Give us sports field back - parish council
PRESTBURY councillors are calling for a former rugby field next to Starvehall Farm to be used for sports.
The land close to Prestbury Playing Field, which is owned by Gloucestershire County Council, has been earmarked for development as part of plans to build hundreds of houses at Starvehall Farm.
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bid: land near Starvehall Farm
The site, which used to be used by rugby and football teams, has been left untended since 2001, with the grass becoming tangled and overgrown.
Parish councillors say the land is going to waste and should be freed up for use by teams in the area.
They have approached the county council for permission and even offered to pay for the land's maintenance to restore it to its former glory.
Parish council chairman Malcolm Stennett said: "We have a shortage of green space in the area as it is, and Prestbury Playing Field is currently oversubscribed by teams wanting to use it.
"We have offered to tend the old rugby field, and get it fit for sports again, at least until any further plans for development take shape.
"The land has been left to go to ruin over the last few years, which is a real waste.
"We want to help bring it back to how it was, so that it can benefit local teams and people living in the area."
Les Godwin, borough councillor for Prestbury, said the land should not be included as part of any development at Starvehall Farm.
"Our outdoor spaces are being gobbled up all the time and we firmly oppose any move to take this one away," he said.
"How can the council say it is encouraging youngsters to combat obesity through playing sports when it is trying to sell off land which always used to be a well-used games area?
"A temporary move to hand the management of the land over to the parish council would be a welcome step forward in the short term, but I'd like to see that land freed up for sports permanently."
David Prince, county councillor for Oakley, Pittville and Prestbury, said he expected the land to be built on eventually but supported the parish council in its bid to get the land back on a short-term basis.
He said: "Until there are firm plans in place for the development of Starvehall Farm, then the county council should seriously consider handing the management of the land over to the parish council."
A spokesman for the county council, said: "We have been working closely with the parish council regarding the land adjacent to the playing fields – formerly the rugby pitch – and will meet with them in the next fortnight to discuss their proposals further."
3 Comments
by Richard, Cheltenham
Monday, July 06 2009, 2:00PM
“... and their own flood works Ann!”
by Prestbury resident, Cheltenham
Monday, July 06 2009, 11:15AM
“Its not safe for children to go into the field when football is played by men. My child was hit by the ball whilst walking to the play area some time ago. So im all for rugby and football being played in the other field.”
by Ann, Cheltenham
Sunday, July 05 2009, 2:55AM
“Is it not time that the people of Prestbury accepted they are a part of Cheltenham and Gloucestershire? If they want to declare UDI and buy the playing field back from the County Council fair play to them. They can also pay for their own street lighting, road repairs and policing for the racecourse too. People have to have somewhere to live and here in the 21st Century it remains normal in Gloucestershire for people to grow up, have children, buy a house etc etc. When will Cheltenham Borough Council tell former villages who became a part of this town ( because their Parish Councils were bankrupt) decades ago, that they do not call the shots and people come first?”