Even more football in Peckham Rye Park?

[jonty]

Anyone seen this?

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/521/southwark_council_announces_winners_of_2m_olympic_legacy_fund

A total of ?375k for football in the park and at the ground next to the girls school on Homestall Road. Seems like overkill, especially when they can't find the money to keep the One O'Clock Club open.....

[DJKillaQueen]

The one o'clock club is staying open though.

It's not overkill at all. Athenlay FC are a well established club who facilitate league football for many youngsters in the area. They currently use pithes in the Park but the redevelopment of their own grounds will provide them with their own facilities. The floodlit pitch is definitely needed.

I'm assuming the decommissioned pitches are on the common (prone to flooding), not in Peckham Rye Park itself (where all three pitches seem to be regularly booked out at weekends).

[Eliza.D]

Anything that gets kids out in the park playing a team sport is great as far as I am concerned. Athenlay FC is a really good club and as far as I know is run by volunteers. The club raises money through events and monthly subs and any additional money I am sure is well deserved.

I think it's great seeing all the diffrent teams playing on the weekend, mostly in the Winter and in the mornings when the park/common is not so well used.

[Roulade]

Eliza.D Wrote:

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> Anything that gets kids out in the park playing a

> team sport is great as far as I am concerned.

Hear hear!

It's great to see so many people out in the park/common these days. You see gangs of youths walking away from the park in the evenings and you'd never think twice to safely walk past them. The same can't be said of the random gangs hanging around which you'd nervously pass (preferably on the other side of the road) when the park/common was less used. Perhaps if they'd spent the day enjoying themselves playing football and being more social, they wouldn't need to act like gangsters and be intimidating to others.

It's a shame more can't be done to make the park busier. With all the footballers, cafe, playgroup (which is closing), bowling lawn and gardens, it should be a very safe and nice park for anyone to visit, cycle around or even just walk through whilst commuting.

[DJKillaQueen]

The playgroup isn't closing. It's looking likely that another children's organisation will take over the running of it. The council has already committed itself to funding the maintenance and running costs of the building. The only issue from the cuts was staffing, which in the absence of another organisation running it could be done by volunteers anyway. There's a meeting on Thursday if anyone is interested in finding out for themselves.

[Undisputedtruth]

Not an overkill at all. Athenlay FC have produced professional footballers during their time at Homestall Road. I believe Anton and Rio Ferdinand played for the club.

Also the football playing surface was pretty bad at Peckham Rye park for a number of years. The pitches were often flooded during heavy rainfall and changing rooms were in need of refurbishments.

[zephyr]

Southwark Caribb FC a local youth football club also use the park for training and games. They are based at the Adventure Playground and play in the Tandridge league

[treehugger]

I think it's great, the more that can be done to encourage kids to play sport the better.

[Nero]

Have the Ferdinand brothers 'given back' in any way, if indeed they did play there? Sport is important, but ?375K seems an awful lot of money, especially these days.

[DJKillaQueen]

It may seem like a lot of money but what you have to remember is that these are facilities that will last for many years to come and see lot's of people using them. At a time when many schools no longer have playing fields, anything that provides exercise and sport for young people (as Athenlay do) has to be a good thing as well.

[Levoir]

The Ferdinand family have a long history of supporting local community groups in this area. Only just recently I heard that Anton and his father sent the day with Athenlay Football Club at their Presentation Day, signing autographs, taking pictures and sharing his experience of playing in the Premiere League. I also heard that Ben Watson, who also played for Athenlay and is, now currently at Wigan Athletic, continues have ties with the club.

[tibby]

i also think its great that it will be updated and not have flats built on it

[Levoir]

Can you believe that someone is actually trying to start a campaign to turn the Homestall Playing Fields into an allotment because they thing the kids are playing to much football.

[DJKillaQueen]

Can't see them getting anywhere. The land is home to Athenlay FC. It would be like starting a campaign to turn Sainsburrys into allotments because people are doing too much shopping! Completely daft.

[Dermot Kav]

Who's behind the campaign? Link?

[Levoir]

The only point of contact they have so far given about themselves is an email address, ([email protected] ) however this is probably a fictitious account, as emails sent to this address have bounced back.

[aggie]

My email bounced back as well so I checked the address on an earlier flier and that works fine. It is [email protected] - must have been a typing error. I don't think that they are suggesting turning the whole field into allotments. It looks like it was used as an example of how the community could share the field with the footballers.

[Levoir]

I'm sure you?re not wishing to imply that this campaign has anything to do with encouraging more children to use the playing fields as their grievance is that the ?existing levels of use already generate to much negative impact upon residents? so that would imply an opposite view.

As someone whose house backs on to the playing fields the only negative impact we have experienced in over 30 years that we have lived here is the occasional ball coming over the fence.

[pridvtec]

Thank you for this article. That?s all I can say. You most definitely have made this post into something special. You clearly know what you are doing, you?ve covered so many bases.Thanks!

[fredricketts]

I agree it?s good for the kids, and I don?t begrudge them, but that is an awful lot of money, when the disabled facilities are being cut back