Carlisle United Football Club and Wates Construction are delighted to announce a ground breaking new partnership which will see United’s Community Sports Trust join forces with the leading contractor to deliver a variety of positive community activities and events in West Cumbria.
The partnership, the first of its kind in Cumbria, will see Wates Construction and CUFC CST working closely together in the west of the county on the introduction of holiday coaching camps and the delivery of sports coaching, games and health and wellbeing activities in schools.
Wates will be involved in other club community activities and has also taken a place in the thriving Carlisle United Business Club. The venture comes after Wates won the contract to build Campus Whitehaven, which will include new state of the art facilities for St Benedict’s Catholic High School and Mayfield Special School.
Sales and Marketing Director at Carlisle United Phil King said: “We are delighted to be working alongside Wates Construction and the schools to deliver positive activities for the local communities. Our Community Sports Trust does some fantastic work in engaging young people through the power of football.
“From a Club perspective, it gives us great presence in West Cumbria as we continue to setup up engagement with fans – especially young people who are the future of the football club. We want to be proactive in taking Carlisle United throughout Cumbria, and to do it in such a positive way, where there will be great benefits to the individuals involved in the activities is fantastic.”
Tony Shenton, Business Unit Director of Wates Construction North West, commented: “It is fitting that Carlisle United and Wates Construction join forces to deliver these sporting activities for young people across West Cumbria. Both organisations share a commitment to using our respective roles to benefit people throughout the region, and this partnership is a perfect illustration of that common goal.
“Campus Whitehaven will, as well as providing first class educational facilities for local students, play a key role in improving the health of the wider community through the sporting provisions available to the public. Education and sport are two essential pillars of any community, and I’m sure the campus will be a source of pride for the people of Whitehaven.
“As work on site progresses, we will continue to develop our regional supply chain, ensuring local businesses feel the full benefit of this landmark scheme. The scope of the project also means that new positions within the Wates team are regularly created, which I’d like to encourage local people to apply for.”
United’s Community Sports Trust manager John Halpin said: “We’ve worked hard to establish good community links across as much of Cumbria as possible in recent years and this fantastic new partnership is going to both help us to strengthen our presence and get our message out to even more people.
“All of the discussions we’ve had with Wates have been positive and we’re all excited about where this new link-up will take us. Wates launched their own community project plan in the region last year and we’re delighted that we are now an integral part of it.
“The new school will be at the heart of the work we do, and the project will also see young fans from West Cumbria invited to first team home games. It really is fantastic for the club and a real boost for the community work we do.”