Council invites outline proposals for Barn Elms

12.19.27pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 17th Jan 2008

A multi-million pound scheme to regenerate public sports facilities in Barnes will gather pace next week when Richmond Council' Cabinet is invited to select four firms to submit proposals for the redevelopment of Barn Elms.

In September the Council announced plans to fund huge improvements to the pitches and facilities by selling a small proportion of the site to a developer of a health and fitness centre. Seven expressions of interest have been received, from which four firms are being invited to submit outline proposals for the site. The scheme would improve pitch layouts and drainage, deliver more adult and mini football pitches and brand new changing facilities. Car parking, cricket pavilions and spectator facilities will also be upgraded while floodlighting will not be permitted in order to protect nearby wildlife. Following the relocation of the Richmond and Twickenham Athletics Club to the state-of-the-art facilities at St Mary's University College, the athletics track will be removed. A grass track will be made available to local schools during the spring and summer. The proposals follow extensive consultation with major users of the site in the Barn Elms Consultation Group. This includes sports clubs representing hundreds of users, the Barnes Community Association, The Wildlife and Wetland Trust, ward councillors and members of the public.

Cllr Stephen Knight, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Resources on Richmond Council, said: "This exciting and much-needed project will bring huge benefits to the public sports facilities in the north of the borough. It will also deliver a first-class health and fitness centre. The proposals have been drawn up after more than two years of public consultation, involving all the main users of the site. Seven organisations expressed an interest and, subject to Cabinet approval, we will ask four of them to develop this into outline proposals for the site. We are conscious that the proposed removal of the athletics track is not universally popular but we intend to replace it with new pitches as demand for them far outweighs usage of the track. Selling a limited part of the site will ensure costs of the redevelopment are kept to a minimum while bringing maximum benefits for site users and the community."