Plans for new £4m Partick Thistle training facility at Kirkintilloch

Plans have been unveiled for a new £4 million state-of-the-art training ground at Kirkintilloch for Partick Thistle Football Club.
The site of the planned new training ground. Photo: Roddy ScottThe site of the planned new training ground. Photo: Roddy Scott
The site of the planned new training ground. Photo: Roddy Scott

Last year the Glasgow club announced it had secured the funding for the new facility from the Weir family, who won £160m on the lottery in 2011.

It has now been revealed the planned location for the 26-acre ground is on the site of the former Dryfield sewage treatment works, off Kirkintilloch Road.

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The new ground will be called McParland Park, in honour of legendary Thistle footballer and manager David McParland, who died in July at the age of 83.

Investment company Three Black Cats, owned by Colin Weir, is holding a drop-in event at Kirkintilloch Town Hall (Lesser Hall) on Thursday, September 20, from 4-8pm as part of a public consultation.

A proposal of application has been submitted to East Dunbartonshire Council for the redevelopment of the site, believe to be owned by Scottish Water, to provide the football training facility, including pitches, pavilion building, storage and maintenance buildings.

Additional infrastructure to support the redevelopment will include lighting and landscaping.

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A full planning application is to be lodged within the next couple of months and it is hoped the 26-acre facility will be completed and operational next year.

Craig Dunn, project manager at Three Black Cats, told the Herald: “The proposed development of the first class training ground represents a significant investment and brings back into use a site which has been derelict for some time on the outskirts of Kirkintilloch.

“In finalising our proposed planning application, we are keen to meet with local interested groups, organisations and individuals to present our plans and answer any questions around the redevelopment.

“We are delighted to have identified the ideal location for the new training ground and we look forward to working with the local community to bring the project to fruition.”

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The new training ground will be a first for the club, known as the Jags, in its 140 year history.

Last year, David Beattie, the then chairman of Partick Thistle, who stepped down in just June this year, said: “It has been a long-held ambition of this club to have its own training ground. The board is ecstatic that we will now have that facility.”

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