Pitches plan is a perfect compromise

Plans to build football pitches, a clubhouse and floodlit artificial surface on Aylestone Meadows were controversial and, unsurprisingly, generated an awful lot of protests, including a march through the nature reserve.

As we all know, the controversy effectively ended when the city council's planning committee turned down its own application. However, this left a big question mark over £900,000 of Football Foundation grants that would have helped finance the exciting project. It also left the GNG Football Club and Leicester City Girls without their intended home, as these clubs were going to share the facility. The Aylestone Meadows plan was part of the city's £11 million project to improve football facilities that will benefit thousands of our children. It was important, therefore, that an alternative plan was drawn up – and quickly – to avoid losing that £900,000 of funding and the project. And now we have an alternative plan – a facility split between two sites.

A clubhouse, floodlit pitches and changing rooms will be built at the Riverside College, which is soon to be vacant. A further 12 pitches with changing facilities will be created on the nearby Aylestone Fields.

It is not perfect because the facility is spilt between two sites, but it is an excellent compromise. The only real question was why this scheme was not put up in the first place because it must have been obvious that there would be huge opposition to building on a nature reserve. Let's hope this scheme gets everyone's approval and now goes ahead as quickly as possible.

Below the article could you pls and this link incase people want to read it and it shows proof that the article is from the newspaper.

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/opinion/Pitches-plan-perfect-compromise/article-3558580-detail/article.html