Residents call for rejection of housing plans on sports field

Earlier this year the Planning Inspectorate allowed an appeal by Barratt Homes to build on the former Reckitts playing fields on Chamberlain Road, Hull, ending a 10-year fight by local residents. Councillors in Hull are being asked to approve detailed plans, including the layout, today.

But sub-postmaster Serji Singh, who has led local opposition, said the developers needed to go back to the drawing board. He said: “The application hasn’t demonstrated any local input at all. Everything is crammed in. Sport is the flavour of the month, but what they are proposing is very limited.”

Barratt Homes is giving £50,000 to Hull District Service Area and Hull FC to maintain two adult and two mini rugby pitches and changing rooms on the fields, which used to house bowling greens, tennis and netball courts, for the next five years. According to Hull Council, a clause within a legal agreement will ensure facilities remain in public sporting use “in perpetuity”.

But Coun Adam Williams said there was no guarantee that the rest of the land would not end up being built on.

He said: “This is open space that should be developed for community use, because that it what it was left for by Reckitts in the first place.

“I will be arguing that the same concerns remain that there were originally - increased traffic, flood risk, and there not being enough parking spaces around the proposed sports pitch.”