Leisure Lakes footballers face second site visit after councillors raise safety concerns

Feb 13 2009 By Laura Jones

FOOTBALLERS are still no closer to finding out if they can return to Leisure Lakes pitches in Mere Brow, after councillors at a West Lancashire planning meeting voted to conduct a second site visit.

FOOTBALLERS are still no closer to finding out if they can return to Leisure Lakes pitches in Mere Brow, after councillors at a West Lancashire planning meeting voted to conduct a second site visit.

Concerns on behalf of neighbouring home owners were raised by Michael Green, who said: "The modified plans, in our view, do nothing to reduce loss of amenity."

He added that more than 40 young players and their families would be using the site, many travelling there by car, and that neighbours would welcome plans which moved the pitches further towards the training area.

Other objections included the use of private hedges as toilets by players.

Raising health and safety concerns about the site Councillor Ian Ashcroft said: "We did attend a site visit and there is concern about the existing pitch - there's a ditch running alongside, probably eight feet deep, which had two to three feet of water in it when we were on site.

"I can imagine quite clearly a ball bouncing over - and the actual width of the ditch is about eight to 10 feet - a youngster could quite easily go in."

A second site visit will now be carried out to see if plans can be amended to relocate the pitch next to the training area, further away from the houses, and closer to the toilets and to find out if the planning applicants would consider amending the proposals.

No one from Leisure Lakes spoke at the meeting to defend the application.