WEALDEN COMMUNITY SPORTS HUB PROJECT MOVES FORWARD

BY PAUL GIBSON

People in Hailsham were given an opportunity to see the plans for a huge sports hub which could be built on land north of the Boship roundabout.

A public consultation and exhibition was held at the Wealden District Council offices last month so that residents could see what sports facilities the authority is planning to build on the site.

The Wealden Community Sports Hub is part of the Council’s Corporate Plan and will be part of Knights Farm which is a new industrial development on land at Lower Dicker. The Sports Hub will be an extension to this land, known as Knights Farm East, which extends across the A267 onto the 22-acre plot where the hub is planned. Included in the proposals are two full-size 3G floodlit football pitches, four dual-use floodlit tennis/netball courts, two padel tennis courts along with a walking and cycle route, BMX Pump track, skate park, children’s play area, outdoor tennis tables, outdoor gym equipment and a community café.

Wealden District Council has stated: “Wealden, there is a need for more accessible sport provision, so the idea of a community sports hub emerged, to increase health and wellbeing opportunities for people right across the district.”

Councillor Philip Lunn, Wealden District Council’s portfolio holder for Leisure, said, “It is very exciting to see this project progressing. It will help address the current deficit of community sports facilities available across Wealden and more importantly, encourage healthier, more active lifestyles for all age groups.”

The public exhibition was to allow residents and stakeholders see the current plans for the Sports Hub, the facilities that are proposed for inclusion and to understand more about how the whole project has developed.

However, although this seems like a massive step forward for sports facilities for the town, the plans fall short of satisfactory according to a local organisation.

Steve Wennington who heads up Hailsham Active, and works with all the local clubs to improve access to sports believes more work should be done. He told Hailsham News: “We have been campaigning for a sports park for Hailsham for many years, so we should be delighted Wealden has agreed to build one, and to a degree we are. When we started our campaign over ten years ago, Hailsham was 27 acres short of green space for the population (13 football pitches) and since then the town has almost doubled.

“The downside is the location, it limits the scope for any expansion. It has limited parking and very poor access. There’s also no indoor facility, something again, local clubs and indeed schools are desperate for.

He concluded: “Whilst we very much welcome the progress made, we would very much like to work with Wealden, town and parish councils, schools and local surgeries to try and fill some of the gaps. We believe there are opportunities to upgrade and open up school facilities, upgrade existing sports and recreation grounds (something we are actively working on), and if we can become integral to conversations with our infrastructure teams and district and county level, we can show simple ways to link communities.”

Hailsham Active has been working with Sport England, Fields In Trust, Active Sussex and many others and believes it can help influence better