Agenda item

Sports Facilities in Page Hall

It was moved by Councillor John Booker, seconded by Councillor Jack Clarkson, that this Council:-

(a)        believes the area of Page Hall, Fir Vale, would benefit from having two floodlit football pitches built on spare ground at the side of Wensley Street, with shelters or possible cafe type area adjacent, so all communities would have a meeting place where they could socialise and get to know each other better;

(b)        also believes, after speaking with local residents, that this planned development would go some way to reducing social tensions, and focus actions positively on an inclusive project;

(c)         hopes areas like S4, where the mover of this Motion lived and worked in his youth, can one day make the headlines for the right reasons, i.e. social inclusion and prosperity for all;

(d)        further wishes for cross party support on this action plan, and hopes funds can be found for smaller projects as easily as they seem to be acquired for larger ones;

(e)        notes that Britain is a compassionate, caring nation, and that in the course of our island's history we have welcomed millions of people to these shores and we are proud of that fact;

(f)         further notes that UKIP believes, and will comply fully with, the 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of refugees, and will continue to honour the country’s obligations to bona fide asylum seekers; and

(g)        notes that a petition, with over a hundred signatures and three photographs of the proposed site, has been submitted to the Council in support of the planned development.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Jackie Drayton, seconded by Councillor Ibrar Hussain, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)        notes that organised football sessions already take place three times a week from the floodlit pitches at Fir Vale School, and that these sessions are supported by the Council and South Yorkshire Police and have provided local young people with the opportunity to take part in structured activity with a focus on health and community engagement;

(b)        notes that the immediate area is not short on sports facilities, with additional sports grounds at the bottom of Wensley Close, at Hindewood Close and at Firth Park;

(c)         welcomes that the Council and its partners are working hard to engage positively with members of the community living in the area;

(d)        notes the complex challenges experienced in the area and believes it is important that the Council, partners and members of the community continue to work together to ensure that the positive aspects of the area and the people who live there are recognised and celebrated; and

(e)        recognises the importance of providing and supporting activities and services that make a positive contribution to improving community engagement and local aspirations and, despite the economic pressures, is open to considering requests that fit this.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       notes that organised football sessions already take place three times a week from the floodlit pitches at Fir Vale School, and that these sessions are supported by the Council and South Yorkshire Police and have provided local young people with the opportunity to take part in structured activity with a focus on health and community engagement;

(b)       notes that the immediate area is not short on sports facilities, with additional sports grounds at the bottom of Wensley Close, at Hindewood Close and at Firth Park;

(c)        welcomes that the Council and its partners are working hard to engage positively with members of the community living in the area;

(d)       notes the complex challenges experienced in the area and believes it is important that the Council, partners and members of the community continue to work together to ensure that the positive aspects of the area and the people who live there are recognised and celebrated; and

(e)       recognises the importance of providing and supporting activities and services that make a positive contribution to improving community engagement and local aspirations and, despite the economic pressures, is open to considering requests that fit this.

(Note: Councillors Aodan Marken, Brian Webster, Robert Murphy and Sarah Jane Smalley voted for paragraph (e) and abstained on paragraphs (a) to (d) of the Substantive Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)