Preston pulls plug on £9.7m sports hub
The city council intends to scrap plans for Ashton Park Sports Hub a little over three months after granting planning approval for the project.
Preston City Council is expected to formalise the decision to cancel the £9.7m Pedders Lane project at its next full council meeting.
The Ashton Park scheme proposed the creation of a two-storey clubhouse with changing rooms on the ground floor, and classrooms on the first floor.
Outside, it would have featured six grass pitches, a 3G pitch with six floodlight columns, and 120 parking spaces.
Local opposition to the scheme and rising costs on other projects within Preston’s Levelling Up Fund programme prompted the decision to scrap the sports project.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Leader of Preston Council Matthew Brown said cancelling the Ashton Park project would free up funds to spend on other developments.
Preston was awarded £20m in the second round of the previous government’s Levelling Up Fund to spend on improving four parks: Ashton Park, Moor Park, Waverley Park, and Grange Park.
Other developments to be funded with LUF cash include bringing the Old Tram Bridge in Avenham Park back into use, public realm upgrades to Friargate South, and a new cycling route to the University of Central Lancashire.
Cllr Martyn Rawlinson, deputy leader of Preston City Council and cabinet member for resource, explained the decision to axe the sports hub.
“The previous government’s Levelling Up Fund competitions were awarded on a fixed funding envelope at a time when project costs across all areas were rising.
“We were required to submit a fixed scheme and we have been advised by civil servants that no additional funding can be made available and further changes can only be considered with further detailed submissions. With build cost inflation at unprecedented levels in recent years, the practicalities of balancing project budgets, this has led to some significant challenges and difficult decisions being made.
“The competitive nature of the process, and the timescales allowed, have limited a greater degree of flexibility and changes were ultimately inevitable. Needless to say, we always deliver the best schemes we can for the people of Preston when we are offered funding to do so.”
The LUF technical document states 5.3.1 on inflation and 6.1.7 on contingency you can include them just state what and why.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62d1879e8fa8f50c03918804/Round_2_LUF_Applicant_Guidance_20220706.pdf
The council submission
https://www.preston.gov.uk/media/16709/Active-Preston-Levelling-Up-Fund-bid-submission/pdf/Active_Preston_-_LUF_Bid_Submission_Web.pdf?m=1707221559690
Appears to show an inflation figure of 3.5%? When inflation at time of submission in 2022 was significantly higher and appears to include 8.16% contingency? One for the local councillors to check, complex stuff. Westminster certainly didn’t make it easy to have a time-compressed competition was just nasty way to treat councils who’ve had budgets halved in real terms.
By Anonymous
Such a shame for the children of Ashton, very disappointing to hear this.
By Anonymous
Sincerely hope that funds will be made available for upgrade to the park..ie drainage, improved play park, new pavilion with cafe and toilets for all the community and visitors to enjoy
By Janice Elliot
Preston council is a national joke, every project to improve the city has been cancelled, unless your a student or a cyclist, so that’s about 10% of the actual residents of Preston
By Janette garrity
surely the council should have taken inflation into account when putting in for the grant. After all is said and done inflation is not a new.
By Anonymous
Absolutely fantastic. There’s great maintained footy pitches (flat ground, cut grass, metal goals) on there already which are never used so why on earth they thought making more private paid ones would be a good idea. The local people wouldn’t have benefitted anyhow, due to the UCLAN control and use over it. There’s Ashton School and cottam that already are struggling to get people using there pitches so no idea why this got the green light. They should improve the park for sure, playgrounds, cafe’s, ponds etc but so, so, so glad this didn’t get sold and externally privatised to be an overpriced Uni/teen hangout.
By Anonymous
Good! No one used the pitches on the park already! Brilliant
By Anonymous
No nobody uses the Pitches at the moment 🤣🤣 that’s because there unplayable 75% of the year. Ashton hight and Cottam Pitches are over subscribed and you struggle to book then especially during the winter. This was very much need but at least the 10 dog walkers who use it how have the full use of the park 😒
By Anonymous
So the money will be squandered on BS with no benefit for the people of Preston
By Ian
Nobody uses them because they’re rubbish, we need more sport facilities that are upto the standard of every other country in Europe, it’s like the third world in Lancashire
By Anonymous