A Portadown GAA club member has taken legal action against Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council over claims it failed to consult on a new pitch strategy.
Gavin Booth, who is representing the member of Tír na nÓg GAA Club said Judicial Review papers against the council were lodged with the High Court last week.
Last May the council brought forward a new playing pitch strategy for the Craigavon area aimed at the provision of sports pitches in the Portadown, Craigavon and Lurgan areas. However, soon after the report became public, GAA clubs complained the report had failed to consult them. Tír na nÓg were particularly angered and club chairperson Dessie Henderson said members were even more infuriated when the council claimed it had consulted them when they insist they were not consulted. The club has only one pitch though it has been pursuing ways of extending its facilities.
Mr Henderson believes genuine and full consultation with their club would have revealed the extent of its needs in relation to extra pitch and training facilities.
He said: “We were just dismissed. They said we were consulted when we were not. That is quite annoying. We were at the council meeting where they voted on this and it is just disgraceful. We pay our rates and we are entitled to be heard. We have not been consulted. We asked them, please go back and have a look at this but they said no. People feel angry when something like that happens. We try our best. We have 16 teams and one pitch. This has the potential of curtailing any grants or any provision for us going forward. We are travelling all over the country to train. We have had to travel as far as Cookstown to train. We cooperate with the rugby club and we use some of their facilities but you can’t go begging of everybody all the time. We were looking at development plans with the Department of Education and with the Council and Sports NI. But this report has the potential to curtail our abilities to move that forward.”
He explained that parts of the report detailed proposals by St Mary’s Youth Club’s soccer team to build a sports hub in a field beside Drumcree College. Mr Henderson said: “The only problem is they don’t own the land. But even if they did get permission, they also have quite a number of under age teams and they will be using it. Plus it will be a soccer pitch development and wouldn’t be any use to us.”
Dessie said Tir Na Nog cater for up to 300 young people including men and women’s football and underage football.
Mr Henderson also queried how much the private company was paid by ABC Council to conduct consultations. He said the club put in a Freedom of Information request to the council regarding the consultation with the GAA.
“I think they gave four dates but they have no record of the meetings, no names of the people who attended the meetings, no record of the minutes. So what is going on? We set out that we had not been consulted on our needs. They said they had consulted with Armagh County Board and the Ulster Council. Both have said they were not consulted on this project. Armagh County Board were asked for statistical information, on the number of teams etc in the area but that is all they were asked for. Even if they had consulted with them, each individual club has individual needs. Some clubs are well catered for and some clubs not. It is just frustrating that people tell you something that you know is not true. That’s the annoying thing and that is what has got people’s backs up. Club members are angry,” said Mr Henderson adding that he predicts that report will be put on a shelf to gather dust unless clubs are prepared to pursue their needs.
“We would like to develop and we would like to get a second playing area. We have been in discussions with various bodies to do that. Our GAA club was dismissed out of hand,” said Mr Henderson. And he asked the Council: “Please come and talk to us. I certainly wasn’t consulted and I am the chairperson.”
The solicitor representing the Tír na nÓg club member, Gavin Booth, of Phoenix Law said: “We have lodged Judicial Review proceedings because we believe there has been a failure to consult with the club. There has clearly been an identified need for the club to have further pitch provision. He said the council has failed to deal with various requests to meet with the club. Mr Booth added that the case has been taken by a club member not the club itself. The papers have been lodged but there are few courts sitting due to the COVID-19 virus.
“We are awaiting directions from the court whether it will move to a full hearing or whether he will hear from both parties via submissions.”
Last August it was revealed that the council admitted it had no records of any dates times or minutes of any meetings with the GAA on pitch strategy. It followed a Freedom of Information request and a response in June by the Ulster GAA which said: “At no stage was Ulster GAA consulted in relation to the ABC Council pitches strategy.”
“Previous reporting on the matter indicated that Ulster GAA had been involved in the process, however, this was incorrect.”
In a rare move, various GAA clubs in the Portadown, Lurgan and Craigavon areas issued the same statement on their Facebook pages.
It stated: “As most members are aware a recent “consultation” took place lead by staff from the Recreational Services Department of Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Council and a publicly funded Consultant, brought in from GB. As GAA clubs in north Armagh, we felt collectively that the GAA was very under represented in planning for the future in comparison to other sports. Despite lobbying collectively, ABC Council were insistent that all clubs had been consulted extensively, despite statements being forwarded from our governing bodies to say they did not consult on clubs’ behalf. All clubs in north Armagh also communicated likewise to confirm no consultation took place. At a recent council meeting, it was voted to go ahead despite clubs’ collective concerns, with the Recreational Department in attendance on the night. The GAA clubs requested a Call In and yet again we were denied. GAA members throughout north Armagh put Freedom of Information requests into council,” said the statement with the published FoI. A shocking indictment on our council that this is all that can be produced as evidence of “consultation”. What a waste of tax payers money. Next stop judicial review!”
Article originally appeared on Portadown Times
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