Readers say no to to sports village

6:23am Tuesday 4th December 2007

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AN ECHO poll suggests a small majority of our readers are against plans for multi-million pound plans for a sports village.

The poll - run on the Echo website, www.echo-news.co.uk - asked readers if they backed the proposed £35million complex in Basildon. The centre would include Essex's first Olympic-sized swimming pool, plus other facilities on a site by the stadium in Gloucester Park.

"This is a great outcome and should send a clear message to the council the plans as they stand are not welcome."

Anti-sports village campaigner Dennis Swaysland

A total of 327 people responded and 173 (52.9 per cent) said they didn't want the sports village.

Some 145 respondents (44.3 per cent) gave a thumbs-up to the plans, with nine undecided.

We ran the vote after council chiefs refused calls for a local referendum on the plans.

Protesters are particularly opposed to the idea of selling off Markhams Chase Leisure Centre, Gloucester Park swimming pool and a other sites to raise funds for the grand project.

It was campaigner Dennis Swaysland, 74, of Beauchamps Drive, Wickford who originally called for the referendum.

When he heard the result of our poll, he said: "This is a great outcome and should send a clear message to the council the plans as they stand are not welcome.

"People don't want to see the other local centres sacrificed to make way for an elitist centre many can't afford."

Mr Swaysland praised the Echo for running the poll, after the council rejected his request.

He added: "The council has been telling everyone how much support it has locally for the project.

"However, we have already exposed the council's claim 80 per cent of local people supported it.

"That came from a total of 23 responses to the council consultation. This new result confirms there is much more opposition."

Stephen Horgan, Tory councillor responsible for regeneration, said he wasn't discouraged by our result.

He explained: "If 95 per cent had been against, I would have been concerned.

"This is fairly encouraging. If you look at the result in conjunction with the comments people posted, there was roughly an even split."

He claimed: "What was apparent was people do not object to the sports village in principle, but largely to the way it is being funded."

Mr Horgan said some valid concerns had been raised and promised they would be taken on board.

However, when asked if it meant the council would reassess its approach, he said no.

He added: "We are now going through the process of securing a development partner to design, build, maintain and operate the sports village.

"More detail will emerge during this process and there will be further consultation."

Buckley: Centres may have to be privatised
council leader Malcolm Buckley has given a stark warning about the future of the district's leisure centres if the sports village plan fails.

The Tory councillor said existing centres were costing taxpayers so much the ones not sold off would have to be privatised, even if the sports village did go ahead.

He explained: "Based on current use, most centres are having to be subsidised, just to stay open.

"Eversley Leisure Centre in Pitsea is costing the most. We are paying nearly £2 in subsidies for every user's session.

"Markhams Chase and the Gloucester Park pool are each costing around a £1 per user per session in subsidies, which all comes from council tax."

Mr Buckley pointed ut closing Markhams Chase and the Gloucester Park pool would remove this burden from taxpayers.

He added: "For other centres such as Eversley, which would stay open, we might consider private firms running those, but no decision has been taken."

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