Object
Preferred Site Allocations 2018
Representation ID: 18094
Received: 08/03/2018
Respondent: Mrs Rosemarie Nelson
The field is the only recreation/sports field in Tipps Cross and is an important facility for local people and visitors hiring the hall.
Once built on, the land - and its health/social/sports benefits - are lost forever.
Hall hirers appreciate and use the field to extend their activities and its loss will have a serious detrimental impact on bookings.
The local infra-structure (doctor/school etc) are already stretched; extra housing will just exacerbate the situation.
The land adjacent to Tipps Cross Remembrance Hall has been used as a recreation field for nearly 100 years, first as a cricket pitch and more recently as two croquet pitches and general recreation/sports area. It is the only recreation field in the Tipps Cross area and is an important facility for local people and visitors to the hall alike. With the national obesity crisis, it is foolhardy to lose such a benefit - once lost, it is gone forever.
Tipps Cross Remembrance Hall is a venue for a variety of local functions and groups, including Pre-school, quizzes, weddings, children's parties, Senior Citizens groups, badminton, table tennis and bowls clubs. As well as the regular Croquet Club (which provides exercise to an enthusiastic group of older people throughout the summer), the recreation field is used by many of the other organisations and individuals who hire the hall. It is a significant "selling point" and hirers enjoy the benefit of being able to expand their event outside.
Additional housing here (and in Blackmore village as proposed) will obviously mean more people - who will need more, not less, leisure facilities. The hall and field are run economically and successfully, at NO cost to Brentwood Borough Council. Nevertheless, the Council appears to be keen to capitalise on this asset - to the detriment of its residents and Council tax payers.