhancement project was secured by Yate Town Council through external funding and grants.

For further information please contact Yate Town Council via email info@yatetowncouncil.gov.uk or phone 01454 866506.

Giant leap forward for Yate Outdoor Sports Centre

Volunteers, Yate Town Council staff and councillors at YOSC

The facilities at Yate Outdoor Sports Centre have been coming to the end of their working life, but a massive fund-raising campaign by Yate Town Council has now borne fruit. The final piece of the funding jigsaw was put in place today to enable campaigners to start work replacing all the athletics facilities at YOSC. The last part of funding came from "Section106 Monies" - that is money developers have to hand over for sports facilities once they’ve sold their houses.

This marks a key point in the 12 month funding campaign. Project chair Chris Willmore explained
"The athletics at YOSC are used by local schools, hundreds of local young people each week and host national events. For some events it is the best facility in the country. But it was at the end of its life and needed completely replacing"


"To our horror when the estimates came in they were £850,000. We’ve spent six months working flat out to raise the cash to raise the cash to save the Centre"

"We got backing from Sport England. And today we got confirmation of the developer money - that means we have a total of £800,000"

"We’re having a sponsors event next week to which local big firms have been invited do were confident we’ll get the last £50,000, so we can now go out to tender and get cracking"

"This is great news for the amazing volunteers who run YOSC, all the users and for the great project team who have been doing all the work. The project won’t just replace what is there - it will add facilities including making much better provision for paraathletics"

"This is the biggest single project Yate Town Council has ever undertaken. We’re really grateful to all the sponsors, it is brilliant to have got it all covered by grants so Yate Town Council won’t have to borrow the cash, so we’re all excited but nervous. We’re determined to make every penny work for our residents. Yate Town Council took over the track from South Glos council two years ago this week. It was in a sad state after years of neglect. Now with the volunteers we’re turning it back into a facility locals can be proud of. And we will look after it well - nobody wants to have to raise this sort of money again in a hurr!"


"We are looking for sponsors for the last £50,000 - with opportunities to name facilities eg the hammer cage - and have banners for sponsors. For the right sum the whole sports complex - including national facilities - could be named for a sponsor"

"We’re having a sponsors evening on 6 November. iI anyone who had not been invited is interested in coming along please ring Lori Ramsey at Yate Town Council on 01454 866506"

What's in the future for YOSC?

Various stories are going around about what might happen to Yate Outdoor Sports Centre.
Circandian’s contract to run it ends this October, and South Gloucestershire Council can’t take it back in house.

The Focus Team are determined to make sure it stays open. We’ve got South Glos to commission experts to work out how it could be run - and are now working with users to try to come up with a scheme to save it - which would involve users and Yate Town Council jointly running it.

So - if you use it - don’t panic. As soon as we have got a deal we’ll make an announcement. One way or another, The Focus Team will make sure YOSC doesn’t close.