Sport plan may be scratched in row over £16m

Oct 18 2007 by Peter Leathley, The Journal

AMBITIOUS plans to build a £25m sports village on the site of a former steelworks are in jeopardy after councillors failed to back their leader.

Derwentside District councillors voted against ploughing £16m of taxpayers’ money into the project at Berry Edge, in Consett, County Durham, after an MP reported the council to its auditor.

The decision means the proposed sports village, which would have included a pool, running track, tennis courts and 6,000-seat sports stadium, could be scuppered unless council leader Alex Watson can persuade the majority of members into a change of heart.

Some of his own Labour members voted with Independents and Liberal Democrats against investing £16m in the scheme’s first phase.

Watts Stelling, leader of the opposition Derwentside Independents, said: “We had strong reservations about putting such a large percentage of the council taxpayers’ money into one project.

“I would still like to see the sports village go ahead, but not if it is being solely funded by the Derwentside taxpayer.

“Too many funding partners have dropped out. The sports village would benefit a certain proportion of the population of Derwentside, but not if you are over 50 and you cannot swim.”

The proposal, which would have led to demolition of Belle Vue sports centre and pool in Consett town centre, attracted some local opposition.

Belle Vue carpet bowlers, many of them elderly, complained they would not be catered for in the sports village.

The town’s football club, Arngrove Northern League Consett AFC, recently decided to seek funding to develop its own stadium after running out of patience with the sports village plan. The original proposal was for the club to move to the new stadium, which would also have been used by community teams.

North Durham MP Kevan Jones has written to the district auditor expressing concern that Derwentside intended to plough millions into the sports village without a business plan.

He said: “I am clearly concerned that prior to moving to a unitary authority, the leader of Derwentside District Council appears to be trying to mortgage the future of the new authority by entering into such commitments.”

Coun Watson retorted: “We did lose funding we were promised, including Government money from an Olympic Legacy Fund …

“I would like to point out that this is money which belongs to the people of Derwentside. If it is not spent on them, then a new unitary authority could spend it on other areas of the county at Derwentside’s expense.”