Some of you may already have read in this week's Sevenoaks Chronicle about the controversial proposal from Kent County Council to merge the Wildernesse and Bradbourne schools to create a new 'Academy' school on the Wildernesse site. One of the potential impacts of this proposal, either through demolition or re-use as a non-public facility, is that we could lose our sports centre which has been home to Wildernesse squash club for over 20 years. Whilst at this stage we are only speculating, we believe that the chances of losing the facility are quite high and it is for this reason that we are asking all members to support our campaign to retain the only public squash courts in the town.
Below is a link to the document outlining the public consultation process, which started on 27th March 2009 and completes at the end of August 2009 when a final decision will be made. If the decision is to proceed with the Academy this will open in August 2010 at which point construction on the Wildernesse site will commence, due to complete in 2012.
http://www.kent.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B2415CCC-DE13-4AED-BB27-BB40C13594E7/0/pcd_bradbournewildernesse_0309.pdf Last week's public meeting held at Sevenoaks Primary School and reported in this weeks Chronicle was attended by Nick Curson, our treasurer. He noted the strong opposition, particularly from Bradbourne parents, to the overall scheme and highlighted the distinct lack of detail provided by KCC regarding their plans. Nick suggested that for the squash club to make any sort of impact in the formal consultation process, particularly as there are likely to be hundreds of letters/mails from anxious parents, it would require the collective voice of the squash members.
Apart from giving the public the opportunity to raise objections, KCC also pointed out that this stage was 'all about listening to what you want from an Academy'.
We will be submitting a letter on behalf of the club but the committee would urge all members to either write, completing the form on the last page of the linked consultation document above, or send a mail to the address below. The completion of the consultation process is Friday 15th May 2009.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
<
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
>
Our letter will be making the points below:
That the Wildernesse Squash Club has been a vibrant local Club for over 20 years.
That we currently have over 60 active members.
That the Wildernesse Sports centre offers the only public squash facility in Sevenoaks and is open to every member of Sencio, the local public service leisure provider.
That in view of the stated aim (see Academy Principals’ Handbook p7.8) that ‘a central defining characteristic of an Academy is that it is at the ‘heart of its community, sharing facilities with other schools and the wider community’’ we feel that:
The current public sports facility should be retained in the Academy and if possible expanded. As one of the longest established user groups, this should involve squash facilities.
If the current facility is to be retained it should be the focus of investment to bring it up to modern standards.
If the current facility is to be demolished it should be replaced with a facility available for public use including squash courts.
Feel free to include any of these points or add your own viewpoint
We appreciate that this is relatively short notice but we need to move fast. Please spare 5 minutes of your time to help ensure the long term survival of our club!
It would be helpful if you could you copy me on any mails sent to the consultations mailbox to enable me to keep track of members views.
Finally, please forward this mail to any friends who play Badminton, Hockey, Football (or anything else!) at the sports centre. Whilst we cannot speak on their behalf we certainly can provoke a collective call to action.
best regards
Ian Yates
Chairman
Events
