Agenda item

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. 

Three public speakers addressed committee on the agenda item for Leisure Facilities and Playing Pitch Strategy.

Councillor Chris McCarthy, the Chair of Grove Parish Council spoke to committee. He discussed the concerns he had about sports teams sharing a small training space at the rugby club in Grove.

There were a lot of teams sharing the space and it needed resting. It was a 60m x 60m space and with recent bad weather it had been out of bounds. The Parish Council had a recreation ground in front of the rugby club, but all around the area was privately owned and restricted. He questioned why there was not provision of a 3G pitch and asked why the district council was not investing in new facilities in Grove.

In questions of clarification, Councillor McCarthy responded that the report did not include Grove and people felt they were not contacted. He felt there was a lack of responses to requests made.

Councillor Lorna Berrett spoke to committee as the Chair of Botley & North Hinksey Parish Council.

She considered that an update to the strategy was needed to ensure replacement of lost facilities and for improving facilities. Councillor Berrett referenced two sites:

1.     Brookes Harcourt Hill campus. In June, Brookes announced it was closing its swimming pool and closed the pool in September 2024. Primary schools needed to look for a new place for lessons etc. It was felt that local people felt let down. The strategy does not reference this closure.

2.     Louie Memorial playing fields and pavilion:  It was considered that the strategy should reflect the support for replacing the pavilion and the fund raising that was taking place. There was a skate park for youth provision. Councillor Berrett added that on Westway, new flats were being built, so facilities need will increase. The Parish Council had fed into consultation in April but consider that the strategy needed an update to reflect the Harcourt Hill pool closure and the Louie Memorial pavilion replacement and skate park.

Councillor Emily Smith, a district councillor and ward member for Botley spoke to committee. She explained that in the consultation, Botley skatepark and Pavilion was now mentioned but not complete in accuracy, mentioning that Botley was referred to as South Oxfordshire. Construction was underway for the pavilion and we don’t want existing improvements, we have planning permission for a replacement pavilion. Councillor Smith felt that the wording was confusing at best and request the wording to be updated and made factually correct.  Why was the pool closure not addressed? How will provision loss be addressed? Why had the consultant not been in touch with local representatives? In questions of clarification, it was explained by Councillor Smith that the strategy mentioned accessibility to be able to drive to places within 20 minutes. Some people needed to take the bus, so it will take longer than 20 minutes. As a district, we were encouraging active travel so why were we basing the strategy on how easy it was to get to facilities by car? Councillor Smith suggested tying in active travel routes to the strategy.

All speakers were thanked for their time, and the chair explained that  their points would be discussed throughout the relevant agenda item.