Sandwell Council to discuss need for sports pitches

Councillors on the borough’s Safer Neighbourhoods and Active Communities Scrutiny Board are being asked to comment on proposals drawn up by the local authority and Sports England.

A report to the board outlines the council’s Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) which includes a proposal to build new sports areas to replace low quality facilities.

A supplementary document shows many of the council’s present playing fields suffer from poor drainage making them prone to waterlogging or have limited changing facilities and suffer from vandalism.

Council bosses say there is a need for 3GP – sand based grounds – artificial grass pitches (AGPs).

Alan Caddick, director of housing and communities, in the report says: “The refreshed PPS outlines that Sandwell requires four additional 3G AGPs to meet current demand. To meet future demand, it recommends that a further one will be required. Therefore, Sandwell requires five additional 3G AGPs, to meet current and future demand for football.”

The report adds: “The current level of existing natural turf (grass) football pitches are required to meet current and future demand. Therefore, if any grass pitches were lost in the future there would need to be a ‘like for like’ replacement of provision.”

At present there are 98 football adult pitches in Sandwell with 47 suitable for children’s teams.

The single largest playing field is Lion Farm which has space for 11 pitches but is subject to waterlogging, while its toilets and changing facilities have suffered from vandalism.

Controversially, it has been earmarked for a proposed 200,000 square foot retail development which developers claim could create 2,000 jobs and attract £200 million of investment to the borough.

Developers, Jeremy Knight-Adams, say that in addition to the retail and leisure centre, it is proposed to build three all-weather sports pitches and a training and skills centre to help local people find employment.

But the development has been criticised by campaigners who say it will lead to the loss of sporting facilities and increase traffic congestion in the area.

Peter Durnell, a spokesman for the protestors, has said: “We are absolutely dead against this development because essentially we believe there is a very good chance we will end up losing the Warley and District Sunday football league and that will be a very bad thing in terms of Sandwell’s problems of obesity and ill health.”

Councillors will discuss the strategy at their meeting on Thursday.