Sports Pitch Working Group seeks to increase pitch provision
The new Working Group aims to increase provision of grass pitches across the district, with SDLP councillor Brian Tierney saying: “This is something that I’m really happy to see coming.”
DERRY City and Strabane District Council has formed a new grass pitches Working Group to discuss increased provision across the district.
At June’s Health and Community Committee meeting, SDLP councillor, Brian Tierney , proposed forming the group to consider availability and development of grass pitches throughout the district.
Councillor Tierney’s proposal was in response to council’s head of Community Development and Leisure, Barry O’Hagan, who informed members that the district would need "double’=" the football pitches it currently has in order to satisfy training demand.
At October’s Committee meeting members were asked to put forward nominations to the group.
“As with other working groups, the Grass Pitches Working Group will provide an open forum at which details on existing policies, practices and procedures will be presented for information and consideration,” an officer’s report said.
“This will allow for subsequent decisions to be brought to the Health and Community Committee for consideration and approval.”
Councillor Tierney nominated Deputy Mayor, Catherine McDaid, to the group and responded: “This is something that I’m really happy to see coming.
"I raised this a couple of months ago when we were talking about grass pitches and the lack of them, so to see this report before Committee and get the working group set up is great to see.”
As the only People Before Profit representative, councillor Shaun Harkin nominated himself and said he hoped that the Working Group will discuss other types of pitch, beyond grass pitches.
“There’s such a dire lack of pitches across the district that I think that clubs and teams will welcome artificial surfaces as well as grass pitches,” he said.
“And there are existing artificial pitches in schools that could maybe be utilised.
“There are also the issues of floodlights and so on. I think a lot of people will be glad to see council setting up this working group and trying to address the issue.”
Mr O’Hagan informed councillor Harkin that all pitches, outdoor spaces, and sports halls will be considered.
Sinn Féin councillor Collette McAllister, DUP alderman Chelsea Cooke, and UUP alderman Darren Guy were also named as group members.