Speaking after attending the official opening Cllr Haughey said, “It’s great that Markethill High School have been able to draw down funding from Sport NI to set up state-of-the-art gym facility. There is no doubt it will enhance the health and wellbeing of students at the school but I also hope it will benefit the wider community.
“I commend all those involved in securing this funding and I hope with full council support that this project can develop into something very positive.
“We have seen the great success of Keady Dual Scheme, where the gym located in St Patrick’s High School is used for school purposes during school hours and is open to the community outside of school hours. This model shows how effectively a school facility can be used by the wider community and I hope this model will now be replicated in Markethill so that local people can benefit from this excellent facility.
“It is also essential that this project is 100% cross community so that the entire community in Markethill feel comfortable and welcome using these new facilities and that all sports are welcome on the pitches.
Concluding Cllr Haughey said, “There is a lack of leisure and recreational facilities in Markethill and I hope this new gym facility will be the start of a bigger project to bring about better leisure facilities for local people, which I hope will include a new play area for children. I am also working with a group of local lads interested in getting a boxing club set up and I hope this will be possible as it would add to the sports and recreation provision of the area.”
ENDS