Welfare want the light to shine down upon Ferguson Park

Plans to install floodlights at Ferguson Park have been widely supported. Picture Ian Rutherford

The East of Scotland League side are keen to update the facilities at Ferguson Park and believe the new project will do that.

In a recent update to supporters, the club revealed that it has been working beside the Scottish Football Partnership Trust and Gateway Lighting Consultancy in relation to grant funding, feasibility reports, planning application and all other aspects of the floodlight installation.

With their assistance the club has already applied for, and successfully been granted, planning permission from Midlothian Council’s planning department.

A club statement said: “We have also sourced and agreed the purchased of four Abacus floodlight towers along with 16 haldite floodlights to be fitted to our towers, both of which meet SFA specification for next season.

“Now that we have purchased the necessary floodlights, we have invited various contractors to tender quotes to carry out the installation project.

“We are currently reviewing these quotes and will appoint a contractor to carry out the works in the very near future.”

Fundraising efforts to get the floodlight project off and running have been on-going, and the Welfare have held numerous events to help raise cash.

These include a football match against Heart of Midlothian, a race night and a sportsman’s brunch.

There is also a JustGiving page which is proving successful.

The statement added: “We are also in the process of applying to different organisations for funding such as Cashback for Communities, Sports Scotland, The National Lottery and Landfill UK.

“We have been successful in our application for funding from Scottish football partnership and the East of Scotland League.”

The next step in the process for us as a club is to appoint a contractor to carry out the installation works and we then a timeline of the work can be formed.

Due to health and safety concerns and the logistics of having heavy machinery and materials on the pitch and surrounding areas at Ferguson Park it is our preference to get the installation works carried out as soon as the final game of this season is complete.

The installation process should take six weeks and it’s hoped the lights will be erected during pre-season 2020.