Public reject Manor Park sports pitch, but clubs say they would play on it

The proposed new sports pitch at Manor Park in Newbury looks set to get binned.

Results of a public consultation are out – with more than half of those who responded saying they preferred to keep the green space as it is.

And a feasibility study just published says the sloping field – it has a seven meter gradient – would need an extra 13,000 cubic square meters of soil to make it level, adding up to £150k to the cost.

Council estimates put the total price at around £400k.

There are no toilet facilities on the site and parking capacity would need to be increased.

Council officers have now recommended that the site not be developed into a pitch.

Most of those responding to the survey were residents.

Several clubs and football related organisations responded, including a local Sunday league and several teams indicated they would wish to play at Manor Park if the sports pitch was developed.

In relation to the question 'How important is it that the council addresses the shortfall of sports pitches?' 47 per cent of respondents viewed that this was 'extremely important' or 'very important', with a further 19 per cent stating it was 'somewhat important'.

Respondents were also asked how the council might address their concerns in relation to this specific development.

The most common grouping of responses was to reopen Faraday Stadium, find another alternative location and to increase community access to more school sports pitches.

The council's Playing Pitch Strategy has identified a need for more grass and artificial sports pitches to meet growing demand, especially for football, where team numbers have grown significantly in the last four years.

The Playing Pitch Strategy has placed a strong emphasis on increasing the number of artificial grass pitches across West Berkshire, primarily due to their superior capacity to accommodate training and matches compared to a grass sports pitch. It says allocating funding to 3G artificial pitches will be a more effective way to meet community demand.

“It is evident that the construction of a sports pitch at this site would go against the wishes of the majority of respondents from the public consultation and prove to be a very complicated and expensive development," said a report to be considered by the West Berkshire Council executive committee this Thursday.

"It is therefore proposed not to progress with a full planning application for the creation of a grass sports pitch at Manor Park."