Sports ground safety
Last updated | 03/07/2007
Disastrous events at sports grounds such as Hillsborough in Sheffield, Valley Parade in Bradford and Ibrox led to the introduction of legislation to control the safety of sports grounds. The Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 brought about the designation of stadia with a capacity of 10,000 or more. Within Perth and Kinross, this applies to McDiarmid Park, home of St Johnstone FC. All designated stadia require to have a valid safety certificate to hold public events.
Later legislation made it necessary for Safety Certificates to be obtained for stands at sports grounds with accommodation for more than 500 spectators. At present, within Perth & Kinross this applies only to the Nelson Stand at Scone Racecourse.
It is building standards who apply this legislation and are responsible for the issue of the annual and special safety certificates. In so doing, we liaise very closely with the clubs involved and also with other Agencies through our membership of the Tayside Sports Ground Safety Team. The Team comprises representatives from the 3 Tayside Local Authorities, Police, Fire & Rescue Service, St Andrews Ambulance Association and Scottish Ambulance Service. Safety an issue that is taken very seriously by all concerned and far from being a paper exercise, the application, by the clubs, of the safety certificate conditions are monitored by the Safety Team.
