Danny kicks off sports village plan

8:33am Thursday 29th November 2007

Comments (1)   Have your say »

PARALYMPIC gold medallist Danny Crates launched the search for a developer to construct a sports village in Basildon.

Mr Crates spoke on the first day of the Thames Gateway Forum in London to mark the start of the process to find a firm to design, build and run the £35million sports centre planned for Gloucester Park.

Mr Crates said: "I have been an international athlete for nine years now and have come up from grass roots level to using the very best facilities.

"I have to train six times a week, twice a day, or more, and throughout my training I have always had to travel to places like Lea Valley or Crystal Palace.

"You get athletics in one venue, swimming in another and physio elsewhere. This centre will create top-class facilities in one place for everyone from grass roots families upwards."

Stephen Castle, Tory county councillor responsible for regeneration and the 2012 Games, also spoke about the significance of the centre for the Thames Gateway region.

He said: "Danny is an inspiration and why shouldn't he be able to train on his door step?

"Why can't south Essex have the top-level facilities available elsewhere in the world?

"The sports village will give people the facilities they deserve and inspire a new generation to take up sport."

The sports village would have the county's first Olympic-sized swimming pool, plus gymnastics facilities up to international standard.

Basildon Council and Basildon Renaissance Partnership hope to open it by 2010 in time for use as a training camp for the London Olympic Games in 2012.