Exeter city council (ecc) do not have a sports facility strategy. Without this policy sports clubs in and around exeter are unable to apply to their sports governing bodies for grants and financial support. For many groups it is vital to access these funds to ensure the clubs have sports halls, gyms, pitches and pools that are safe and fit for purpose. As an essential part of health & wellbeing, better facilities would encourage more to take up sport. Ecc are currently the only local council within devon not to have a sports facility or playing pitch strategy. Without either there is no cohesive plan to include leisure amenities when new housing is built. There is no clear strategy to keep or improve the services we currently have. There is no policy to ensure that facilities are adequate for the current population of the local area or for the fast growing new estates. I was told in december 2016 that ecc did have a draft document and would be consulting on it in 2017, after previously being told it was due to be published in the autumn of 2016. The time table for the playing pitch strategy shows the latest date for approval should have been february 2017. No such time table has been issued to the public regarding the more important sports facility strategy. Please sign this petition to ask the under secretary of state for sport and civil society to investigate why ecc has delayed the publication of these vital documents. With the importance of sport and leisure for both physical and mental wellbeing high on political agendas, we would like a definitive date of publication.
There are currently 23 signatures for this petition: