Reader warning – the following contains traces of a strain called “frustrated ranter”.
Dear Philip
I write to you as my MP in a continuing state of dismay at the attached article, the latest in a series of “puff pieces” about Bradford Park Avenue.
This is in the context of the current battle all grassroots sports clubs have with Bradford Council over budget proposals that threaten their very existence. Having attended this week’s Executive meeting at City Hall I fear the worst.
You really could not make this up with several restated comments – aired before in previous T&A articles since December 2014 – such as:
“The funding will come from Bradford Council’s capital programme and the ECB.”
I await the standard patronising response from the Council defining capital and revenue expenditure. The sum the Council are contributing has never been made public but the annual savings they are seeking from grassroots clubs amount to £190k.
“As part of work funded by Sport England (a survey), the ECB targeted Bradford as one of five cities in which to engage more closely with South-Asian communities, with an initial focus of increasing the number of pitches available for community use.”
We already engage with communities, in my language they have always called this league cricket. This will not increase the number of community pitches by more than one so is patently disingenuous. It will also be the most expensive community cricket pitch in living memory.
“Figures in the Council’s Playing Pitch Strategy, released in November 2014, suggested there was a shortage of 18 cricket grounds across the district, with the figure set to rise to 25 venues by 2021.”
Please explain how the addition of one ground cures this whilst dozens could fold? Great strategy?
“A Council spokesman said: “Cricket is a sport that brings many communities together, but there is a big shortage of cricket grounds across the district…”
So we’ll blow over £5m for a small section of the community because most of it’s not really our money anyway and we don’t actually have any say but won’t we look good! And who cares if there are no other clubs left to play against?
“Councillor Imran Khan, portfolio holder for sport, added: “We aim to create a first-class cricket ground that will hugely benefit the local community…”
And everybody who voted for me! Politicians talk endlessly about the need to integrate communities but policies such as this only serve to drive wedges between them.
This doubtless ticks many boxes for the ECB when they have to plead their case for central funding from Sport England in a few years; it may also make certain councillors appear to be doing something wonderful for their voters but it is a hopeless waste of money.
We have also been here before some ten years ago when the Council blew over £1m on a project at Manningham Mills; what of that facility now?
Public money has also been used to create two cricket grounds in BD4 and yet I am struggling to identify any notable investment in sports facilities in BD2 or BD10.
If the Council are going to be seen to blatantly favour a section of the city at the expense of the rest of us what hope for any sense of fair play?
In the interests of fairness I will point out that the ECB has supported local flood hit clubs very positively but the sums are loose change compared with this white elephant.
Regards
Steve
Footnote
Readers who enjoyed this rant and have nothing better to do this weekend may also find the following of interest. I am now off for a lie down safe on the knowledge that when I awake the lunatics will still be running the asylum.
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