Ashfield is a campaign that I, like the population of Standish, are very passionate about. We all know that in 2012 the Council were having conversations with Persimmon and Morris Homes about building houses on the feilds. The Council spent nearly £3000 on leaflets only the other month and sent them to every house in Standish saying that the closure of Ashfield is not true. However, the Council at the end of last football season removed the changing rooms and they did not return at the beginning of this years season. Many thought that they went away for the summer just to be refurbished or something and would return at the start of the season.
Now we are well into the football season and the Council have not returned the changing rooms and South Lancs League have now banned ALL their teams from playing on Ashfield because their criteria is that the grounds have to have on site changing facilities.
Now the football teams cannot plan on Ashfield because of the Council's decision to remove the changing rooms and no doubt the Council will in time will say, what they usually do, that the fields are no longer being used by football teams and so they are defunct and they can sell them. Remember when the Council block new pupils attending Mere Oaks and then they said that children were not going there so that's why it had to close.
I have contacted the Council with my concerns and I am demanding that the changing rooms are put back ASAP to allow the teams back on the feilds before they go and find other permanent places to play on.
Shame on this shameful Council who only purpose seems to try and publish and get opposition Cllrs that oppose them!
Very sad, but really need to look at some green belt areas for housing or they will keep taking stuff for housing ..... some dormant green belt can be used without impact to the reason for the policy ...
ReplyDeleteWe don't need more houses! There are tons of places all over Wigan that are vacant and some of the newly developed areas between town and Standish, which weirdly always get approval from the council, are overrun with "For Sale" and "To Let" signs.
DeleteI know no-one from out of the area that wants to move here but can't due to a lack of housing but I do know countless people who live in the area and would like to move away but either can't afford it or can't sell up.
This is just what they did with Mere Oaks, stopped children from attending and then after a while said that there was no children attending so they had no choice but to close it. Wigan Council can only do that trick so many times before people know what they are up too.
ReplyDeleteThere will have been a few pockets lined and backs scratched over that one as there is with seemingly everything that the council does.
DeleteThey've been gone for longer than a few months. Been several years now.
ReplyDeleteThe behaviour of Wigan Council (or Wigan MBC or Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council or whatever they're called but that's another story) absolutely disgusts me, I really do feel sick to my stomach. They have a game plan here, just as you say, at some point they will say the playing fields are not being used and therefore can be flogged off (no doubt with the obligatory cash stuffed brown envelopes flying 'round the Labour Mafia and their corrupt officials). Still, if people keep voting for pigs they can't expect them not to have their snouts in the trough (actually, that's a bit unkind to pigs). I'll be voting UKIP at the next Local Elections because in my ward at least they have a chance of winning. I don't particularly like UKIP but I like Wigan Labour and Little Lord Dictator even less.
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