ALTON Town Council is seeking to put the record straight regarding its position over the relocation of sports facilities from the Coors Sports Ground. Faced with a £5.25 million offer by Coors to provide replacement facilities on town council-owned land for Alton Town Football Club (ATFC) and Alton Social Bowling Club, councillors feel duty bound to get the best deal for the town. But they have made it crystal clear - it is definitely not a "done deal". On the contrary, they are keeping an open mind pending the outcome of the current consultation period and no decision will be made until an extraordinary meeting on July 12. Viewed as the biggest sporting challenge faced by the town in 25 years, the relocation proposals have arisen as part of a current cost-cutting exercise by Coors to off-load any surplus land. The American-owned brewing giant wants to sell the 5.5 acre sports ground at Anstey Road for redevelopment but, under planning law, it is obliged to rehouse those sports clubs currently resident on its land. Because most of the farmland surrounding the town is subject to developer option, a search for alternative sites proved fruitless and the town council was asked whether it could make land available or come up with alternative suggestions, which it has been unable to do. The desire to preserve these sporting facilities for the community was the sole basis on which the council entered the discussions. The fear now is that if a decision is taken not to release council land, Coors will make the case that it has tried but failed to re-provide the sporting facilities, and that any alternative cash compensation could be one 10th of the amount it is prepared to spend now. So for the council to do nothing is not an option. If the proposals do go through, because Coors will not have to buy the land, it means the money will go further. The £5.25 million relocation package is viewed by the sports clubs concerned as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to achieve facilities beyond their wildest dreams. But for others, it would represent an unwelcome loss of public open space. And Alton councillors have been caught in the crossfire. The need to clarify the situation became apparent during a public meeting on May 3, led by Coors, which revealed a degree of opposition to the relocation proposals. Questionnaires completed at the meeting showed the majority of the 127 respondents were happy with the relocation of the bowls club to a site in Chawton Park Road, and that they were in favour of an artificial turf pitch (ATP) at Anstey Park. Analysis also revealed 64.5 per cent support for the relocation of ATFC to the area of Anstey Park known as "Diggers". Since then, public feeling has grown and the council has come under attack from some quarters, mostly over the Diggers element of the proposal. Coors' agents have drawn up plans showing ATFC's ground, club house and associated parking at the very top end of Diggers, accessed by a new road running round the Alton Convent boundary. The ATP would be located next to the new football ground, immediately adjacent to the Manor estate. Some local residents are concerned about possible noise, and light pollution coming from the ATP floodlights. But the plans have not been agreed by the town council and, said town mayor David Crocker, it may be possible to resite the ATP to try to overcome these concerns. Other people have objected over the possible loss of public open space but, Mr Crocker points out, the top part of Diggers was bought in 1970 from the Treloar Trust specifically for the provision of field and sport activities. "For more than 30 years, this council has dreamed of having further sports provision on it, but we haven't been able to afford it," he said. Furthermore, more recent plans to provide an ATP at Anstey Park floundered for the same reason. And, while Amery Hill School has an ATP, which offers restricted outside use, the council believes it would have clubs lining up to use a publicly- owned pitch. It further points out that if an agreement is reached with Coors, no public land would be sold and the council would own all the facilities provided. As with other organisations who have facilities on town council-owned land, it would grant suitable leases to the displaced clubs and all facilities would be of a high standard to minimise future maintenance. If the council can overcome the objections, it believes this could be a "win-win' situation for the town, but any accusations that the deal is already signed and sealed have been strongly refuted. "Nothing could be further from the truth," according ATC leader David Willoughby who, like the rest of his colleagues, is keen to get as much feedback as possible from both sides of the divide in order to make an informed decision. And, he insists, the council needs to hear from those who do support the proposals as well as those who don't. The summer edition of The Altonian is expected to be delivered to every household in the town within the next two weeks, giving a clear explanation of Alton Town Council's position on the subject and inviting public comment. There will be a further, independently-chaired public meeting on Monday, July 3, at 7 pm at Alton Assembly Rooms.This will be followed by an extraordinary meeting of ATC on Wednesday, July 12, at 6-30 pm, also at Alton Assembly Rooms when the final decision will be taken. • Alton Town Council's meeting on June 28 will not be discussing the Coors plan.
