Sports Zone changes

By tbevan

CHANGES have been made to a multi-million pound sports development for Yeovil in a bid to satisfy local concerns.

The revised £28M Yeovil Sports Zone, planned for Yeovil Recreation Ground, has been altered to save the equivalent of three football pitches in public open space.

But the building itself will increase in floor space from the original proposal by around a third. It will be over two floors but its height will be determined at a detailed design stage.

The safeguarding of open space has been achieved through abandoning plans for a road from Combe Street Lane and moving the proposed synthetic pitch within the Yeovil College campus. South Somerset District Council stressed it would still be part of the complex and very much for all to use.

District councillors will consider whether to take the new proposal to the next stage – which would include drawing up an outline planning application – at a meeting on Thursday 11 December.

Cllr Sylvia Seal said: "Many parts of the internal scheme – including the pool and indoor tennis courts – have been expanded. On the other hand some areas have been changed according to feedback and local need, and some have been relocated to retain more outdoor playing space at Yeovil Recreation Centre.

"Putting all of this together, we are confident we have a much-improved scheme.

"The changes mean that the overall footprint has been reduced to 1.25 hectares, which frees up an area the size of three adult football pitches."

It will be the first 50m pool in the district and is being proposed along with a combined leisure and learner pool, that can be sectioned off, with flumes.

Cllr Seal said: "Together with the use of the two existing road accesses and car parks, the removal of outdoor tennis courts in favour of more indoor courts, the improved scheme frees up a lot of space while still addressing the real need for sport provision.

"We have listened very, very carefully to what people have said, and have taken advice from many sporting bodies along the way. We know there is a growing need for sporting provision that needs to be addressed, and this is about getting it right."

Councillors will be asked to approve the changes and agree to fund the next stage of the project, including the planning application.

The council is also in discussions with Yeovil College about possible dedicated areas of provision within the Zone for students. The dedicated areas would be funded in partnership between the two. The cost of the project is now expected to rise by £7M to £28M. Most of it would come from external contribution from sporting bodies and partners.

A council spokesman said: "If outline planning permission is granted, it would provide a secure planning platform and the credibility required to attract external funding."

Save Yeovil Rec spokesman Ashley Strelling said yesterday he had yet to see the plans but said: "We are still highly suspicious of the plans and we oppose, as we always have, any building on Yeovil Recreation Ground. It is a valued and free green open space. What they are proposing is a facility for the college and it is not for the public who will fund, and then be left with something they need to beg and borrow from the college. The council needs to be more open and honest about their intentions."

FULL details of the report and demonstration designs can be found at www.southsomerset.gov.uk/yeovilsportszone