Footballers asked to provide funds for new pavilion

From the archive, first published Thursday 9th Feb 2006.

FOOTBALLERS in Addingham will be asked to contribute funds towards a new pavilion in the village for themselves and local scout groups.

Plans to upgrade facilities at the pavilion had to be re-designed after a survey revealed the poor state of the building on Stockinger Lane.

A report to Addingham Parish Council says: "The existing building of the football pavilion has been surveyed and conversion of it will mean almost everything about it will need renewing. The roof is tilting and it has been agreed that it is not worth saving."

The plan to upgrade the 30-year-old hut resulted from a decision to re-house Addingham scouts who would be made homeless by the building of the new medical centre.

The medical centre will be constructed on parish council-owned land at the rear of the Memorial Hall on Main Street after the existing scout hut has been demolished.

With the money from the sale of the land, parish councillors want to provide a new home for the scouts and the footballers and also intend to have a new five-a-side all weather pitch built on the Stockinger Lane site.

Because the ambitious new plan will also benefit the footballers, they have been asked to apply to the Football Foundation for a grant to help finance the project.

Parish council chairman Gordon Campbell said that the lion's share of the money would still come from the Bradford North and Airedale Primary Care Trust's (PCT) private finance deal.

He added that the main priority was still to get the medical centre up and running so the village will have continuous primary health care services.

Coun Cambell said: "It is all very early days. The priority is the medical centre, everything else is just a great big bonus."

Villagers are still waiting for PCT officials to decide which one of three medical practices applying have been chosen to run the new medical centre. Once this has been done, the medical centre plan can go forward and parish councillors can submit a formal application to replace the football pavilion.

Because the scheme has already been discussed in detail with and approved by council planners, parish councillors are expecting an easy ride through the Keighley area planning panel stage.

But due to its green belt location, the plan will have to be scrutinised by the council's regulatory committee and the office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which will drag the process out further if not block it altogether.

Archive Home