VANDALS HIT NEW PAVILION
■ ASHBOURNE’S new sports and community pavilion has been attacked by vandals. The £800,000 building, replacing the now-demolished Memorial Pavilion, has been made possible following years of public fundraising, and the support of an army of volunteers. But last week workmen found an internal wall flattened.
VANDALS have trashed part of the construction site at Ashbourne’s new sports and community pavilion.
The £800,000 building, which is being built on the recreation ground in place of the now-demolished Memorial Pavilion, has been made possible following years of public fund-raising, and the support of an army of volunteers.
But on Thursday, contractors from the local firm Enrok Construction arrived at the site to find one of the internal walls had been flattened.
The Ashbourne Sports and Community Partnership, which has spent years planning the project, raising money and sourcing grants, says the damage appears to be part of a wider problem in Ashbourne, with gangs of youths causing trouble around the town.
The partnership’s secretary Dave Wood said: “I think it’s fair to say that the people of Ashbourne have had enough of this never-ending vandalism by young people running rampage in the town – and it’s getting worse, not better.
“When we stand together, we achieve so much more. Take the work that the Ashbourne Sports and Community Partnership has done.
“We’ve spent four years fund-raising, campaigning and lobbying to bring this project to life for the local community, with the help of local people and businesses.
“In the autumn, our schools, sports teams, spectators and visitors to our town, will be able to enjoy this new space.
“Something needs to be done – we’re not going to allow this destruction to spoil what we’ve all fought so hard to build.”
The new pavilion is aimed at supporting the local sports clubs in their development, as well as providing a much-needed community space for the town’s residents.
To see the project through to this stage, the partnership managed to attract hundreds of thousands of pounds of outside funding, both national and local, including grants from a range of sporting bodies, including the English and Welsh Cricket Board and the Football Foundation.
Family-run Ashbourne firm Enrok Construction was commissioned as the principal contractor and work got underway in January.
Former Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School pupil Jordan Mallisch, Enrok Construction’s managing director, says the damage caused to the building site - which had been secured overnight - was “a sad indictment of the current issues faced in Ashbourne”.
He said: “When we arrived on site this morning, we found one of the walls we’d just built had been completely vandalised.
“It’s frustrating for us as the principal contractor because we’re building the new Sports Pavilion for the people of Ashbourne – it belongs to all of us.
“We’re only five months away from completing it – it’s something to look forward to.
“We live in the town and we’re just as concerned as the rest of the community with the anti-social behaviour – it’s been going on for far too long.
“We have reported the vandalism to the police.
“Some people may question why we don’t have full-time security on site, but that would add a huge cost to the project.
“Surely any additional fund-raising would be better spent on other community projects.
“What we need to do, is deal with the root cause of the problem.”
Other reports of vandalism and anti-social behaviour have included damage to the Sean Griffin Memorial Stand on the nearby football pitch, smashed glass bottles found around the town, regular mess - including drug paraphernalia - being left at the bus shelter in Shaw Croft, and reports of abusive youngsters.
There have also been reports of youngsters riding mini-motorbikes erratically on public land, including the recreation ground, Bradley Wood, and on pavements.
The News Telegraph has asked Derbyshire police for an interview with one of the town’s local officers about how these issues are being tackled.
However, we have yet to receive a response from the force’s press office.
We’re not going to allow this destruction to spoil what we’ve all fought so hard to build. Dave Wood