Opposition Bristol city councillors want investment in grassroots sports
Whitchurch Athletics Track(Image: John Pearce)
Plans to rip up a South Bristol running track and replace it with housing must be stopped, opposition Labour councillors have demanded.
The group has submitted a motion to a full council meeting of Bristol City Council on Tuesday, January 13, calling for major investment in the city’s sport facilities by the Green-led administration, including a commitment to save Whitchurch Athletics Track and refurbish the dilapidated Downs football changing rooms.
It follows a debate at a council meeting in July triggered by a 6,500-name petition to keep the track open to local joggers and a family cycling club despite plans by Goram, the local authority’s housing developer, to build 150 homes on the site.
The strategy and resources committee heard in September that the running facility could be replaced on nearby school playing fields in Hengrove from money made from Oasis Community Learning academy trust selling off 28 acres of playing fields near Wells Road for housing.
The income would pay for a replacement, bigger primary school, SEND provision and a track for ‘running, walking and scooting’, but nothing has yet come of this.
Cllr Kye Dudd (Labour, Southmead), who submitted the motion to Tuesday’s meeting, said: “The council needs to play an active role to promote sport in Bristol.
“Sport benefits our physical and mental health, provides an outlet for children and young people, and brings communities together.
“There’s a lot of good work going on such as the Robins Foundation’s investment in Filwood Play Fields, but the council can do more.
“They’re about to write new strategies to promote sport, but these won’t achieve much unless they’re backed up with cash.
“I’m calling for investment in these strategies so they can achieve their aims.
“The council has let the Downs changing rooms fall into a state of disrepair – they’re falling apart and if the council doesn’t step up soon, the historic league’s future is at risk.
“I’ve put forward proposals to fix it before but these have been blocked by the council leadership for no good reason.
“I’m hoping they swallow their pride and admit this is the right thing to do, even if it’s being suggested by a councillor who’s not a member of their parties.
“These are all commonsense suggestions that I hope get cross-party support.”
Bristol Labour group leader Cllr Tom Renhard said: “Sport is a great unifier, bringing communities together.
“We must invest in its future and at the grassroots.
“There are some easy wins. South Bristol has told the council loud and clear – we want Whitchurch Athletics track protected.
“There are plans to build housing there, however it is years away and there’s nothing to prevent it being built on a different part of the site.
“We can keep the track while building the same number of homes.
“Protecting and delivering infrastructure, including community facilities, health services and better transport links, must happen alongside new homes.
“There can be no more excuses not to invest in the services that matter most to our residents, including sport.”
The ‘silver’ motion, which means it is likely to be debated at full council, also calls for investment to support an upcoming updated ‘playing pitch strategy’, aimed at providing playing pitches to meet the city’s future needs, and a ‘sport and active recreation facilities strategy’, focused largely on leisure centres.
It said: “However, no funding has been allocated towards these strategies, meaning its proposals will go unfunded.
“Developments across the city, notably those within the Temple Quarter regeneration project, will generate a large amount of Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy Funding (SCIL).
“The Downs Football League welcomes hundreds of players from across the city and has existed for over a hundred years.
“However, its changing rooms are rundown, putting the league’s future at risk.
“Any funding the council spends on sports facilities will be eligible for match funding from organisations such as Sports England, the Football Association, and so on.
“The campaign to save Whitchurch Athletics Track is yet to be backed up with any firm commitments or action.
“A community asset transfer of Netham Pavilions is ongoing but progress is slow.”
The motion asks the council to allocate SCIL funding, which is from developer contributions, to the two strategies and upgrading the Downs changing rooms, as well as speeding up the community asset transfer for Netham Pavillions.