No to building on Staines Park
Spelthorne Liberal Democrats are delighted to see that investment is finally being made to provide high quality leisure facilities in the Borough. However, we are very concerned by the current plans proposed by Conservative run Spelthorne Borough Council, to build a new leisure centre on the Staines Park site.
Local Lib Dems are encouraging as many residents as possible to make their voice heard in the consultation running until the 23rd July. The Council at their meeting on the 19th Jjuly have now promised for their consultation in September. Go to this address to access and complete the questionnaire: http://www.spelthorneleisure.info/. We are especially disappointed that other options, including redeveloping the current Spelthorne Leisure Centre site or considering the land on which abandoned buildings sit have not been fully explored, or at least not made known publicly.
Speaking for the Liberal Democrats, Chris Bateson, local Staines Campaigner, said: "We oppose what is being proposed and are deeply worried that the Conservatives are once again trying to build on our protected urban open spaces. Just because it would be possible to build a new leisure centre on Staines Park does not make it the right thing to do. We have seen similar attempts made to build on green belt land and once the precedence is set, you wonder where they will draw the line".
We have a clear choice on this issue. Staines Park is an asset to the community and we hope the Conservatives will listen to local residents' opinion. As Liberal Democrats, we want to make sure that the residents' voice is heard; and it is clear to us that many are not in favour of building on Staines Park.
With houses already earmarked to be built on the existing leisure centre site in the plans, we are worried once again that Conservatives want to concrete over Spelthorne. We are very concerned that some might see this already as a 'done deal'.
Like many residents of Spelthorne, we want to see the Council invest money into new facilities that would be great for residents of all ages. But this is not the right solution. We support the campaign by local residents to oppose this scheme.
To find out more, please visit www.spelthorneleisure.info which has more information, and please do use the contact details on the website to get in touch with the team. Similarly, you can find the Save Staines Park campaign here: http://www.savestainespark.info/.