Castle Dyke Playing Fields

[Camz 10]

I think that's right Camz. To be fair I think she saw it as the about the only way to get anything done in many cases, not the preferred way of doing things, but the lack of funding left little choice.

 

Because of lack of funding, Does this make it right for the Council to Dispose of irreplaceable Green Spaces?

106 Monies releases a small percentage back into the area for improvements, whilst the Council reap a Substantial cash flow from any sale of land.

[algy 11]

Don't misunderstand me Camz, I agree with you completely. I just think she's between a rock and a hard place, put there by the Council who crow about their achievements winning awards from Europe but not being willing to pay the price, and expecting their officers to find a way round it. It's part of the legacy of (and here I'll probably be howled down by our resident councillors) the World Student Games, because the Leisure budget has had to pick up the tab for the ongoing debt payments for years.

[e3sa934 10]

barbed wire has now appeared on the fencing around the fields .....

[tomjerry 10]

No what right do they have to fence it off.

 

 

If Birkdale pay for the use of this land and for its upkeep why shouldn't they fence it off?

 

I'm sure that most people do clear up after their pooches and put any other rubbish in a bin, but it is a sad reality that a lot of people would not be this responsible. Why should the school have to constantly check the ground for whoopsies and any other offending items on the grounds.

[Ned Ludd 10]

Based on the figures in this thread, Birkdale have paid £245K for a 125 year lease, ie. less than £2K a year

In just 40 year time with inflation, what will that be in real terms? In 100 years time what will that be in real terms? PEANUTS!

The Council has tied itself to a poor contract which will be of no benefit at all to future generations of Sheffielders and scant little if any to the current generation

[ROUTE66 10]

Exactly.

 

This was a Labour run councl selling out.

 

Some body in the council should be held to account.

 

They seem to have been lead down the garden path and consented to the errection of a fence to be put in as part of the deal.

 

What have the locals gained from this and the city in general.

[ROUTE66 10]

Visit the website.

 

http://www.freethefields.co.uk/_pages/hot.htm

[Ned Ludd 10]

I do wonder what other negotiations the council may be secretly involved in, regarding the disposal of public assets?

Birkdale flashed a wad of readies and the Council snatched it.

I'd observe that my, as yet unborn, granchildren will never see public access to this site and by the time they are dead, £234K will seem an insignificant sum of money

 

I wonder how much of this money has been spent and on what?

 

People involved with amateur football (pub teams etc) will know that a season's rent on one pitch at somewhere like the Transport ground is about £1100/season (Up from about £800 2-4 years ago). This would suggest that the Council haven't done us any favours

[ROUTE66 10]

I have been told that there should be a sign outside the pavilion with contact number so local teams can ring up and book the pitches.

 

Why the council has failed to act and insist that the sign be put up seems to be another failing of the council. I expect BD don't want a sign or one would have been put up by now.

 

BD may be able charge what they want for the renting of the facilities.

(They can reply on this site with some figures)

 

Again I expect the council failed to negotiate a clause that gave them the right to cap the price of renting the facilities to the 'Local Community'. The locals have lost out again.

 

I hope if the Lib-dems get into power they carry out an full internal investigation into how this all happened and publish it on the web site for us all to see.

[dogwalker 10]

Just out of interest what do you perceive to be " BD's street cred"

[Ned Ludd 10]

BD may be able charge what they want for the renting of the facilities.

I wonder if Sheffield United will be able to charge what they want for the "community facilities" at Crookes as well?

[surg 10]

This Labour government's policy is that all local councils should maximise the financial return of all their assets. This obviously means raising funds from selling land or by directly charging various groups for using a piece of land and the facilities on it. Obviously, as property prices ( and thereby land prices) increase it only stands to reason that over time the charges for community groups to use this land will increase.