Show of strength

HAVING their say... a large crowd, including Saddleworth Runners in their club vests, gathers at Uppermill Civic Hall last night

Athletes nail colours to running track fight
A 200-STRONG crowd packed Uppermill Civic Hall last night as controversy over plans for Churchill playing fields reached fever pitch.

It was standing room only as young and old crowded into the hall representing various event committees, sports teams and local villages.

Saddleworth Runners staged a protest by jogging to the meeting in their sportswear. They complained that they had not been informed of plans to remove the running track as part of a £300,000 overhaul of the drainage.

Councillor Barbara Beeley outlined proposals to create four full-sized rugby or football pitches, with the potential for as many as 10 mini-pitches for tournaments.

Councillor John McCann said the money already pledged by the district partnership and Oldham Council — just short of £150,000 — would not be around for long.

He said: “We need to get real. We have a short window of opportunity to use this money. We can’t keep talking.

“The fields are going to wrack and ruin, but this is a one-off chance to solve that.”

Among the crowd was Uppermill resident Jacqueline Grout, accompanied by her eight-year-old daughter Hannah Bird, who had given up her birthday celebrations to attend. Jacqueline said: “For me, the vision should have been set out, then the decision made as to where to get the money from. My daughter won a gold medal and Spirit of the Games award at her first Saddleworth Olympics last year and she is so annoyed that she might not be able to do it again.” Reactions ranged from jeers to cheers as local councillors and council officers answered questions pitched to them.

Other residents raised issues of transparency while one local, Diane Moore, referenced her petition against the removal of the running track with more than 300 signatures.

In a poll, the majority voted for the running track to be re-instated, but councillors said this could cost between £250,000 and £1million.

Alan Bolton, a youth coach at Saddleworth Rangers, said: “I feel desperately sorry for the runners but for the last three years the seasons have been decimated and the youngsters can’t play.” Fellow Rangers coaches agreed, labelling the fields an embarrassment. Large scale events are also in question as the fields will be out of action for almost a year.

Councillor Richard Knowles said it was the intention to maintain the future of events such as the Saddleworth Show, which will go ahead this year, but admitted it was a mistake to allow tanks and large vehicles to drive over the fields.

Saddleworth Rotary member Stan Bowes, who is in charge of the Saddleworth Show in 2012, said: “Our only certainty of holding the show next year is if they don’t get the funding. We will work with the council, the three options are to postpone it, abandon it or find an alternative venue — and there isn’t one big enough in Saddleworth.”

Parish councillor Ken Hulme has made a formal complaint to Oldham Council arguing they have failed in their duty to involve, while Greenfield and Grasscroft Residents’ Association said their idea for removing the weir could have been a cheaper option.