Plan for Hackney Marshes football facilities slammed
Recreativo Hackney FC (in maroon) in action on the Marshes
Recently unveiled plans for new community football facilities at Hackney Marshes have been slammed by a prominent local league official.
The proposed £5.7m development, led by Hackney Council and the London Development Agency, will see modern changing rooms, a spectator area, classrooms and a café form the new South Marsh Community Hub.
Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe said, “The South Marsh Community Hub will provide much needed new facilities to encourage more people to enjoy Hackney Marshes.’’
But Jonnie Walker, Chairman of the Hackney and Leyton League, blasted the plans for failing to provide enough changing rooms or car parking to meet current football demands at the Marshes.
Asked what he thought of the proposals, Walker said, ‘Totally inadequate. There are not enough dressing rooms so we are going to have to stagger kick off times. We are the only big league left, the others have all gone, The FA [ Football Association] want us to expand but the facilities mean it’s a real problem.”
Currently under pressure from the Football Association to expand grassroots football in the area, the League has been forced to agree to stagger kick-off times just to allow for compatibility between the present five-division structure and the new facilities.
Already swimming against the tide in attempting to swell its numbers, any further expansion for the last remaining significant league to play on the Marshes will now be much harder to achieve.
Whilst the Mayor may insist that the Community Hub “is a key part of our investment programme which is using the London 2012 Games as an opportunity to give our residents world-class sports facilities”, for Walker the plans for the Marshes, including the loss of the East Marsh to an Olympic car park in 2011, represent, “total disaster for football in East London, which is already diminishing at an alarming rate.”
Typical of the FA to wanting Sunday leagues to expand but not providing any decent funding. The FA have big plush offices in Soho Sq and are swimming in money. Grass roots football is the lifeblood of Football in this country and they treat it with utter contempt. The FA only believe in the Premier League and see everything else as a awkward distraction.
Hackney Council can’t be blamed if the local leagues don’t like the design. I bet absolutely no one involved in the planning or design actually plays a team sport on public pitches. But they should at least consult the very people who will be using the new facilities.
The pitches we have to play on and the changing facilities are usually medieval. I have been playing Sunday league for around 15 years and it’s getting worse. Pitch hire can be around £100 plus £30 for the ref. For that you get long grass, dogshit, rusting posts, no nets and a shed to get changed in. A hot shower if you’re lucky. Then we have the leagues themselves … dishing out their petty fines like confetti. It’s no wonder leagues and teams around the country are folding. The average age of players is getting older in my opinion with not many 18 year olds coming into adult leagues. They just stop playing when confronted with the costs and conditions they have to play in.
English football RIP
I think Football Federation gave alot of money towards this, around £4m I also think FA fund them, so I don’t agree with you Dunc.
I used to play at the Marshes and gave up as I was sick of awfull facilities……perhaps there’ll be more adults playing there in the future if there’s kids pitches in the new plans which I think their are.