Rec development proposals omit pump track

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chris

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Councillors are being asked to approve further spending on consultants to produce another report on options for the development of the Rec.

The Wellbeing Recreation and Leisure Committee (WRL) will be asking a meeting of the Full Parish Council next week for the go-ahead to contract work for a new Masterplan for the Recreation Ground based on “several potential constituent ideas” – but a pump track is not on the list of ideas for consideration.

Development proposals

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The ideas being put forward include new uses for the former groundsman’s house at 12 New Road, which has been empty for over a year; the Parish Council Compound, where equipment is stored; a tarmac car parking area; and increased and improved office space, meeting space and Council staff rest space.

Also on the list are the play area, a perimeter path around the Rec, a new surface water management system to improve drainage and improvements to the Pavilion.

The tennis facilities are up for consideration again after Councillors backtracked on plans to replace the grass courts with four all-weather surfaces, and suggested that some of that land could be used for parking.

Pump track not included

A notable absentee from the list is a pump track.

The demand for a pump track in the village was first identified in a 2021 Parish Council survey to determine priorities for recreation and leisure facilities in the village.

Then in 2023, in a consultation by the Pump Track charity, residents identified The Rec as the most popular location for siting a pump track, and residents were subsequently told by the Parish Council that this would be considered.

Despite a commitment that the WRL Committee would review and reconsider the provision of a pump track on the Rec, this was never put on a Committee agenda.

No progress has been reported since, despite Cllr Davies, Chair of the Rec Development Group (RDG), telling the WRL Committee that he would recommend that a pump track on the Recreation Ground should be included in a review of future uses of the Rec.

Request for approval

Thousands of pounds have already been spent with surveyors Wilby and Burnett, who have been working with the RDG – a working party of the WRL Committee – since 2023 to create a Masterplan for the Rec.

But the committee believes that circumstances have changed sufficiently to require an “updated quote from surveyors” to conduct the work again, based on the ideas now being put forward. They are asking the Full Council meeting on Monday 17 March to approve spending on a further report on options by August/September 2025.

Comments

  1. Nicola Astles

    This is absolutely disgusting, the rec is by far the most suitable place in the village for a pump track yet the parish council seem to be determined to concrete over a green space. Both Manor Park field and Homefield Park are home to many species of flora and fauna and neither have the facilities that the rec has for young people.

    Reply
  2. Michael Briggs

    Another report specifically omitting a facility many people want on the only feasible site (toilets, parking, access, lighting, no green space destruction) in the village? Interesting use of taxpayer’s money. Hopefully plenty of residents will show up to the meeting on the 17th to hear an explanation.

    Reply
  3. Beryl Purcell

    Why has the Parish council totally ignored the request of this community to accommodate the pump track at the rec. this is the most suitable place. It is disgraceful!

    Reply
  4. Black sheep of village

    So have the objections from local residents & various groups, been completely ignored? Despite the huge amount of factual information that has been provided to the PC (free of charge) supporting the huge importance of such natural woodland & green space, not just for the natural world but also for our own mental & physical health & well-being.
    When will we actually be given a voice in these matters?

    Reply
  5. Sarah Smith

    I am a Parish Councillor (speaking individually, not for the Parish Council as a whole) and am seeking some urgent clarification on this- hoping this will be forthcoming soon

    Reply
  6. Manor park resident

    The rec is clearly the more appropriate location for this. If this were to happen to Manor Park field and Homefield park this will be devastating for nature and wildlife. Young people have more opportunities at the rec and it is also far safer for them there given they will not be near a guided bus track which is extremely unsafe for young people to be near!

    Reply
  7. Susan Jones

    To spend more money on assessing development options without including a feasibility question over inclusion of a pumptrack is ludicrous. This site is where many of us go to run, play football, play tennis. It has parking, lighting, toilets, refuse bins and most importantly is easily accessible for all whether on foot, bike, scooter, wheelchair or car. Its a large site that is ideally suited to multiple purposes including a pumptrack so what’s going on? I hope we will learn more at the next PC meeting.

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