‘Back to basics’ plea in Addingham recreation centre debate (From Ilkley Gazette)

‘Back to basics’ plea in Addingham recreation centre debate

8:20am Friday 3rd July 2009

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A parish council should go ‘back to basics’ over a new scout hut instead of delaying the project in pursuit of a much bigger recreation centre, says a councillor.

In an attack on the delays in providing a new home for village Scouts, Coun Alan Jerome said Addingham Parish Council should go back to smaller plans for a new Scout hut instead of pushing for a costly and potentially difficult to maintain scheme.

Coun Jerome asked last week’s Addingham Parish Council meeting why consult-ation and fact-finding was still going on nine months after the council agreed to get to work on creating a new Scout hut last year.

Initial plans he had been involved in were for a Scout hut and add-on changing rooms for the footballers, not a centre which would need a lot more maintenance and management.

The parish council agreed to set up a steering group in last September to come up with plans for the replacement of the old village Scout hut, and create changing rooms for Addingham’s football club.

The Scout hut was on council-owned land which was sold for the development of the new Addingham Medical Centre. A public playground also had to be dismantled for the building work to take place, and play equipment had to be scrapped as it was found to be worn out.

The council sold the land for £150,000, although more than £40,000 was eaten away by a hefty legal bill for the deal. The Scouts have since been meeting in a temporary unit, described last week as ‘far from ideal’.

Addingham Civic Society is also raising money, and seeking grant funding, for a £60,000 replacement playground.

Coun Jerome was concerned about the delays in providing a replacement scout hut, and worried that consultation was taking place after the scheme for The Addingham Recreation Centre was drawn up.

He said: “The parish council have an obligation to replace the playground and to support and help to fund the scout facility. That’s all we need to do,” said Coun Jerome.

Coun Ian Taylor, a member of the steering group, said: “Part of the work is to assess the need and demand if there is no need identifiable it would be foolish to proceed.

“It is frustrating that it’s taken longer than we would like, but while people around this table are whinging, the ones that are actually doing the work are getting on with it.”

Coun Graham Lingard said the consultation carried out for the parish plan had shown that people wanted a multi-purpose sports pavilion in Addingham so people do not have to travel to Ilkley to find facilities.

Coun Jerome hit back at his critics. “I’m not whingeing,” he said. “I’m very concerned if we go down this route without knowing if a building of this size is affordable and if the management can be main-tained by the village of Addingham, then I think we are going down a very rocky road.”

Addingham Scouts chair-man, Richard Vaughan, who was invited to give his views, said the group had ‘great concerns’ about the time being taken, but said they were supportive of the recreation centre project.

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