Your Stroud
Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting SNJ NEWS to 80360 or email »
Disappointment after rugby club appeal booted out
1:19pm Monday 18th August 2008
STROUD Rugby Club officials have spoken of their disappointment after its appeal to relocate to Eastington was thrown out.
The original application for a 27 acre sports and leisure complex at Eastington Park Farm was rejected by Stroud District Council in August last year, who claimed the site was unsustainable and said the development would have a detrimental effect on the Industrial Heritage Conservation Area and the historic setting of Eastington Park.
Last week the government inspector, Colin Ball, upheld SDC's decision and dismissed the appeal by developers Sportoptima after the four day hearing at Ebley Mill which kicked off on May 28.
Throughout the inquiry, Stroud Rugby Club, who were to share the complex with Stroud Squash Club, maintained that the facilities at its current Fromehall Park venue were inadequate for its needs, and the future of the club depended on the move.
The appeal also heard from members of Eastington Parish Council and over a hundred local residents who turned out to voice their opposition to the application. Club Chairman David Crampton, said: "We are hugely disappointed with the decision. We feel that we put forward a very robust travel plan which included purchasing four mini buses and organising a 20 per cent discount on bikes for players and spectators from a major retailer in the area.
"We took on a specially appointed transport manger and we agreed to harsh financial penalties if we did not stick to our travel plan.
"Right now we must focus on saving the club, so we have to reform, rethink and figure out how to survive. A lot many people at the club put a tremendous amount of work into this appeal and we are not prepared to give up yet."
But in his report, Mr Ball, who challenges the reliability of the club's travel plan, said: "The site is fairly remote from local settlements and, while it is readily accessible by car, it is not easily accessible by a realistically wide choice of other transport modes. The travel plan would not entirely overcome the inherent disadvantages of the site's location and I have no doubt that most people would choose to travel by car."
Barbara Tait, the council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Climate Change said: “We support the rugby club in its aspirations to grow and thrive, but we have always maintained that Eastington was the wrong place. We are very happy to work with both clubs to help them achieve their aims - in the right place.”
Your Say YourStroud
snapshot, Stroud says...
10:47am Tue 19 Aug 08
Yes folks in a day and age where people complain about the trouble caused by youngsters who lack facilities and how so many kids don't do enough exercise this community it doing its best to put a stop to both. Not seen all these youngsters at Fromehall Park? No, because they usually have to play on Wycliffe's fields at Stonehouse because of the space requirements, but here there are no toilets, showers or social facilities. Oh yes and we all go there in cars because it's not in Stroud & there is no transport policy! What next? We all drive to Painswick? That helps the environment how?
Shame on the community of Stroud, you reap what you sow!
DavidLloyd, Eastington says...
5:09pm Tue 19 Aug 08
It was always a none starter as it broke local and national planning law.
The club and its supporters thus spent 18 months of effort on a lost cause. 18 months where you should have been looking for somewhere else to go .. or how to structure the clubs finances (and membership fees for this PRIVATE club) so that the books balanced.
By all means point "the finger of blame" .. but kindly point it in the right direction !
Keep Eastington Rural, Eastington says...
4:58pm Wed 20 Aug 08
http://bit.ly/1Cprhs
LeRoc, Minchinhampton says...
5:58am Fri 22 Aug 08
Although I moved away from the area several years ago I am still a regular visitor, I have to confess my sadness at the sorry state of the sport facilities in the area.
I think it is admirable that SRFC made such effort to improve sports facilities in the area, not just for themselves but potentially for a host of different clubs. SRFC are a long established sporting organisation who have played at the top of their sport in the past but have struggled in recent times. Clubs like Stroud, or any others in the area for that matter NEED better facilities to compete, and to provide an opportunities for people of all ages. Rugby gave me something to strive for when I was growing up in the Stroud valleys all those years ago, lets hope that these opportunities are still there in the years to come for future generations.
What happens if SRFC does close, where will the players and supporters go then, and what will that mean for the transport in Stroud?
Can Mr Lloyd suggest an alternative location? thought not.
Shame on you Stroud.
DavidLloyd, Eastington says...
5:13pm Fri 22 Aug 08
Not for one moment did anyone dispute that SRFC would benefit from better facilities. The question was “where could the facilities go?” The rugby club claimed to have carried out a “sequential search” but it hadn’t looked very hard. The Inspector said in his ruling that the search had "significant failings". These failings were pointed out over a year ago but SRFC – once again - chose not to listen.
As pointed out above, the scheme was a non starter. Don’t take my word – read the Inspector's report. Search “Eastington SRFC decision“ on Google !
Oh, and looking at the Stroud area there are sites available that meet planning criteria for a new sports facility. Even the Inspector saw one .. and he was here for just four days !!
Jandy, Glos says...
10:25am Fri 29 Aug 08
DavidLloyd, Eastington says...
3:34pm Sat 30 Aug 08
Yes, SRFC does have to start all over again. But the blame lies firmly with SRFC and - more importantly - the people who advised not only the application in the first place but also the appeal ... an appeal that wasted another year of the club's time and efforts.
Your sayYourStroud
Add your comment
Register for a FREE Stroud News and Journal account and you can have your say on today's news and sport by adding comments on articles we publish. The best comments may even get published in the paper.
Please register now or sign in below to continue.
In this section
- Bike worth more than £1,000 stolen in Stroud
- Traders gearing up for goodwill
- Painswick councillor criticises workings of council and resigns
- Rural communities near Painswick receive cash boost
- Cambell's Rambles
- St Rose's wins the International Schools Award
- Father given suspended prison sentence for driving while disqualified
- Man claims head injury made him forget to pay for beer
- Around Town with Sheila Maddock
- Stroud to host exotic dance classes
Sponsored Links
Local Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
DavidLloyd, Eastington says...
5:01pm Mon 18 Aug 08
The Inspector is like a judge. He didn't "challenge" the reliability of the Club's travel plan - he rejected it. He also rejected the process that SRFC had used to select Eastington as a potential new home.
This is a FINAL decision - SRFC must now look elsewhere.
The Club must now ask itself why it followed an obviously impossible dream & why it chose to close its ears to the County Council, District Council, Parish Council and local people who told them - in the clearest terms from day one - that the scheme was seriously flawed.
The proposed move was backed by developers who wanted to make millions of pounds out of building homes on Fromehall Park. I do hope that it was the developers - and NOT SRFC - who paid the huge legal costs of the Appeal.