£1/2m pledge for sports hub
A contribution of £1/2m will be made by Newark Town Council towards an outdoor sports hub as part of a deal for new facilities.
The finance and policy committee agreed that land it owns on Bowbridge Road, Newark, should be sold to Newark and Sherwood District Council so a new leisure centre can be built.
In return the district council would sell a site it owns on Cavendish Avenue so Newark Cemetery could be extended.
The Bowbridge Road land has been valued at £350,000 an acre, so under the deal the town council stands to receive almost £2.5m.
Mr Stuart Wallace said all the proceeds from the sale should be given towards the cost of a new leisure centre.
The town clerk, Mr Alan Mellor, pointed out the council needed to find and buy land for a new cemetery.
Even with the planned cemetery extension the town could run out of burial plots in 20 years.
The committee voted to support the idea of the £1/2m contribution.
Mr Max Cope said: “We have been saying for years that the town should have sports facilities and here is a brilliant way we can help.”
Mr Mellor said £1/2m was a sensible figure to ensure other parties could start to apply for funding to help pay for the sports hub.
Mr Paul Baggaley said they had been trying to get sports facilities in the town for 20 years.
He said the sports hub was likely to be a £5m project and the promise of £1/2m from the town council would mean grant applications could be made to organisations such as Sport England, the Football Association, WREN, and the National Lottery.
He said: “This will enable the first step to be taken to open the door for organisations to start working on bids for grant aid.
“In the 20 years we have been trying to get sports facilities this is the first time any money has been put on the table. This is an excellent first step.”
Mr Roger Jackson, the district council cabinet member for leisure, said Bowbridge Road remained their preferred site for a leisure centre.
He welcomed the town council’s pledge of £1/2m towards the sports hub project but said he hoped it might also give £1/2m to the leisure centre scheme.
The sports hub would be built on the RHP sports ground, which is behind the site earmarked for the leisure centre.
The district council is trying to buy the land from Nottinghamshire County Council and has agreed that, if necessary, it would use compulsory purchase orders to acquire it.
