Ariston fight goes on and on and on
January 18, 2012 10:55 PM
Originally published by Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats
With the Olympics just around the corner, the Liberal Democrats are fighting hard to ensure that a number of local sport groups aren't made homeless by a decision made at the County Council to sell off the land which they use: the former Ariston Works Site at Harpenden Road.
On Tuesday, members of Hertfordshire County Council's Overview & Scrutiny Committee visited the site to find out more about the site and the groups that use it. They were told that St Albans Judo Club has produced a number of national medal winners and the Pioneer Skate Park has hosted the Girl Skate Jam UK. Some of the councillors seemed visibly shocked when they heard how many young people used the facilities and the wide range of activities taking place there.
Their visit was a result of a demand by local councillor Allan Witherick to review the decision to sell the Ariston Site for redevelopment, which will be considered by the Overview Committee next week, January 25th.
'All of us in St Albans know that these groups do great work and are mostly self-financing, with little support from either the County or the District,' said Allan. 'The Pioneer reinvest their income into the skate ramps which many young people enjoy and St Albans Judo Club built their building from scratch. The County are proposing to literally rip the rug out from underneath them by selling the land.
'The Conservative administration at County Hall has suggested that a developer could pay a bit towards finding new homes for the organisations through a so-called 'Section 106' planning agreement. That's simply not good enough: with around £28m of unspent money from developers across the County already, there's a real danger of the groups being made homeless for a long time.
'Any disruption could cause untold damage and will reduce the limited number of opportunities for young people locally even further. The County Council have demanded that its own Youth Service is re-provided for with no break in service. Why can't the other organisations that use the site receive the same treatment?'
The Ariston site includes playing fields with historical significance which are unlikely to be redeveloped, having suffered subsidence in the last few years. The fight to protect the green space - supported by the Lib Dems for a number of years - has been led by Friends of Bernards Heath.
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