Money row drives Bedlington sports centre scheme into rough

Mar 14 2009 by Peter Taylor, The Journal

PEOPLE campaigning for a multi-million pounds sports centre have been left stunned after a political turnaround left question marks over funding.

The Friends of Gallager Park group was set up around a year ago with the aim of bringing a sports and social centre which would be a hub for the community to the huge park in Bedlington which was once a pit spoil heap.

They were given a boost with a promise from Wansbeck Council that £500,000 it raised from the sale of Bedlingtonshire Golf Club would be spent on community facilities in Bedlington.

The campaigners say they were given hope that the funds would be the launchpad to get a feasibility study carried out and attract further funding for the centre.

But the new Liberal Democrat-run unitary county council has now said it cannot support this pledge, saying only that at least £500,000 will be spent in the Bedlington area.

George Webster, chairman of the Friends of Gallagher Park, said: “This has left us absolutely gobsmacked. It has left a nasty taste in people’s mouths.

“We started off with the undertaking that when the golf club was sold we would have the money from that to develop Gallagher Park.

“Wansbeck Council handed everything over to the county council for rubber stamping and now they have said they are not rubber stamping it.

“The £500,000 was to be our launchpad. We were planning to do a feasibility study and then have a fundraising effort to find the rest of the money. We want to have a multi-purpose sports complex with meeting rooms and social centre at Gallagher Park which is for everybody.