Westinghouse Cricket ground & 200 new homes.

admin · Westinghouse Cricket ground & 200 new homes.

A real shame, another green site taken away, and more sports facilities lost to housing.

FROM THE GAZZETTE......

Sports club thrown off ground
By Scott McPherson

SPORTS club members claim Westinghouse bosses have broken a promise to let hundreds of sportsmen and women continue playing on their pitches until they are torn up for housing.

The Westinghouse Rec-reation Club's five-acre site in Bristol Road, Chipp-enham, thought to be worth £4 million, has been optioned to Linden Homes. It wants to build up to 200 homes on it.

The club believed it would be allowed to stay there until the plans were approved by councillors after receiving an e-mail from club chairman Mike Smith.

But last week all of the club's 700 members received a letter from Westinghouse telling the club to get out by September 1. It has been based there for 70 years.

Bowls club secretary Stewart Allison is part of an action group formed among group members to fight the closure and stave off the housing development.

He said: "We intend to do everything to oppose this development.

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"The company had agreed that the sporting sections would be allowed continued use of the facilities until planning approval was granted - this promise has now been broken.

"The land was originally given by the Clutterbuck family for recreational use and so our members must have some claim to it.

"At no time did Westinghouse attempt to consult or negotiate with members in an effort to find a solution to their problem.

"It will be impossible to integrate all players into other existing facilities in the town."

The action group, which was set up in 2005, was told by Westinghouse the site was being sold because it could not afford to run it. The club offered to buy the sports club for £80,000 but its offer was rejected. It then offered to take over the £25,000 a year running costs Westinghouse puts into the club. But that was again rejected. Mr Allison said: They said they couldn't afford to run the club so we said okay, let us have a go'. But they weren't interested.'' The action group is calling on the firm to change its mind over the closure.

"We urge the company to postpone the closure until such time that the district council receive a planning application,'' said Mr Allison.

This will allow all aspects of the development to be properly discussed before this facility is lost forever."

Neighbours have received offers from Linden Homes to buy their homes as part of the massive housing development planned for Bristol Road.

One resident in Park Lane, which backs on to the site, said: "A few people in the street have been approached by Linden Homes who have put a first offer on the table to buy their homes.

"Their plans revealed that they want to knock down a few houses to make way for a through road.

If the plans get the go-ahead our road will be used as a rat run and the traffic will be horrendous."

Westinghouse Brake and Signals communications manager Andrew Parsonage said he was unable to confirm whether the sports club had originally been told they could stay until the planning permission had been granted.

He said: "One of the reasons for the sale is that only 26 current employees of Westinghouse use the facility - something which it was originally intended for.

"Over the last two years we have been in consultation with members and we appreciate that people love their club.

"As a gesture of goodwill we set the date for September allowing the cricket club to come to the end of their summer season. The issue of when the members were told they would need to leave will hopefully be sorted at a meeting later this month."

An emergency general meeting has been called for February 27 for all members to raise their concerns with Westinghouse bosses