An Aberdeen church has transformed its derelict car park into an outdoor sports area for local youths.
St Mary’s Cathedral reached out to local businesses for help turning the unsteady, rocky car park into a flat tennis-tarmac area.
The St Andrews Community, a group of young women within the church, run different youth groups for all ages every Friday at St Mary’s Cathedral, which are attended by at least 40 young sports enthusiasts.
It is hoped that the new facilities will have a positive impact on both the church and the children.
Father Keith Herrera of St Mary’s Cathedral said: “The kids used to meet at the car park at the front of the Clergy House. It was great to see and hear them having fun as they attempted to play basketball and other games.
“The problem was that there were often cars in the lot and a danger that they could get damaged. It meant that they had to be quite restrained in their activities.
“Having the rear car park resurfaced has meant that they now have an excellent surface on which to do their activities as well as the advantage of having a nice self-contained area without cars. You can imagine how that might change their play.”
Charlene Morgan of the St Andrew’s Community said “It is great that we have the facilities now in place and we are able to do more sports and have the youth around the cathedral more too. We even have more young people attending our groups since we got the area sorted out at the back.”
Local businesses including Hunter Construction, The Leiths Group and KMS Construction Ltd. were involved in the transformation of the car park.
The church was also recently given a grant from the health board, which will be used to purchase games and sports equipment which they will be able to use in the new area.
