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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