Please don’t sell our village playing field
Residents rally to block sale of pitch to developers
David Campbell
david.campbell01@trinitymirror.comSport craig.ritchie@trinitymirror.com
Sport craig.ritchie@trinitymirror.com Advertising Advertising lynsey.gair@trinitymirror.com lynsey.07393gair@762401trinitymirror.com 07393 762401 kirsteen.brown@trinitymirror.com kirsteen.0141309brown@4312trinitymirror.com 0141 309 4312 A community has come out in force to back a campaign to keep a sports facility in public ownership.
A rally was held to boost the drive to stop any possibility of Howwood playing field from being sold to developers.
Campaigners fear the facility will be sold by Renfrewshire Council, which they claim is getting rid of assets it can no longer look after.
And villagers are worried that land will go to a developer or be sold privately to a sports club that might not let the public use it. The council has denied this, however.
Attending the event was Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland. He said he wanted to see for himself the importance of the field and facility.
Mr Greene said: “There was a huge turnout. It felt like half of the village was there to support the campaign.
“I was pleased to help Councillor Binks and meet with local community council representatives who are working tirelessly to secure the site.
“What is clear to me after my visit is that this is pretty much the only safe decent open space for kids and families in the village. It has been neglected terribly over the years, the goalposts have fallen down, the fencing is broken and the clubhouse is in need of some TLC. But with a bit of effort, work and money, this whole field could be rejuvenated into a wonderful local facility.”
He added: “I am really impressed by the hard work going into this campaign and I support the local community as they try to present a business model to the Council which works. I would be sad to see this valuable asset disappear out of public access. I will do whatever I can as a regional MSP to assist.”
A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “Howwood Park is held in trust by the council for the village. The park has not been put up for sale although the council has been approached by three local community groups who have declared an interest in potentially taking control of the space, however to date no formal approach has been made.
“As part of the Community Empowerment ( Scotland) Act 2015 the council welcomes all requests from community bodies who may wish to take ownership of land and buildings in their local areas for the benefit of the community.
“The Howwood Park playing field is currently designated as an open space and has been identified in the Council’s Playing Fields Strategy as available for leasing as a pitch for the local community.”