This is the community use football pitch referred to below – no white line, no goal posts, no drainage, no community changing facilities as far as I am led to believe.

This LibDem Council lies and cheats local people.I am writing in response to your request for information (ref FOI 7903).

The relevant Council Service(s) has searched for the requested information and our response is as follows.

1. There are two sites where an investment in community sport took place in North Reddish. The first is the Fir Tree site where the old nursery has become a changing provision, the second is Vale View Primary School on the Hardcourt Rd site that contains changing facilities for the community to use. Vale View School manage the Hardcourt Street facilities.

The background is: –

The relevant Planning Condition for the original scheme (DC024357) regarding open space facilities refers to qualitative improvements at the Fir Tree site as a pre-occupation condition:

An extension of time was granted by planning until 18/11/11 but due to vandalism during the contract period the scheme was delayed and meant that Practical Completion was achieved in February 2012 (school opened September 2011).

The following note was also included in the Decision Notice relating to management of the site:

There were delays in finishing the pitch (on former Fir Tree site) due to the weather conditions (snow and rain) and the sub-contractor going into liquidation. All provisions listed in the report have been made and the pitches are now available for use.

Management of the Harcourt street pitch was agreed to be undertaken by the School who can control access to the locked parts of the site and building and Place have been made aware to contact the School to co-ordinate any bookings as they have a list of interested clubs for sites across the Borough.

Whilst there is a contract value associated to the Fir Tree facilities (which exceeds the original amount in the GVA report)(Contract approx. £322,000 of which approx. £55,000 on pitch improvements), the costs associated with the Harcourt Street facilities will be embedded in the overall contract value for the new build school.

2. All information is contained within the Stockport Planning portal approved documentation for the Harcourt Street site, Fir Tree site qualitative replacement and fencing to the new pitch adjacent Vale View Primary School and children’s centre. There has been no recent conversation with Sport England over recent fencing works. There are two types of fencing and we have been granted permission for the higher ‘ball stop’ fencing. We have been informed that the additional low level (around 1.2 metres high) fencing did not require planning permission, so none has been sought. Note that the school should not be locking this additional fencing as the site has to remain accessible to the community.

3. We do not have any drainage reports to share. Pitch drainage was built into the pitch at Hardcourt Street from the creation of the field as a school and community resource.

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Email sent 24th March 2014 to Stockport Council FOI Officer

Please let me have details of community football groups who have applied to use the North Reddish community playing fields at Vale View and on which days they have played there? How many times have the community changing rooms been used and where are they? When were the white lines painted and goalposts erected?

Kind regards

Sheila