Cantley Park is costing council taxpayers around £225,000 a year to run, and income is falling short, Wokingham’s Lib Dems are telling residents.
That is missing the point by a mile – it is like answering a question that no-one asked.
A park like Cantley cannot run at a loss, in the same way that the borough’s libraries cannot run at a loss. Cantley park is a community asset, paid for collectively and managed by the Council on behalf of residents. To suggest otherwise is nonsensical.
The Lib Dems are not making similar arguments over the running costs of our borough’s libraries, nor are councillors calling for those venues to be axed. But the social value of parks like Cantley is of no less worth; its benefits are rich and wide-ranging. Here is a brilliant green space, close to the town centre and new homes, that has so many facilities. They include a 3G pitch, a pavilion, a café and plenty of pitches. No wonder it is popular.
Earlier this year, the Lib Dems proposed the introduction of additional car parking charges at several areas including Cantley Park. It meant that people would pay to play, counter to the ethos of ensuring the borough is a great place to live, work and grow.
Last week, the first Cantley Park Engagement meeting was held. For the presentation, I joined representatives from some of the 50 different local groups who use the facilities. It included a set of Profit and Loss accounts showing the costs running the leisure site.
The Lib Dems have concluded they will “lose” more than £225,000 running the park – that is the gap between income generated and the maintenance charges to service these vital open spaces.
That is a lot of money, but it has always been part of the leisure budget that our council tax funds, just like our libraries. To imply otherwise is disingenuous and wrong, especially as maintaining green spaces are a core council service for residents.
And if they need Cantley Park to pay for itself and it falls way short, why on earth would they consider expanding sporting facilities by creating them on Grays Farm in Easthampstead? The much-delayed project would see around three hectares of space converted into sports pitches, pavilions and more. Originally mooted in 2014, it was due to open in 2017, but here we are a decade on and you’ve more chance of picking a strawberry than scoring a goal.
What is clear is that any introduction of parking charges to solve the manufactured problem of a “loss-making” park will not fly.
Residents made their feelings known, loud and clear, when more than 2,000 people signed Wokingham Labour’s petition. It forced a council debate where again councillors stood up to condemn the proposal to start charging residents if they wanted to watch their children play a match, volunteer at the theatre, or take part in their own sporting activity.
While the Lib Dems say they are not considering parking charges, the slides showed that it is still an option.
The news that Cantley is losing money comes hot on the heels of the council spending more than £500,000 on a four-day vanity project, The Forest of Imagination. This sees a team from outside the borough come to Dinton Pastures to teach people about the climate emergency and nature. That money could be used in different ways to boost our leisure offering and it is disappointing that the Liberal Democrats are choosing to prioritise external resources over what we have here.
What they are saying to you, the council tax payer, is that to use our community’s sports and leisure facilities, you have to pay twice. That is not very sporting.
Cllr Nagi Nagella is a Labour borough councillor for Norreys ward and town councillor for Norreys West
