Survey shows Henley residents still against Wasps training ground plan
Wasps Rugby Club’s plans to redevelop Henley Sports Centre as its new training ground, continue to face considerable local opposition according to the results of a new residents’ survey.
The survey of around 600 residents by Beaudesert and Henley Joint Parish Councils found 81 per cent of respondents believed a significant community sports and health facility will be lost if the plans are given the go-ahead.
In contrast only 18 per cent appeared supportive of the application, believing Wasps’ plans would bring jobs, revenue and prestige to Henley.
On 18 September Wasps also submitted a new community use agreement, outlining proposals to make a new 3G sports pitch at the site available to community groups, when not in use by the elite team.
It provides times of 6pm-10pm Wednesday to Friday, 10am-5pm on Saturday and 10am-6pm on Sunday for community use, with 65 parking spaces available.
However the agreement has already been criticised by those fighting the new application.
Russ Cox from the Henley Sports Centre Alliance, said: “This survey absolutely reflects what I hear around Henley, I don’t know of anyone who thinks this is a good idea.
“This new community use statement is just a rehash of the previous ones really, it doesn’t tie Wasps to anything because the 3G+ pitch is only available when WASPS don’t need to use it. As a football coach we block book sessions at a certain time each week throughout the year, I need to know when the pitch is going to be available in advance, I can’t cancel sessions or move them around each week.
“There’s nothing concrete in the statement, nor does it allow people to use any of the indoor facilities as far as I can tell. There will be no changing facilities, no sports hall and no gym, these are the facilities that the majority of people use.”
Ray Evans, clerk at Beaudesert and Henley Joint Parish Council, said: “The parish council has lodged objections to this application on two occasions, the first was unanimously against the Wasps plan going ahead and the second objection was based on a majority vote of 6-5, but still opposed to the plan.
“It’s been ten months now and people have had time to digest the proposal, so we thought it would be a good time to conduct a straw poll of residents. The majority of residents were in favour of option one on that questionnaire (opposed to the Wasps application) and we feel we have a clear mandate from our residents. We sent the questionnaire out to 15,000 homes and the results represent the views of around 600 people, so it’s not to be ignored.
“Although we are aware of groups with an interest in this application, such as the Sports Centre Alliance, I would point out that we are totally independent.”
Wasps, one of the world’s oldest rugby clubs, currently train at Broad Street Rugby Club, east of Coventry, but says such facilities are inadequate for the needs of a Premiership rugby Club.
A Wasps spokesperson said: "The Club remains committed to delivering a state-of-the-art training complex that will deliver a range of benefits to Henley and the surrounding community, which we have outlined in our planning application to Stratford District Council. We are awaiting their decision, and we will not be commenting further until then."
A decision on the application was expected to be made in September, but the plan has still not appeared on a planning committee agenda.
