WORK has kicked off on Warrington’s £30 million Orford Park community sports village more than 17 years after it was first proposed.
Key partners in the ground breaking project, including members of Warrington Town FC and their star striker, Orford born Chris Gahgan, attended a special turf cutting ceremony on land off Winwick Road.
Thanks to major cash injections from national and regional sponsors work on the public, private and voluntary sector development is now underway.
The project was first thought of in 1994 by local ward councillor Mike Hannon, who was on hand to see the project get under way together with local residents, community groups and key partners.
Council leader Ian Marks said he was delighted and proud Warrington Council had played a “key role” in bringing the various partners together.
Warrington North MP Helen Jones said she would like to thank those who had the vision for the project and all the funders and those who had put work into the project.
“We will see a remakable development in the Orford area which will benefit all members of the community, especially young people.”
NWDA Chief Executive Steven Broomhead said the £30 million “partnership investement” would provide a major boost for the local economy.
“This is a unique regional project with massive benefits on the health and social inclusion agenda which will contribute to the local enconmy with new jobs for local people.”
The turf cutting ceremony was performed by local resident Anne Barton from The Orford Neighbourhood Project (TONP) and Maggie Williams, head of William Beaumont.
They were joined by Barbara Clarke – local resident and representing Orford Park Executive Group (OPEG) and local footballer Chris Gahgan from Warrington Town FC, one of the many organisations to benefit from the new facility.
Fifty acres of land will be transformed into a valuable community asset providing a wide variety of leisure, health and education facilities on one site. There will be football pitches, library, health centre and numerous other facilities.
The village is designed to promoting healthy lifestyles and independence, increase the number of people participating in physical activity from 22.8 per cent to 34.9 per cent and improve lifelong learning, the local skill base and employability of local people.
The sports village will not only provide a focal point for the local community and boost local pride and identity, it will also represent a London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games legacy for the North West.
The North West Development Agency is funding £3.6million towards the scheme.
Other partners in the scheme include Sport England, the Football Foundation, Warrington Town FC, NHS Warrington, William Beamont High School and Warrington Collegiate.
The community sports village is scheduled to open in November 2011 and will provide a blueprint for the delivery of future community sports facilities which is transferable nationwide.
Pictured: Representatives from the local community, council, ward councillors and partners at the turf cutting and local footballer Chris Gahgan teams up with local residents Anne Barton and Barbara Clarke.
1 Comment
Now all the kids form not so well off surrounding areas can stare through the fences of the football and sports activity feilds where they used to be able to play on, at the more affluent kids who will hire the once free pitches. Then there will no doubt be restricted parking for the residents of alder lane after a barrage of complaints that they can no longer park in their own street. Finaly followed by the inevitable neglect in say twenty years that always befalls these schemes (such as sankey valley) when the common feild that has served the community for hundreds of years turns into a delapidated complex which will be vandelised by the next generation of youth who have not seen a peice of free land in their lives and resent their environment of urban decay. It will then be knocked down in favour of a homeware megastore in the name of rejuvination!