Over 150 Spelthorne residents packed into the Church Hall in Laleham in October to attend a public meeting called by Spelthorne Councillors to discuss the future of Laleham Park. It was announced by Councillor Tony Mitchell that Staines Town Football Club had abandoned their plans to build a football academy there – much to the relief of all present. No explanation was given for their decision.
Councillor Mitchell went onto say that Laleham Park remained a ‘ priority’ for the Council but it was clear without an external partner little could be done. The Councillors agreed that any major development of the park was not viable but they would like to make improvements to the children’s playgrounds and to have a cafe with toilets to replace the derelict building if someone was prepared to take the commercial risk of running it.
There was general support for such improvements. Many expressed the view that they love the Park because it is unspoiled and natural so changes should be kept to a minimum. The possibility of a food van in the car park in the summer months was suggested from the floor.
The meeting was lively. Without exception everyone on the floor was against any major development of the Park. There was much heckling and some excellent questioning. The Councillors and Council staff seemed ill prepared, contradicted each other and got into frequent huddles when they did not know how to respond.
There was much concern that the Council had spent over £40,000 of Council taxpayers’ money on external consultants without first making enquiries of others who would need to be involved in such a project. Flooding, accessibility and transport and the suitability of the site had not been properly assessed.
One of those attending was Chris Arundale, who has worked closely with the Football Association for many years and has advised sporting bodies offering grants for football academies. He recalled football pitches had been removed from the Park when local football leagues stopped teams playing league matches there because of flooding and the fixture congestion that caused. He said that artificial pitches cost hundreds of thousands of pounds and would need replacing if they were flooded. He said that football charities and funders would not underwrite such a risk.
David Furst, Chairman of Save Laleham Park read from a recent email from the Head of Planning at Spelthorne Council which stated ‘Laleham Park is in the Green Belt, the majority is subject to very high levels of flood risk. It is a public park with significant historic interest issues and adjoins the River Thames which is a considerable amenity asset, the setting of which requires protection. These very important considerations are clearly reflected in the council’s adopted planning policies. All the proposals that have emerged over the last few years have been at an early stage and none had got to the point where planning issues were assessed in detail’
All of this suggests that the Councillors got carried away with some impractical and unwanted grandiose schemes and did not research them thoroughly.
David Furst commented after the meeting ‘ The turnout and contributions from the floor showed how passionate and concerned the residents of Laleham and Spelthorne as a whole feel about Laleham Park. I am delighted that Staines Football Club have withdrawn their interest in establishing a football academy in the park, but while there appears to be no immediate prospect of a major development in the park no assurances were given for the future.’