A NEW Riding for the Disabled Centre is set to open following the forced closure of the previous facility which left hundreds of disabled adults and children all over Scotland without a dedicated school.
The Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) has launched a project to build a new centre of excellence for riding and carriage driving in the centre of Scotland that will open up new opportunities.
Despite fierce campaigning, public fundraising and numerous attempts to resolve the legal dispute with the landlord at the former presmises Bannockburn, the group had to cease operating.
Using funds generated through the "Ride-On" campaign during 2014, RDA UK has begun the process of researching potential new sites in the Stirling area. Their aim is to build a new centre capable of operating at the same scale and standard as Bannockburn.
Ed Bracher, RDA chief executive said: "Getting a new site identified and the fundraising underway is now a priority,
"To that end we have already found three potential sites in and around Stirling, and have started positive discussions with all those involved.
"We are also bringing together a steering group to help shape the future of the centre once a site has been agreed."
RDA UK has been contacting supporters of Bannockburn about the project to get their involvement where possible.
The charity is urging anyone else who feels they can be of help or who wants to be kept up to date with developments to get in touch.
Mr Bracher added: "This project will only succeed with the help and support of as many people as possible,
"We will need some specific skills to get this centre off the ground - but mostly it will take the dedication and enthusiasm of individuals who understand that Stirling deserves the very best facilities for its disabled children and adults."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article