Funding blow to Sportszone plans

EXCITING plans to build a £2.8 million Sportszone in Fitton Hill have been scrapped after a last-ditch funding blow.

New Deal for Communities (NDC) has been unable to get the money in time from the Football Foundation to help bring disused pitches back into use for football tournaments, basketball, rugby and other sporting activities.

But NDC says it may still invest the £1.8 million it had stumped up for the programme — though the plans will have to be rethought and scaled down.

The failed scheme was unveiled in a blaze of publicity in March when residents viewed plans and were asked for their opinions.

Work was supposed to start next month.

The intention was to provide new playing pitches and changing accommodation on land behind the Centre of Professional Development in Rosary Road. But the NDC board is now looking at more cost effective ways of providing good quality sports pitches accessible to residents and sports clubs at an affordable price.

One option is to use the available funds to improve existing primary school playing fields in the area.

The schools involved would initially include Broadfield and St Martin’s but would need an agreement on community access so locals could use the facilities.

Talks are being held and the new proposals will be considered by the NDC later this month.

NDC chiefs are also working with the Dawson Community Forum, a group of local sports clubs and residents, to explore the possibility of the land at Rosary Road being developed on a self-help voluntary basis.

The proposals will need to be ironed out with Oldham Council but if successful would provide clubs with dedicated facilities that would not have been available under the larger scale commercially-led scheme.

Long-standing resident Eunice Gerrard, a member of The Neighbourhood Team and Hathershaw and Fitton Hill History Association, said: “Those that would have used the Sportszone were looking forward to it and will be very disappointed.

“It would have made a good improvement to the area. It’s sad. If there is still money there it might as well be used. NDC finishes next year and there’s still lots of improvements to be done.”

An NDC spokeswoman said: “We remain very committed to the provision of new sports facilities to serve Hathershaw and Fitton Hill.

“However, this project was dependent on additional funding being obtained from the Football Foundation to supplement the available NDC funding.

“This additional funding is now not possible so it has been necessary to consider how to make best use of the NDC funding that may still be available — in itself, however, it is insufficient to fund a viable new facility at Rosary Road.”