90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

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90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Kintyre Forum News » Sat Mar 13, 2010 2:48 pm

South Kintyre Sports Council has called on Argyll & Bute Council to reconsider the playing field charges that will be implemented with effect from 1st April this year. The charges for the new financial year (2010/11) revealed an increase of over 90% from the current year’s charges. An adult pitch hire will increase from £31.50 to £60.00 per game whilst concession hires for the likes of kids will rocket from £15.75 to £30.00 per match hire and a training hire will increase from £8.30 to £15.00.

South Kintyre Sports Council have contacted the Council to ask for more information on the increases but by the end of business yesterday their was no comment. A Sports Council representative said "We need to understand exactly what these costs are based on - if for example there is an element of staffing from other areas is included in the new costs we surely should not be paying the same here in Campbeltown? For example we don’t have groundsmen like there is in Oban and Dunoon who attend on match days and open changing rooms and put up and down the nets - something we have repeatedly asked for in Campbeltown but has been ignored.

If the increase in cost is due to the reduction of games on grass elsewhere (which increases the maintenance costs) because of the All Weather Pitch facilities then we again, have to ask why should Campbeltown pay the same when we still remain the only community without an All Weather Pitch? The use of pitches has increased in the last 5 years in Campbeltown with the introduction of firstly the Kintyre Amateur League and now the Campbeltown and District Amateur Football League. In fact only last weekend we saw four matches played in Campbeltown - I doubt if any community in Argyll has had that many matches on grass in the last month. I'm sure our clubs are quite happy to pay good money for modern day facilities but we simply don't have these.

Argyll & Bute Council can't just go about implementing 90% increases with no written explanation as to why this is happening. Yet again the dialogue between the Council and our sports club is poor. Our sports clubs are made up of volunteers who give up their time to the benefit of their sport. They shouldn't have to waste valuable time chasing the Council for an answer as to why this has come about. Ironically enough the Council had consultants PMR here in Campbeltown last week and again this week and one of the strongest messages was the lack of communication between the Council and the sports clubs!

Campbeltown remains the only town without an All Weather Pitch and as such our grass parks are fundamental to the development of our sports clubs. To increase pitch hires by over 90% will have a detrimental affect on sports like football which are already suffering due to the lack of key facilities and increased costs. By the time two teams pay for changing rooms and the referee it will be over £100 per match. The Youth Football are already paying a huge amount to the local council for hire of parks for training and they are now faced with having to ask kids and their parents to pay more. Campbeltown Boys AFC who play in the Scottish Amateur League are now facing the prospect of paying anything up to £160.00 to play a home tie."


Interestingly changing room charges have increase only by 3%. Adults using the Council changing room facilities at the likes of Lochgilphead and Oban will pay £18.25 from the 1st April - an increase of 55p from this financial year. These are facilities not provided by the Council in Campbeltown and the increase in pitch prices means there will be a knock on affect on the hires of the likes of changing rooms at the Meadows. These are amongst the best changing facilities in Argyll and are owned and run by the Campbeltown and District Juvenile Football Association. Hires are imperative to ensure these facilities survive and there is no doubt the increase in charges will have a knock on affect to hires.

The Kintyre Forum will provide a further update once this is received from the Sports Council, Argyll & Bute Council.
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby bud » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:22 pm

is this a early april fool?

what a joke
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Davie P » Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:35 pm

I also think it is unfair on the Council staff who have to be the bearer of bad news to the clubs with little or no information on why the pitch hire increases have been made.

I know Oban Saints were lettered about the increases. Were any of the clubs in Campbeltown?
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby maxmix » Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:08 am

Davie P wrote:I also think it is unfair on the Council staff who have to be the bearer of bad news to the clubs with little or no information on why the pitch hire increases have been made.

I know Oban Saints were lettered about the increases. Were any of the clubs in Campbeltown?


If you ask me.... A&B Council have a lot to answer for.... I wonder if other Council's have hiked prices so high !

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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby weehec10 » Sun Mar 14, 2010 8:19 pm

Campbeltown Boys Youth team were not lettered about the increase. When we were booking a park last wednesday for the end of March we were informed verbally. I complained about the increase being outrageously high and the fact that we have to put up the nets ourselves. I was told to put a letter in writing to the chief executive of A&B Council Sarah Loudon who set the prices across the whole of A&B, which I will be doing and I hope others do the same.
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Hels » Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:53 pm

This seems astronomical - you can imagine the outcry if local shops increased the price of vital produce by 90%! Write the letter to Sally Loudon though weehec10, not Sarah - not sure if they will pay any heed to letters, but certainly worth a try! Good luck.
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Sport » Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:06 pm

Hels wrote:This seems astronomical - you can imagine the outcry if local shops increased the price of vital produce by 90%! Write the letter to Sally Loudon though weehec10, not Sarah - not sure if they will pay any heed to letters, but certainly worth a try! Good luck.


Yes Hels is correct it is Sally Loudon and we have already contacted the Council to ask for these prices to be reviewed but I am sure the more contact that is made the more the Council will sit up and look at this.

90% increase is unbelievable and with no notification too...
Please visit the Sports Council's new website and check out our latest news! http://www.southkintyresportscouncil.com
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Kintyre Forum News » Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:19 am

Regardless what any Councillor says, whether here or in the north of Argyll etc, the 90% increase in pitch hires was presented in the papers of the Council meeting on 11th February 2011 and passed by all Councillors.

http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/moderngov ... 7&MId=3997

The exact document is below and the reference to the pitch hires is on Page 24 and highlighted in bright yellow!

http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/moderngov ... 040210.pdf
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Davie P » Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:39 pm

An Argyll & Bute Council spokewoman told the Courier "At £60 for a game, this represents an individual cost of less than £3 player. We believe that this is a reasonable sum"

It would suit the Council and our elected members to actually know what it costs to organise a game. It is widely known that the HOME team pays ALL the expenses on match day. This includes the hire of the pitch, the changing rooms AND the referee. The proposed increase will now mean it is over £100 for a game. For a team of 11 that is over £9.50 per match.

As mentioned before we don't enjoy the luxury of a grounds man in Campbeltown and teams here have to supply their own nets and corner flags.

Speaking to some of the ones involved in the Summer League yesterday and there is real danger of games not being played in Campbeltown due to the increases. A team considering entering the league are not entering now due to the increases. How can you, for example, ask a 16 year old boy for £10 each time he wants play?
Last edited by Davie P on Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby History » Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:00 pm

In the past when a crew from a visiting navy ship played a game of football against a local team no fee was applicable. Does that still apply?
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby dunoon » Sun Mar 21, 2010 10:29 pm

http://argyllfreepress.com/2010/03/21/sport-hire-charges-up-90/

It is interesting to note that the same budget meeting. Under Sport and Physical Activity a proposed reduction of Council contribution to Outdoor Adventure Group Stramash was not accepted. Stramash this week are advertising 3 jobs with a totally salary bill in excess of £60k per annum – perhaps football clubs should become social enterprises.
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Davie P » Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:46 pm

dunoon wrote:http://argyllfreepress.com/2010/03/21/sport-hire-charges-up-90/

It is interesting to note that the same budget meeting. Under Sport and Physical Activity a proposed reduction of Council contribution to Outdoor Adventure Group Stramash was not accepted. Stramash this week are advertising 3 jobs with a totally salary bill in excess of £60k per annum – perhaps football clubs should become social enterprises.


The sad thing is Campbeltown has not benefited from the Stramash programme to the level it has elsewhere in Argyll.

Sports Council are still waiting on a response from the Council on this but interesting to read further that the increase was specifically highlighted to Councillors on 11th Feb

http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/moderngov ... cxA.ps.pdf

where it says

3.2 In general it is proposed to increase fees and charge by 1.5% for 2010-11. In some cases fees and charges are rounded up or down and that gives a variation from the simple 1.5%. However the overall increase isbased on 1.5% with a few exceptions. The main exceptions to this are:
• Commercial refuse collection – Increased in line with landfill tax.
• Hire of sports pitches (Operational Services) increased to reflect actual cost of service provision.
• No increase for school meals and car parking fees.


Should have highlighted the Hire of Sports Pitches is going up by over 90% - certainly well over the 1.5%!!!!!

It is a real concern to read the likes of this "to reflect the actual cost of service provision". What will be next? Hires for halls? The Swimming Pool?
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Sport » Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:52 pm

Sense at last!

From our new website at http://www.southkintyresportscouncil.co ... /index.htm

SKSC delighted with Council's new pitch hire charges

South Kintyre Sports Council are delighted with the news that the recent new charges on pitch hires implemented with effect from 1st April 2010 by Argyll & Bute Council have been reviewed with the local authority putting together a new scale of charges.

There was outcry by sports clubs throughout Argyll recently when the new pitch hires prices were announced which resulted in clubs paying £60 per pitch hire – a 90% increase on the 2009/10 hire price.

An official directive from the Council this week has advised area offices and sports clubs on the new prices as follows;

* If a club book a pitch, requesting it lined and the changing room facilities (where an attendant is required to open and close and also clean out the facility), the charge is £60.00.
* If a club wish to book a pitch, requesting the pitch to be lined and do not require the changing facilities, or in the case of Campbeltown/Rothesay the club lease or use the changing room facilities provided by another group, the charge for the pitch would be at the concession rate of £30.00.
* If a club book a pitch, requesting the pitch does not require to be lined and do not require any changing facilities, this can be charged at the training rate of £15.00.

A spokesperson for the Sports Council said “We are delighted the Council has listened to the concerns of our member clubs and reviewed their charges accordingly. As soon as the new prices were made public we wrote to the Council raising our concerns and highlighted that Campbeltown did not enjoy the luxury of council owned changing facilities and a council attendant/grounds man who opened changing rooms and put up nets. We spoke to Argyll & Bute Council and the Council leader Dick Walsh last week to again raise our concerns. We highlighted the detrimental effect the charges would have on to youth football (CDJFA) and our amateur teams who play in the Scottish Amateur Football League. Teams in the Campbeltown and District Amateur Football League were also contemplating playing their games outside Campbeltown to avoid the increases. We want to promote sport in Argyll and if we want to see the introduction of the likes of shinty and rugby again in Campbeltown, clubs need to be able to afford the cost of hires.

The fact that we have no All Weather Pitch means grass parks are fundamental to the development of sport in our area. We will continue to work with the local council officers to ensure our facilities continually improve. The Council have confirmed they are looking at the purchase of portable goals for the Meadows to ensure pitches are maintained.”

Argyll & Bute Council stated “It is important however, that clubs recognise the importance of sensible use of pitches. Given that clubs can now hire a pitch for £15 clubs should ensure they book the park if they wish to train on the actual pitch. Alternatively there are plenty of areas on both the Meadows and Kinloch Green that can be used for training which does not damage the pitches. Clubs who leave litter on or around the pitches following their hire will be subjected to a ban on future hires as the mess following some games is terrible”

South Kintyre Sports Council added “By this we all ensure the parks are properly managed and also allows our sporting community to make stronger arguments on improvements based on the usage.”
Please visit the Sports Council's new website and check out our latest news! http://www.southkintyresportscouncil.com
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Re: 90% increase on playing field hires angers local Sports club

Postby Tom B » Fri Apr 23, 2010 2:07 am

well done SKSC!
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