Ilkeston - Controversy
At The Rec
w/e 10 November
2002
Hoardings publicising the redevelopment
of Ilkeston's Rutland Recreation Ground were severely damaged
by the recent gales and the signs lay in tatters near the main
entrance. Many local people are opposed to the scheme and hope
that the Council's plans will suffer a similar fate. (The
flames of the controversy over the development were further fuelled
when it was revealed that the hoarding had been erected without
planning permission).
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But work on the project has begun and many areas of the Rec are
fenced off. A temporary compound on the far left of this picture
houses a myriad of earth moving machinery and other equipment.
The Pavilion is surrounded by a barricade to prevent access as
is the terracing which is being ripped up. On the right the fencing
that surrounded the tennis courts has been removed as preliminary
work is carried out ready for an indoor tennis centre.
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I was surprised to find that the cricket
scoreboard had been demolished too. The small picture insert
was taken in April 2002 and a larger version and another view
of the Rec may be seen in "This
Sporting Life".
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A raised pathway separates the cricket
ground - once the venue for First Class County Cricket matches
- from the lower rec which housed football pitches and in the
not too distant past, a six hole pitch and putt golf course.
A sign on the fence prohibited children from playing!
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Where soccer once was played on lush green
grass, now only mud, wheel tracks and a temporary makeshift road
can be seen. The green swathe beyond the mud is the nine hole
Pewit Municipal Golf Course. The controversial development plans
include an eighteen hole course.
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The tower in the distance is for training
purposes at the town's Fire Station. I am not sure whether the
branch in the foreground is a result of the gales or whether
it was a victim of the heavy machinery working nearby but it
is a sad sight lying as it does near the West End Drive entrance.
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