The Newtown Park Association are flushed with success after learning that they have landed a grant which will allow much-needed upgrading work to be carried out at the ground.

And the NPA have thanked the people of Bo’ness for their support which was crucial in their bid for £28,431 under Falkirk Council’s Community choices programme. 

Thanks to the Community Choices grant, the NPA will be able to install modern, inclusive, and accessible toilets facilities, promoting the park into the top division by making it an even more welcoming place for all members of the community.

The award will allow the NPA to kick-start the project that will benefit scores of boys, girls and adult football teams who regularly use Newtown Park, including the Scottish Cerebral Palsy national squad. The new toilet block will also be available to spectators, including those with special needs.

Now in its fourth round, Community Choices is Falkirk Council and Falkirk Health & Social Care Partnership’s participatory budgeting programme, offering local people a democratic way to have a direct say in how public money is invested in community-led projects.

With almost 9,600 eligible votes cast, residents living across Falkirk Council’s nine wards have ensured 36 out of the 50 projects that went to the public vote have secured a share of £670,012 – valuable funding that will benefit the communities in which they live. 

A total of 474 people living in Ward One (Bo’ness and Blackness) voted for the Newtown Park project.

NPA chairman Robert Snedden said: “The Newtown Park Association would like to thank everyone who went out of their way to cast their votes in our favour, and all our volunteers who helped make sure we had enough votes to be successful.

“This funding will help towards the costs of providing new toilets, including an accessible toilet at Newtown Park.

“The Trustees are always looking at ways to improve the facilities at the park for the benefit of those in the community who wish to use Newtown.

“Again, thanks to everyone for your continuing support.”

This is the second Place-based Capital Grant that the NPA has netted. Last year, the charity scored £44,671 to allow ambitious plans to establish a community hub within the park’s grounds to progress. Once completed, the hub will house a café, large hall, meeting rooms and changing facilities that will be a benefit to the whole Bo'ness community.

Plans for the new hub will be submitted for approval in the near future.