Update on doomed Bristol running track located in area with high levels of obesity, inactivity and poor health

The Whitchurch Athletics Track is earmarked for a new housing development so councillors have been trying to find an alternative location for a replacement.

A mile up the road in Hengrove are two schools with large playing fields, the John Williams high school and the New Oak primary school. Both academies are run by Oasis Community Learning, which is planning to build 360 homes on its 28 acres of fields near the Wells Road.

The income from the housing development would pay for a replacement primary school with provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as improved sports facilities for the school and local community. This includes sports pitches and an “Active Track”.

Bristol City Council is coming under increasing pressure to save or find a replacement for the Whitchurch Athletics Track. The playing fields at Oasis John Williams could provide an answer, and were discussed by the strategy and resources policy committee on Monday, September 15.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Sarah Classick, representing Hengrove and Whitchurch Park, said: “With this comes extra amenities to the area, which we would be keen to see — the SEND provision and the athletics as well. That’s a really key issue in our ward at the moment.

“It has been suggested that there might be a running track as part of this, something that we’re potentially losing in Hengrove Park. So I think that would be a real thing for us to see those provisions still come back into Hengrove and be kept in Hengrove.”

Half a century ago an athletics track opened in Hengrove Park on the site of a former airport. The council formally closed the track in 2010, with a replacement in Whitehall five miles away. Since then, the track has still been used by local running clubs informally, as well as the Bristol Family Cycling Centre. But this use will likely come to an end in the next few years.

Goram Homes, the council-owned developer, is planning to build 150 homes on the athletics track. So far council bosses have resisted calls to change the plans, but in July councillors pledged to help find a location for a new track. That was after more than 6,500 petitioners called for the track to be saved and forced a debate in a full council meeting.

Leading the campaign to save Whitchurch Athletics Track is John Pearce. Commenting on the option of an Active Track on the Oasis John Williams playing fields, he said this could be too small. A council report suggested the Active Track would be for “running, walking and scooting”.

Mr Pearce added: “As great as this sounds, it’s a world apart from a competitive eight-lane competitive circuit, of which Bristol doesn’t have one, that can host regional and national competitions. Plus we’re not only campaigning to see the Whitchurch Athletics Track regenerated but also to see the Bristol Family Cycling Centre stay in South Bristol.

“Our vision for a regenerated Whitchurch Athletics Track is for it to be run by the community, for the community. Jubilee Pool is a shining example of what can happen when passionate community members can make something flourish. This is our vision for the track.”

Jubilee Swimming Pool in Knowle was threatened with closure several times over the past couple of decades. Three years ago the council transferred management of the pool to the Friends of Jubilee Pool group, in a community asset transfer, saving it from closure.

Oasis hasn’t applied for planning permission yet, so details of the playing fields development are unclear. Meanwhile the council is pressing ahead with plans for a major new cycling centre in Lawrence Weston, although this is very far from Whitchurch and staff previously admitted the journey would be too long for many people in South Bristol.

As well as saving the athletics track, Mr Pearce is now trying to keep the cycling centre in South Bristol too. A new petition has already attracted more than 600 signatures, calling for Bristol to have a cycling centre in both the north and south of the city.

He said: “The £15-million WECA-funded Regional Cycling Hub, scheduled to be built in Lawrence Weston, will be an amazing facility. The unspoken tragedy of this new facility is that the Bristol Family Cycling Centre will close and move its services 10 miles from South Bristol. This is unnecessary and Bristol is big enough to have a north and a south cycling centre.

“What do you think the likelihood is of South Bristol people driving 10 miles to Lawrence Weston, potentially getting charged by Clean Air Zone cameras, then paying admission to the new cycling hub? Numbers will plummet and the health and well-being benefit that cycling provides to the area — with high levels of obesity, inactivity and poor health — will disappear.”

The development on the Oasis playing fields is a joint project between the council and the academy chain. The primary school currently has one class in each year group, but would be replaced with a larger school with two classes in each year, as well as a SEND resource base.

Councillors on the strategy and resources policy committee raised concerns about losing the playing fields and the lack of a comprehensive public consultation. They deferred a decision on approving the loss of the playing fields, and asked for council staff to bring back more details.

During the July debate Liberal Democrat Cllr Stephen Williams, chair of the public health and communities policy committee, said changing the plans for the Whitchurch Athletics Track would be “very difficult”.

He added there are many sports facilities nearby, including a gymnastic centre in Whitchurch, a huge swimming pool at the Hengrove Leisure Centre, and football pitches too.