The battle to save Yeovil Recreation Centre

Petition to halt the proposed closure of the Bill Whistlecroft Athletics Arena nears 15,000 signatures after Somerset Council contemplate locking the gates

An athletics track, described by those who use it as a “jewel in the crown”, could be closed by Somerset Council as they attempt to find £100m in savings to prevent being effectively bankrupt.

The Bill Whistlecroft Athletics Arena, named after the Yeovil Olympiads Athletic Club founder, would save the unitary authority just £165k in costs over two years.

The track was established in 1972 and is still home to a myriad of clubs who use the facilities, ranging from Yeovil Olympiads and Dorchester Athletics Club to Yeovil Town Road Runners and Running For Time RC.

It also has a rich history. In 1981 and 1988, the Bill Whistlecroft Athletics Arena hosted the English Schools Track & Field Championships. In the latter, a 16-year-old Denise Lewis claimed intermediate long jump gold with a leap of 5.97m.

No surprise then that she is one of a number of athletes who have shared the petition, which is now rocketing towards 15,000 signatures.

Chairman of Yeovil Olympiads, Geoff Cole, set the petition up immediately after the council contacted him out of the blue on January 5.

It’s since been shared and commented on by everyone from UK CEO Jack Buckner and Lewis, to Kath Merry and Jenny Meadows, to name just a few.

Other athletics clubs across the UK have also spread the message far and wide.

Cole tells AW that he never dreamt of such a powerful response, hopes the council will listen and that he is also willing to engage with them.

“The whole reason for starting the petition was because Somerset Council are so detached from knowing what they’ve actually got here,” Cole says. Now we’ve got 10,000+ people have also supported this.

“It’s been shared by past and present Olympians. It was set-up to raise awareness and it’s achieved that objective. I’m so happy it’s got these sort of numbers but I’m not surprised given how the arena is seen nationally.

“We’re in an Olympic year. If we lose facilities like this, where do our future Olympians come from? You’ve lost your grassroots. Everybody enjoys celebrating the success of Super Saturday in 2012 but without facilities like we have in Yeovil that doesn’t happen. There’s no legacy without it.”

Did Cole get prior warning from Somerset Council, that Yeovil Recreational Centre – also the home of Yeovil and Sherborne Hockey Club for the past decade – was in their plans to potentially close?

“The email came as a shock,” he tells AW. “We had a meeting with the council at the end of last year about difficult decision and that savings would need to be made. We knew that costs would be going up but there wasn’t any news about the prospect of closure. We all know that dire straights councils are in so it wasn’t a surprise in that sense.

“It was like someone in an office somewhere thought it was something they could tick off and make a saving. When you actually look into the detail however, it’s not a big saving. What they’d be saving over the first two years would be a fraction of the percent of the overall savings that they’d be making.

Somerset Council came into existence last April when the four district councils – Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset – merged to create one unitary authority.

In 2019, what was then South Somerset District Council described the Bill Whistlecroft Athletics Arena as a “key facility” and emphasised its significance by stating that it was the only ‘Grade A’ athletics venue in Somerset.

For Treasurer of Yeovil Olympiads and UKA level four national judge, Paul D’Arcy, that’s not particularly surprising. He warns that by closing the venue, it might even cost the council more due to the negative secondary effects that could follow.

“The site is a jewel in the crown for Somerset,” he states. “They [council] should be extolling the virtues of the arena and what it brings to the area. Not only does it provide physical and mental health benefits but the site itself is an exceptional facility in a small provincial market town.

“For a county like Somerset which hasn’t got a large population, they should be really proud of the fact they have a facility run by an honest and vibrant club.

“I guarantee you that it would cost £165k over two years to manage the anti-social behaviour, maintenance issues with people breaking in and the wider health issues of schools not being able to use it. The impact on people’s wellbeing who rely on it week in, week out would be affected.”

So, what are the options? Cole tells AW that no final decision has been made and that Somerset Council had their executive committee meeting to discuss debate savings on Monday. A final budget is signed-off on February 20.

“The best case scenario is that we convince them that this is such an important facility that it’s worth them spending £165k over two years,” Cole says. “Then they effectively strike it from their proposed cuts and make it work within their budget. Assuming that they aren’t declared bankrupt and can sign-off an improved budget.

“Beyond that, they still keep the track open but they still look at significant savings of the whole recreational crowed. Cutbacks on maintenance possibly? We were due some new pole vault stands and the council may just say that they can’t afford it. They might also devolve the asset and off lay it to the town council. If that was the case then we’d be very happy to work with the town council.

“The very worst situation is that come April nothing happens and they lock the gates. I think that’s exceptionally unlikely to happen and they probably wouldn’t be able to do that because of various agreements we have in place with them. There’s rights of access issues and we have a 30-year lease on the clubhouse so that’s more unlikely.”

AW has also learnt that the athletics arena and hockey pitches is protected by a covenant as “leisure and community land” so it legally can’t be sold off to a developer.

The importance of the track to schools in the surrounding area can’t be understated. It is the only publicly accessible nationally certified athletics track in Somerset and last year 13 different schools/colleges in Somerset/North Dorset used the facility for track and field.

In addition, there were numerous county and regional championships as well as a National League fixture held at the track.

“We’re an athletics club and we’ve got hundreds of members who rely on the facility but there are other stores of countless junior athletes who rely on the facilities to provide stability, which they may not have in their home or school,” Cole adds.

“We know of a number of athletes who have benefitted from regular training, mentoring from coaches and mental wellbeing plus development.”

Cole is eager to emphasise that he and Yeovil Olympiads is very keen to work with anyone who might be able to help to ensure the athletics arena remains open and protected for future generations.

 

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A post shared by Yeovil Olympiads AC (@yeovilolympiads_ac)

Just two of the current members of Yeovil Olympiads include Ollie and Elise Thorner, the former ranked second in the decathlon in the UK in 2023 and the latter representing Great Britain over the 3000m steeplechase at the 2022 European Championships.

Last year, a number of masters Yeovil Olympiads athletes also claimed numerous medals at the British and European Masters Championships. They were Emily Bonnett, Paul Guest and Ian Allen.

News of the potential closure of this historic venue has transcended the sport and brought communities together.

Whether Somerset Council listen, engage and understand its importance remains to be seen.

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The battle to save Yeovil Recreation Centre appeared first on AW.