PLANS for Alton’s Sports Centre have been put on hold to allow the applicant to demonstrate that it has engaged with the relevant stakeholders, in its quest to ensure the new facility complies with local planning policy.
In seeking to determine the Reserved Matters application, submitted by Sports and Leisure Management Ltd (trading as Everyone Active), East Hampshire District Council’s planning committee has been praised, by concerned residents, for “doing the right thing” on Monday evening by deferring the application in order to consult with those who will be impacted by that decision.
Passionate about getting the right facility for Alton and its surrounding villages, families with children, sports people and seniors had turned out with posters and banners to join a peaceful demonstration on the steps of Penns Place in Petersfield prior to the decision-making process in the council chamber.
They were highlighting the need for a ‘Sports centre fit for the future’, one based on sport rather than leisure, and centred on the needs of “people, not policies.”
Putting the case for Alton Sports Centre Action Group (ASCAG), as “the voice” of local residents, families and organisations, chairman Alex Golding urged councillors to “reject these plans in their current form until such time that effective community consultation has been held.”
She expressed concerns that not only had areas of planning policy been breached but, should the proposal go ahead, a wide range of activities would be disadvantaged and others excluded – raising objection from Sport England. The proposed centre, she said, did not take into account future population growth or provide ‘enhanced facilities’, was “regressive” in terms of energy saving features, and would have a detrimental impact on the neighbouring Cardiac Rehab unit.
Speaking on behalf of Alton Town Council Peter Hicks said there was “unprecedented public disquiet” over the way this application had been handled when the prospect of a new sports centre should be a cause for celebration. But a new facility, he said, should be “fit for purpose” and, with millions of pounds of locally secured Section 106 money (developers’ contributions) being ploughed into it, it needed to properly address the needs of a growing community, otherwise it could turn out to be “a white elephant.”
Alton’s Neighbourhood Plan (CH2) clearly states that a replacement sports centre facility should provide “an enhanced level of recreational provision for Alton in terms of quality and quantity”.
Mr Hicks pointed out that while the proposed centre’s floor space would be greater than the existing one, the private Spa element meant that it would in fact be less, reducing the offering at a time when the population of Alton and its villages is increasing.
In response, the applicant’s agent, David Love, said that SLM Ltd had worked closely with EHDC to produce a modern 21st century facility, and that a “lot of thought and research” had gone into the internal facilities mix which was designed to engage the wider community in sports and leisure activities, and encourage them to improve their lifestyles.
Speaking as the local ward councillor, Graham Hill stressed the need for a comprehensive management plan for the construction period, particularly with regard to Chawton Park Road, bearing in mind work would take place on replacing Butts Bridge at the same time.
For the committee, Alton councillor Andrew Joy began the batting by pointing out that it had been made clear, when outline permission had been granted in September 2015, that the full details, including facilities mix, would be set out in the reserve matters application, following full public consultation.
Instead, the contract had been signed between EHDC and Everyone Active, agreeing the facilities mix in March 2017, without public consultation, flying in the face the democratic process. And he called for the application to be deferred in an attempt to right this wrong and enable a full consultation to take place.
While planning officers argued that, since this was not a change of use application, the internal mix of facilities for the new centre was outside planning control, councillors begged to differ, expressing doubt over the proposed size of the new facility and its ability to cope with the needs of a growing population, the lack of public consultation, and whether the inclusion of spa and leisure facilities would represent an “enhanced” level of provision for Alton if at the expense of sport.
Alton councillors Dean Phillips and David Orme questioned how the committee could determine whether or not the application complied with planning policies CP 16 and 17, relating to the provision of ‘like for like’ sporting facilities, when they did not have the necessary evidence and data to base it on.
The result was a vote to defer “in order for the applicant to demonstrate quantifiable evidence of how it has engaged the relevant stakeholders in mitigating Policies CP 16 and CP17 of the Joint Core Strategy (Local Plan) and Policy CH2 of the Alton Neighbourhood Plan, within the 15-minute drive time of the new facility.”
The decision has been welcomed by Alton and District Sports Council chairman Joe Walters, as a “triumph for democracy and common sense”, and by ASCAG chair Alex Golding welcoming the prospect of a full public consultation: “Working together we can make a difference”.
Article originally appeared on Alton Herald
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