It looks like the site of the old Oak Park Recreation Centre is going to be a car park rather than football pitches. Imagery from Google Maps.
One of the things that’s surprised me about the new Oak Park Active Living Centre, built and opened on the field of the previous one to a positive reception in 2016, has been it’s immense popularity – with the facility likely to see in excess of two million visitors this year.
Without doubt, the brand new recreation and sports facility has been very popular indeed – which has been causing some pressure on parking at the centre, leading to many complaints, particularly about enforcement actions being taken by Walsall Council in respect to misuse of the parking area, resulting in quite a few users getting tickets.
When the centre opened, it provided a 96-space car park, coupled with the old car park which provided 124 spaces, giving 220 spaces in total.
Sadly, users for whatever reason have been reluctant to use the old car park and this has resulted in at times, what can only be described as utter chaos. The sheer lack of concern for others demonstrated by a significant minority of drivers is astounding.
Parking chaos at Oak Park Active Living Centre as illustrated in photos from documents supplied by Walsall Council.
The good news is that Walsall Council have acknowledged the problem and have submitted a planning application to add 166 spaces on the site of the old leisure centre, between the new one and the old car park, behind the school.
The kicker here is that to do this, two junior football pitches that were to be created there no will not be provided now. I feel quite sad about this, but it’s a sign of the times.
A very detailed, well argued planning statement which you can read here gives reasons why the car park can’t go anywhere else: Mainly due to land ownership issues, but the spot many people have suggested – on the embankment by the Coppice Lane/Brownhills Road junction isn’t possible due to drain tanks underneath (which is why the embankment is there). Which just goes to show, civil engineering is often more complicated than the bloke in the pub seems to think…
How the new car park might look. Image from submitted application documents held by Walsall Council. Click for a larger version.
You can check out the application no. FL18/0095 here – the documents are well worth a read but the main ones to look at are:
Application_Form_18-05-18.pdf
Design_and_Access_Statement_25-01-18.pdf
Desk_Study_Report_25-01-18.pdf
Existing_Site_Plan-18-05-18.pdf
Location Plan 25-01-18.pdf
Notice_Under_Article_13_-18-05-18.pdf
Planning_Statement_18-05-18.pdf
Proposed_Site_Plan-18-05-18.pdf
Location Plan 18-05-18.pdf
Transport_Statement_18-05-18.pdf
Tree_Survey_Report_25-01-18.pdf
The application hasn’t been considered yet but I’d be very surprised were it not approved.
So – a solution in sight for all those grumbling about parking at the Oak Park Active Living Centre – at the cost of sporting facilities for children.
We are actually now in a place as a society, where providing car parking provision for people visiting a building in order to ride a stationary bicycle is more pressing than children’s sport. I actually know people that drive from Walsall Wood and Shire Oak to visit the centre. I find that sad, and regrettable. But such is life.
How very 2018.
Your comments and observations are welcome: Comment here or mail me – BrownhillsBob at Googlemail dot com.
The original plans clearly showed the area was planned to be junior football pitches. Click for a larger version.
RSS - Posts
Thanks Bob
I wish the Council would actually get around to provide a road sign on the Lichfield Roas for the Walsall Wood Football Club
It’s regrettable about the pitches, but the fact remains that you won’t get people out of their cars, even if the purpose of getting in the car is to go to excercise :-./. It matters not if there’s a bus service, cycle parking, footpaths, adequate pedestrian crossings etc, because for many, the only mode of transport that even registers is car. This is whyroads are jameed, schools are blighted with traffic, and hospital car parks permanently full. The original car park of the new centre never was going to cut it, sadly.
Even then, they won’t want to walk more than a few yards from their car; you can see the results of this outside pretty much any gym.
Why not extend the car park to the North West grass areas that are currently available and keep the 5-A-Side pitches. These after the creation of centres like “Goals” are now gold dust and very lucrative. All seems a little ill thought out!
Reasons for why not are given in the linked planning report.
Cheers
Bob
If something was done about the antisocial behaviour, lighting and security on the old car park, people wouldn’t be so reluctant to park there. It wasn’t great when the old oak park was open, so people aren’t likely to park there now it’s derelict and so far away from the centre. You have a new leisure centre that has pool, gym, hall, badminton and squash courts and a 4G pitch which people will travel for miles to use. The current parking is barely sufficient for the football pitches let alone anything else in the centre. Poor planning.
I’ve also heard that the grass pitch next to the current little car park will soon be turned into another 4G football pitch – even less natural, free places for teams to train on. If true just another way of raising money by the council.