Council to referee in battle between clubs

Council to referee in battle between clubs

24 February 2016

TWO sports clubs are at loggerheads over a pitch in Castlewellan.

St Malachy’s GAC wants the local authority to grant them a long-term lease of the upper pitch at Bann Road playing fields but Castlewellan Town Football Club has objected, pointing out that they have been principal users of the pitch over the past five years.

Both clubs have also expressed a separate interest in developing the pitch to 4G standard with floodlighting.

In a recent letter to Newry, Mourne and Down Council, Kevin Sweeney, chairman of Castlewellan GAC, said it was renewing its request following an application first made in 2013 to Down Council.

Mr Sweeney said “little progress” had been made since then, leaving the club “totally frustrated”.

He said they had previously backed the soccer club being awarded a long-term lease for the lower pitch at Bann Road “on the understanding that Castlewellan GAC would be awarded similar status”.

“St Malachy’s GAC Castlewellan is the largest integrated sporting organisation in the area with almost 500 members catering for 26 teams in four different sports and currently provide all gaelic playing facilities in the Castlewellan area which has resulted in a huge financial drain on the club’s resources,” said Mr Sweeney.

But a letter to the council from David Hutchman, chairman of Castlewellan Town FC, said that as the main user of the pitch they would not be in favour of the council leasing the facility to any other organisation. He said it would be “making a multitude of our teams and events homeless”.

“In fact we have paid for 86 per cent of all bookings on this pitch over the last five years at a cost to the club of over £10,000,” he said.

Mr Hutchman added: “We are a very proactive and forward thinking club and wish nothing but the best for all sports clubs in our area. With these sentiments in mind we would make an open offer to council that if partnership collaboration could be reached between a number of interested clubs, with a view to developing a full sized floodlit 4G pitch, Castlewellan Town Football Club will put their full support behind it.”

Local SDLP councillor Laura Devlin said she was very supportive of the soccer club but urged the council to accede to the gaelic club’s request. She also argued for better use to be made of the council’s soccer pitch at Annsborough.

“What we are looking for is equality for the gaelic club in Castlewellan,” she said.

Councillor Devlin said the club’s application for a lease had been left to “fall by the wayside” and questioned whether the council’s treatment of the gaelic club, in comparison to the soccer club, was fair or whether it was “anti-GAA”.

Councillor Gareth Sharvin and councillor Gillian Fitzpatrick said that the gaelic club deserved the opportunity.

The council’s Director of Recreation, Michael Lipsett, said officers wanted to meet with both parties to see if a partnership could be formed for the future development of the upper pitch.

He said they needed to consider legal opinion and other expressions of interest and said a report was coming back on the issue to the council’s Policy and Resources meeting next month.

DUP councillor Billy Walker also urged that a decision be postponed until March to avoid being open to legal challenge.

“We are all supportive of all the sports in the district,” he added.

Councillor Devlin agreed to the one month delay but said she wanted a decision made at the next meeting.

St Malachy’s GAC currently have their own gaelic pitch in the centre of Castlewellan, plus another pitch adjacent to the upper pitch at Bann Road. Castlewellan FC use a council pitch at Annsborough in addition to the council’s upper and lower pitches at Bann Road.

In a statement released after Monday’s meeting, Mr Hutchman said it was a ludicrous suggestion for Castlewellan Town FC to move from the Bann Road playing fields. 

“The club has been in occupancy on this pitch from the 1980s and is by far the main user of the facilities. Eighty-six per cent of bookings to the council for this pitch last year were made by Castlewellan Town FC and this statistic will have been mirrored throughout the past three decades. “It is vital that we have access to the Bann Road pitches so that we can promote soccer for our five youth teams and three senior teams. Castlewellan Town is a cross-community club and is open to partnerships. We have always been happy to share the Bann Road facilities with all the local sporting organisations. 

“The club has just entered an exciting new phase of its development by joining the Amateur League and the thought of losing the Bann Road facilities would seriously hinder this development. Indeed, the club would unfortunately have to downsize and, in so doing, deny the very many young boys and girls of the area the chance to play soccer for their local club. 

“In the worst case scenario, this threat to deny us the use of the Bann Road pitches could see the club’s future put in serious jeopardy.”