Sainsbury’s Redevelopment - Save Eastleigh Recreation Ground

Sainsbury’s are planning the redevelopment of their Town Centre Store.  As Conservatives we are not against the supermarket expanding per se. However, the potential permanent loss of a part of Eastleigh Recreation Ground to the residents is considerable given the scale of the plan proposed.

 For many residents the Rec is the only public green space which they can comfortably walk to and enjoy together. It is the green heart of Eastleigh as a community - particularly children, young people and those who cannot drive to green space. It is a very well used and much loved part of Eastleigh, and hosts regular high profile community events and celebrations (including the Summer Fayre and carnival, the Fireworks display and switching on of the Christmas lights. For many children especially those living in flats - and those being looked after in town centre nurseries it is their only space to play.

 A local resident says “A sunny day on the Rec is a joy to behold, but with family picnics, and groups of friends gathering on the grass there is already limited space for children to play ball games and the like. My own children - like many others - use the park on a pretty much daily basis and in all weathers. Many of us see it as an extension of our [small] back gardens. This is exactly how it should be for a community recreation ground.

“The Rec has already been reduced in size in recent years. For that to happen in order for a community facility like the Point to expand is one thing - for a commercial organisation to build on that Rec is quite a different issue.  Older Eastleigh residents remember when there were tennis courts, bowling green and much more green space - Many of these regret that they and others did not fight harder to keep these community facilities. I do not want those regrets. I believe that a decision to allow Sainsbury's or any commercial organisations to 'buy' our precious green space will live as a terrible legacy for those making the decision and will not be easily forgotten by people here.”

So Eastleigh Recreation Ground is the green heart of our town and must be preserved at all costs.  Any further encroachment upon it would give the give the green light to further development, so it must not be allowed to go ahead.  Nor, of course, can we afford to lose any more space.