Latest news with #AngusAlive
The Courier
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
£135k Angus aqua park makes a splash in first month
Angus Aqua Splash has proved a hit with visitors to Monikie Country Park. The £135,000 outdoor inflatable is the first of its kind in the area. Plans were first announced in January and it was launched to the public at the beginning of May. Operator Angus Alive has revealed that since then more than 1,650 people have tried it out. The inflatable features slides, climbing walls and high platforms to jump into the water at Monikie's North Pond. The council leisure trust said it had taken over £30,000 in bookings so far. Its popularity was boosted by glorious weather in the weeks which followed the aqua park opening. Angus Alive countryside leader Nicola Barbour said: 'We've been absolutely thrilled with the response to Angus Aqua Splash at Monikie Country Park since opening. 'The initial uptake has been fantastic, with visitors of all ages enjoying our exciting new attraction. 'It has added something different to our already excellent water sports offering, which we believe will help Monikie become a 'day out' attraction. 'We can't wait to welcome more visitors as we move into the summer months where Angus Aqua Splash will be open seven days, and our summer holiday activity provision gets underway.' Angus Alive hopes to recoup the six-figure investment within two years. A 50-minute session at Angus Aqua Splash costs £18.50. Group bookings of 10 or more pay £16.50 per person. It comes as plans were submitted for new changing accommodation at the country park. Angus Alive is seeking permission to site seven container-type units beside the North Pond. Those will be used as changing accommodation for water sports visitors, as well as storage and staff facilities.
The Courier
10-06-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Angus Planning Ahead: Country Park changing rooms and farm shed house
Angus Alive has lodged a plan for new Monikie Country Park changing facilities. The council leisure trust wants to site seven units in a compound beside the North Pond. Those would be used for visitors taking part in watersports activities including the recently-opened Angus Aqua Splash. The £135,000 giant inflatable opened to the public last month. Staff accommodation and storage are also proposed. The leisure trust's application states: 'The current watersports facilities operate from the existing office lodge and adjoining buildings, providing a reception for visitors to the country park as well as changing facilities. 'This location is remote from the ponds and organised water-based activity sites. 'Temporary buildings are being proposed to provide basic localised changing areas for over a 24-month lease period. 'The typical season is from March to September/October. 'The units will be locked up over winter.' Angus Alive says it will be a trial to gauge whether a more permanent facility should be developed. Planning officials have given an approval recommendation to plans for a battery energy storage scheme beside Forfar Athletic's Station Park. The Vital Energi submission will be considered by development standards committee members on Tuesday. The site sits opposite the football ground and was once home to a giant gasometer. However, it was demolished many years ago and the ground at Carseview Road has lain empty since. Suggested conditions include a requirement to start the development within three years. The applicants would also have to submit a plan for restoring the site after its 30-year lifespan. Permission has been granted for a new house on the site of a disused farm shed near the Perthshire border. Approval for the hay barn at East Keillor, near Newtyle, was previously granted in 2021. However, circumstances including the Covid-19 pandemic meant the development never progressed. Kinpurnie Estate has now received fresh approval for a four-bedroom, single-storey home. Angus Council officials issued a delegated approval for the application. 'Planning permission has previously been granted for an identical form of development at the site,' they said. 'Whilst that permission has lapsed, the physical characteristics of the site have not changed materially. 'The impacts arising from the development would be no more significant than previously assessed as being acceptable in the past.' Meanwhile, a huge children's play castle at Brechin Castle Centre is under construction beside the A90. The wooden storybook structure will feature towers, rope bridges, giant tube slides and puzzles for young adventurers. Children will be able to enjoy playing over multiple levels. Brechin Castle Centre says the £500,000 investment is part of a long-term vision to make the location a must-visit family attraction. Plans were first revealed last year and the castle is due for completion in July. There are plans to turn an old game larder in the Angus Glens into recreational accommodation. The building sits northwest of Braedownie in Glen Doll. It is thought to have been built by Forestry Commission Scotland in the 1950s. The applicant is an academic who hopes to use it as an occasional research base relating to his interests in wildlife conservation and biodiversity. It would also be used by family and friends to enjoy the Cairngorms National Park. The planning application states the residential bothy would be for personal use only and not as a self-catering accommodation. Planning officials will consider the proposal in due course. Links to the applications on the Angus Council planning portal are: Monikie Country park changing Forfar battery energy storage site Newtyle farm shed site house Brechin play castle Glen Clova bothy
The Courier
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
GALLERY: Kids try out new £135,000 Monikie aqua park
Local children have been the first to take the plunge at a new £135,000 Angus aqua park. On Friday, pupils from Monikie and Newbigging primary schools were the first to test out the giant inflatable at Monikie Country Park. The treat was their reward for helping Angus Alive name the Angus Aqua Splash facility. It is the first of its kind in the district. All ages will be able to enjoy slides, balance beams and climbing walls. There are also high platforms to jump into the Monikie water from and a monkey bars section. Angus Aqua Splash opens to the public on Saturday May 3. A 50-minute session costs £18.50. Group bookings of 10 or more will pay £16.50 per person. Bookings can be made at
The Courier
25-04-2025
- Sport
- The Courier
Forfar mum Eilidh tackling London Marathon for community rugby trust
An Angus mum is running this weekend's London Marathon as a thank you to an award-winning rugby-based wellbeing charity which helped her children. Eilidh McCartney, from Forfar, will be among the 56,000 athletes at the Greenwich Park start line on Sunday. The busy mum is a physiotherapy support worker at Ninewells Hospital during the day. But Eilidh is also a qualified personal trainer and exercise referral instructor, helping people referred by their GP to improve their fitness. She leads classes at Forfar Community Campus for Angus Alive several nights a week. Driving her along the 26-mile marathon route this weekend will be the push to raise funds for Strathmore Community Rugby Trust. The Forfar-based trust has rekindled Eilidh's love for a sport she first played in primary school. She had to give it up due to a lack of organised rugby for girls in high school. Then, in the 1990s, Eilidh was able to take up the game again when ex-Scotland and British Lions player Sandy Carmichael started a ladies' team at West of Scotland and Eilidh played fly-half for it and Milngavie from age 19 for a few years. Now more of a rugby watcher – following Strathmore, Glasgow Warriors and Scotland – Eilidh decided to encourage her children Ishbel, 19, and Ruaridh, 15, to get involved in the game five years ago when she spotted the rugby and life skills project for senior school pupils run by Strathmore Community Rugby Trust. Ishbel joined the Friday afternoon sessions in 2020 and also helped with the charity's award-winning autism-friendly rugby project for two seasons. Through the trust, she was put through the first two levels of her rugby coaching qualification as well as gaining volunteering and work experience. Ishbel now plays for the Strathmore women's rugby team. Ruaridh joined the trust's Rugby Academy project four years ago and has seen his confidence grow. So when Eilidh discovered her 'whim' application for this year's London Marathon had been accepted, she felt it was only natural she do it in aid of the trust. Eilidh said: 'Rugby has always been a passion of mine. 'I'm thrilled that my son and daughter are carrying on that enthusiasm as active participants in the trust's work. 'Strathmore Community Rugby Trust not only supports their development in the game but also plays a crucial role in empowering our local community through resources, support and opportunities for people of all ages. 'Having my family cheering me on and feeling the strength of running for something bigger than myself has brought an incredible energy to this journey. 'I feel truly privileged to take part in this iconic event and can't wait to make every mile count – for myself, Strathmore Community Rugby Trust, and for everyone supporting me along the way.' The trust was founded in 2017. It works in partnership with Strathmore RFC, Brechin RFC, Scottish Rugby, Strathmore Cricket Club, Angus Council, Angus Alive and Stracathro Estates. Its royal patron is HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and Earl of Forfar. You can support Eilidh at
