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OLIVE MOUNT (EX-MANWEB) SPORTS GROUND
PUBLIC CONSULTATION EVENT - 5th APRIL 2013
In mid-March, residents living around the periphery of the former Manweb Sports & Social Club recreation ground, off Thingwall Road, were sent details of the latest proposals to redevelop the site. They were also invited to attend a Public Consultation Event, to be held between 2 pm and 7 pm on Friday 5th April in the former Clubhouse off Millstead Road, L15. The invitation came from Mason Partners, on behalf of Insight Sports Management which is the company set up to plan the new development. The freehold of the land is owned by Liverpool City Council, but the 125-year lease was, in 2011, sold by Scottish Power to Mr Chris Chetwood and Mr Paul Pearce. Messrs Chetwood and Pearce are directors of Mason Partners but - as mentioned in our
Newsletter 185 (September 2011) - they purchased the site as private individuals.
The proposals for the site include the creation of new floodlit pitches (both grass and astroturf) for Marshalls FC, a youth football club which is to lose its current home by 2015 and wishes to expand to include girls and disability football teams. The facilities - including a new clubhouse and a 'show court' with terraced seating for spectators - would also be made available to local community groups. The development, it is stated, "will be built to a very high standard ... to create an attractive 'sports village' environment". The proposals also include a new access from Thingwall Road (rather than Millstead Road as at present), and the creation of a 215-space car park alongside the new clubhouse. Of the total 12.5 acres, 1.2 acres is proposed for residential development, which it is claimed "is necessary to help fund the sports facility [and] without which the site will remain derelict". The area proposed for residential development - 16 detached 3-4 bedroom detached houses - is the south-western corner of the site (alongside Millstead Road/Thingwall Road) which it is claimed "has never been used for sporting uses".
We published our own views on the future of the Sports Ground in our Newsletter 190 (July 2012). The current lease from the City Council restricts the use of the land to 'sports-related' activities. Not only, therefore, will the site owners require planning permission but they will also require the City Council to vary the terms of the lease to allow the proposed housing development. In effect, the site owners are seeking a subsidy from the Council to implement their proposals. We would encourage all persons with an interest in the future of the Sports Ground to attend the Public Consultation Event on 5th April, find out more about what is proposed, and fill in and return a Comments Form to Insight Sports Management.
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