Campaigners against part of a playing field being turned into an expansion of a Spalding Cemetery have been given a boost by a national charity.
Most of the area of Chiltern Drive Playing Field would be lost as a result of the measure.
South Holland District Council has revisited the proposal, 10 years after it was turned down by its Planning Committee after objections over the loss of the amenity by Sport England.
The district council is hoping to get around that this time by leaving some of the area for play and ‘acquiring’ land 30 minutes walk away on the Wygate Park Estate.
Many nearby residents who opposed the 2015 application have vowed to fight the latest proposal.
They wrote to the head of the Play England charity whose chief executive Eugene Minogue backed the objectors.
“National planning policy has strengthened since the previous proposals were considered,” he told the campaigners. “The council’s press release describes the land as “open amenity land” and says that the “existing play area” will remain unaffected.
“However, the information I have seen indicates that the wider field has historically been used by children and young people for football, informal play and recreation.
“Indeed, Sport England’s previous objection recorded evidence of junior football use dating back to at least 1999 and objected because the loss of the playing field was not being replaced.
“Children’s play does not begin and end with fixed play equipment.
“The council’s reference to potentially acquiring 2.64 acres of land at Wygate also raises questions rather than resolving the issue. It will need to be clear whether that land is being formally proposed as replacement provision for the loss of Chiltern Drive Playing Field and, if so, whether it meets the relevant planning-policy tests in terms of quantity, quality, location and accessibility for the community currently using the field.
“A general increase in open space elsewhere in Spalding is not automatically equivalent replacement for the loss of an established local play and recreation space.
“Play England’s position is clear. Children need access to safe, accessible spaces close to where they live where they can play freely.
“Informal spaces where children meet friends, kick a ball around, cycle, explore and play independently are part of the social infrastructure of communities.
“They should not be treated as expendable simply because they do not contain fixed play equipment.”
The Voice asked South Holland District Council if it would like to respond to Mr Minogue’s comments, but we had not received a reply at the time of going to press.
