Petition has attracted support from Daley Thompson, Kriss Akabusi and Jason Gardener
With Whitchurch Athletics Track in Bristol in danger of being demolished to make way for new houses, campaigners hope to not only save the facility but they want the regenerated arena to help reduce anti-social behaviour and knife crime in the area.
Athletics
The local council has plans to build 1400 houses over the land currently occupied by the athletics track. Situated in Hengrove Park in south Bristol, the track was built in 1974 but fell into disrepair for many years and is currently used by the Bristol Family Cycling Centre, Southville Running Club plus a small number of other athletes who unofficially use the track for training.
Bristol & West, the biggest club in the city, is based a few miles away at the six-lane Whitehall track in the east of the city.
So far a petition entitled “Do you support the proposal to see Whitchurch Athletics Track in Bristol regenerated?” has generated well over 3000 signatures. These include support from athletes such as Daley Thompson, Kriss Akabusi, Jason Gardener, Vernon Samuels, Kate Reed and Nick Rose.
Not only are campaigners desperate to save the track in order to give local athletes a good option for training and competition in future, but they believe a regenerated facility will reduce anti-social behaviour in one of the most deprived areas of the country.
“It’s a well-known fact that there is a housing shortage but our argument is that sport facilities for young people should be protected and not removed,” says petition creator John Pearce. “It’s well documented following the pandemic how inactivity and mental health issues are a rising problem.”
The campaigners are setting up a not-for-profit constitutional group called Whitchurch Athletics Track Community Health Association (WATCHA) through which they are looking to apply for funding to run events at the track in addition to joining forces with a local hospital and leisure centre.
“Our vision is to see the facility not only advance youth athletics in the area but also be a tool to reach into these communities to have a positive impact,” Pearce adds. “If the track is demolished and more housing is built on the site, we see these issues spiralling downwards even further.
“We have already established some positive links with some of the secondary schools in the area who can see the opportunity a regenerated track would bring to their young people.
“If the track is lost we see the lack of facilities to positively engage young people through sport will see things deteriorate even further.”
