Bonnyrigg Rose community football club to take ownership of grounds for £1

A grassroots football club with more than 700 players has been given the go ahead to take ownership of its grounds from Midlothian Council for £1.

Councillors this week agreed the nominal fee to allow Bonnyrigg Rose Community Football Club to take over Poltonhall Sports Complex nearly six years after it faced closure.

The club first applied for the community asset transfer of the grounds in 2019 after Midlothian Council said it was considering closing it down.

However the process was delayed after it was revealed the club was not at that time an incorporated body making it ineligible,

Instead the club agreed to lease the site for £42 a month until it was able to apply for the transfer in an application which went before councillors yesterday.

The transfer will see the club take ownership of the sports complex including its astro pitches, grass pitches, pavilion, a caretaker’s flat and a car park. A public footpath which runs through the site will remain in council ownership.

A report on the sports site said that if it remained in council ownership and was sold on the open market it could achieve a total price of £210,000.

The caretaker’s flat was valued at around £40,000 worth and, the report said, required around £74,000 investment to bring it up to a standard which would allow it to be rented out.

However the committee heard the flat itself was only accessible through the sports building so was not suitable for council rent separate from the club.

The report also estimated annual maintenance costs of the site up to £25,000 a year.

The community club works with all ages including those with neurodiversity challenges as well as working on mental health well-being and therapy projects.

In its business plan presented to the council it says while Bonnyrigg also has a professional senior team, Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic who are based at the town’s New Dundas Park, it is a separate organisation.

Councillor Kelly Parry thanked the club and council officers for the work to bring the application to the point where it could now be passed.

The committee approved the asset transfer with Councillor Colin Cassidy, chairing the committee said: “The work that they do up at Bonnyrigg Rose just isn’t about football and kicking balls about a pitch, There is so much more in-depth that goes on up there.”