Development and Site Allocations (DaSA) Local Plan - Options and Preferred Options

We are writing to formally support retaining Sidley Sports Ground as playing pitches.
We as a football club used to play at the Sports Ground and shared the facility with the local cricket club. Since the closing of the ground, we have been forced to relocate to Hooe Recreation ground, some 5 miles outside of the area.

Sidley United Football Club was formed in 1906 and for over 100 years have been at the very heart of the local community. Since the loss of our home we have lost this status and had to initially cease existing as a club before being able to reassemble at our new location in Hooe. There is no other viable space for us in Sidley at present. Sidley Sports Ground was what we deemed as our 'home' for a long period of time, and to many of us on the committee we still do consider the Sports Ground as our spiritual home.

The loss of the ground was devastating for all involved with the club. More than just the football side of things, the ground was a focal point for a thriving community who often frequented in the bar, which played an important role in fundraising and holding other social events for members of the local community.

There is a strong demand for sports and in particular football and cricket in the local area. There is a shortage of adequate and appropriate facilities for adults and youths and the Sidley Sports Ground provided excellent facilities - indeed it was the premium location for football in the area. If the planning application was successful then this valuable asset would be lost, depriving a large number of people the opportunity to partake in sports and recreation.

There is a lack of adequate facilities, specifically for football in the local area. As a club, we would require not only a large enough area for a full size football pitch, but changing rooms, toilets, refreshments areas and other spaces in order to be an operational football team in the town. We consider that at present there is no other viable alternative, other than the Sports Ground where we could accomplish this.

It has already been established that sport holds many benefits for people, from the physical side through to supporting on the mental health of individuals. We feel it is vitally important that local people have the opportunity to enjoy an appropriate sports field and reap the many benefits on offer by use of it.

There has been some suggestion that the landowner may provide some alternative support for sport in the local area if the application were to be successful. However as suggested above, we consider that there is a lack of appropriate space locally for the quality of facilities that we would need. The building of an astro-turf pitch or small scale football pitch would not suffice us, and nor would it be adequate for members of the local community.

As a club, we do not support the application for housing. We consider that if the application were to be granted, the chances of Sidley United returning to the local area and bringing members of the local community together would be virtually nil. We also consider that local residents would not benefit from the building of more houses in the area, as we are concerned that non-residents would purchase the properties, thus not actually benefiting local people.

We appreciate that the Council's Playing Pitch Strategy highlights the significance and importance of the Sports Ground and it is considered both highly accessible and valuable within the local District. We would like to reinforce that we agree with the Council in this regard and highlight the importance of retaining the Sports Ground as a sports field.