A switch for pitch?
Football playing area may be moved after resident complaint
TOWN councillors are pitching the idea of relocating the football playing area on Pound Lane.
This comes after a resident complained about footballs flying from the pitch on to their driveway.
Concerns surround noise from footballs flying over the resident’s fence, balls hitting their house windows and vehicles, and children knocking on the door asking for their ball back.
There has also been an account of a ball hitting a dog walker using the public footpath that runs alongside the playing pitch.
Upon visiting the site, Thatcham Town Council services and health and safety manager Mike Aslin noted that moving the football field may be a suitable arrangement.
The playing area also has an uneven surface, meaning relocation would be of benefit to users of the pitch.
Mr Aslin told a council recreation and amenities committee meeting that the football playing area could be moved to a nearby spot on the same field.
He told the committee that goal posts could be repositioned into a new area and a wild grass meadow could be planted in place of the old pitch in order to avoid ecological losses.
Mark Lillicrop (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) weighed up the options for what could be done with
the old pitch site.
He said: “We could replace it with wild grass, cultivate it in some way for people to use it for sitting and enjoying a summer’s evening; there’s couple of ideas there.”
In terms of the new location he added: “It will improve the football pitch. We owe it to the younger people to give them a better pitch.
“This area could be made to be a better position for playing football.”
However, the ideas that were put forward are things that councillors believe will require input from members of the public, notably dog walkers and users of the pitch itself.
Mr Lillicrop drew on the issue that the council “may end up with different interests at play there”.
Keith Woodhams (Lib Dem,
Thatcham West) asked whether or not the relocation will be adopted by those who use the site. He said: “People tend to try to go back to an old area when they are used to it.”
Richard Foster (Lib Dem, Thatcham Colthrop and Crookham) enquired about the costs of the relocation, noting that it may be “a lot of money” for one resident’s complaint.
But Mr Aslin responded: “You have got the main public footpath. Even when houses weren’t there, there was an issue for people kicking balls into them.”
Jeremy Cottam (Lib Dem, Thatcham North East), looking at the benefits to residents and users of the pitch, called it a “win win” situation.
The plans will be further discussed before fully considered for public consultation.