“If you are not happy with how we are running it – take it on yourself.”
That was the message to Spalding residents who packed the public gallery at a special meeting to discuss the management of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field – the home of Spalding United Football Club.
South Holland district councillors were meeting on Wednesday as trustees of the field for the first time since taking it on “for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Town of Spalding” in 1952.
Coun Roger Gambba-Jones addressed the members of the public after several of them were unable to hold back from shouting comments during the debate.
He said: “Recent legislation has given the people the opportunity to take control of assets. If residents are not happy at what we do they should take it on.”
In spite of the debate lasting 40 minutes, councillors felt they were unable to make any decisions about the field’s future until they had heard back from the Charity Commission, which is investigating the matter following calls from the Spalding Community Campaign to turn the field into a public park.
Members of the public leaving the gallery could be heard muttering the special meeting had been a waste of time.
Coun Angela Newton had requested it to discuss placing the grounds with Fields in Trust, which would allow them to apply for additional grants.
She also asked whether it would be appropriate to discuss the email all councillors had received from the campaign group, suggesting the council should consider applying for some Section 106 monies to transform the field into a public park.
Much of the debate centred around whether the council was breaching the Trust agreement by allowing it to make a loss, with the latest figures registered on the Charity Commission website for March 2012 showing an income of £2,554 and an expenditure of £27,976.
Coun Nick Worth, the portfolio holder until the full council meeting when it was taken over by Coun Howard Johnson, was confident the Charity Commission would rule in their favour.
He said: “The field is subsidised by the council as are other playing fields. We have the original newspaper cuttings which clearly state the field was for the benefit of the town to be used for sport.
“It has been used for sport since the First World War and Spalding United has been there all that time. But that hasn’t stopped other groups from hiring it. If people want to play croquet or cricket there, they simply have to book it with the council.”