Sports centre gets go-ahead

2:47pm Tuesday 18th September 2001

Controversial plans for a £3.5million sports centre in Burnt Oak have been given the green light, despite doubts over who will foot the bill.

Proposals scraped through in the face of Conservative opposition at the council's planning and environment committee on Wednesday last week.

The scheme, dubbed a "vanity project" by angry Tories, will see a state-of-the-art centre on former Camden Council playing fields at the corner of Watling Avenue and Montrose Avenue.

But National Lottery funding of £1million has already been turned down and a seond bid is currently hanging in the balance.

Sport England is understood to be unwilling to hand out cash while Barnet Council fails to force Barnet College to honour a long-standing promise to provide an all-weather playing pitch in nearby Grahame Park.

Public consultation on the sports centre, in council leader Alan Williams' ward, yielded 605 positive replies and only 30 negative, according to the council.

Yet nearby residents expressed anger as plans were given the go-ahead.

Resident Pauline Cording, who lives opposite the site in Watling Avenue, said: "The noise and disturbance from this will just be a big joke. I can't take it at the moment."

However, council leader Alan Williams remains convinced of its benefits. He said: "It will be a major beneficial resource for the area. It is not just a youth centre, it will be for the whole community.

"This site has always been a school playing field, but it has been derelict for ten years, and that dereliction has led to a massive outbreak of graffiti, vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

"There is a technical issue regarding funding to be resolved, but there is no reason why Sport England should not support it."