Basildon College plan ?flies in the face of Olympic legacy?
8:00am Thursday 23rd August 2012 in Local News By Melissa Hills
RESIDENTS are complaining plans for the new Basildon College fly in the face of David Cameron?s pledge to retain playing fields and encourage more people to get into sport in the wake of the 2012 Games.
South Essex College, in Nethermayne, which is set to be bulldozed as part of a ?30million revamp, has a huge playing field and a sports centre, which is used by residents and students seven days a week.
Residents say it?s ironic the current college campus has the official Olympic rings displayed in front of the building, yet the sports fields could be concreted over if plans for up tom 850 homes go ahead. Under the scheme, the college will be moved to Market Square, in the town centre, and would see student numbers double to 2,000.
It would offer a wider range of courses, with new subjects including games technology, forensics and animal sciences.
Tom Clarke, 52, of Rantree Fold, Basildon, a neighbour of the college, said he is disappointed the council is supporting the plans.
He said: ?The loss of the huge playing field and the sports centre is terrible. There is no green space being included in the plans for the new college.
?Residents living nearby don?t see how we are going to cope with these new homes. There is not enough infrastructure to deal with it. The sports centre is well used by students and the public alike. With the Prime Minister saying we need to keep our open spaces, and with those Olympic rings out the front, it?s ironic so much green space is going to be lost.?
The new campus will be funded by the sales of up to 850 homes on land at Dry Street and the current college site. But Basildon Council leader Tony Ball , who backs the plans, says the new college is pivotal in kick-starting the future of the town?s young people as well as the economy.
He said: ?We have looked at these college plans in a lot of depth and the students will not miss out on sports opportunities. ?They will have Gloucester Park as the nearest open space, which we want to make into a city park, and students will use the Sporting Village, which has great opportunities. We see the new college as pivotal to Basildon?s future, and when we have all these extra students in the town, it?s going to help the shops because they will be spending money. Lots of students from Billericay and Wickford don?t go to the current college because it?s out of the town and doesn?t offer enough variety.?
A planning application for the new college is expected to be submitted to the council in October.
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