We have been invited by Church Crookham Parish Council to move our training and HQ from the Peter Driver fields (behind the Tweseldown pub) to the new grass track area on Crookham Park. Moving to Crookham Park means we need to provision a new club pavilion and kit storage building and transfer our training sessions to the new location.

We are going to make every effort to source a building design that will be non-intrusive, visually blend into the surroundings and produce minimum impact on the environment. Currently our expectations of what the new pavilion will look like are below:

 

Front ViewSide View (tennis courts to the left) 

 

Our club has been active in Fleet & Church Crookham for over 60 years and organizes the Fleet Half Marathon and 10k road races. We are a charity with the objective of promoting community participation in healthy recreation in particular by the provision of facilities and coaching for Athletics.

As well as catering for adults, the club has a strong junior section. By moving, the club will bring running and athletics expertise to Crookham Park.

We plan to submit our application for planning permission later this year and once approved we would be delighted to welcome residents to come and meet us, ask questions about training and athletics and to join in. (The track is owned by Church Crookham Parish Council and has been provided for the athletic activities of all residents of the parish. Once the track is fit for use it will be maintained by the Council).

 

FAQ’s

Understandably there are likely to be some questions about our move to this site. We have tried to pre-empt some of these by providing some answers below, but if none of these answer any questions you may have, or you still have concerns, please feel free to fill in and submit the form below so that we can take these forward for consideration.

 

  • When is the move expected to take place?
    This is subject to negotiation with the Parish Council; lead times for procuring the building and preparing the site and the elapsed time to get planning permission. Note: all the drainage works has now been completed with the grass growth being monitored and maintained by Kestrel until at least March 2023, at which time a handover to the Parish Council will hopefully take place.
  • How long will the site preparation and construction of the building take and how will this affect the residents?
    We haven’t finalised any details yet but will answer this as and when we know. Initially this will be subject to obtaining planning permission.
  • Where will the members, who drive to training sessions, park?
    Church Crookham Parish Council have indicated that club members can use the spare capacity of the Community Centre and Allotment car parks on their training nights. Members will be strongly advised not to park in the residential roads.
  • Can we expect an increase in noise levels when club members take part in training?
    Apart from the occasional whistle being blown by coaches and instructions being announced to participants, the training activities are relatively quiet especially when compared to the noise generated on football grounds.
  • Can we expect an increase in litter scattered around the track with the influx of club members training?
    The club has a zero tolerance to littering but training activities are inherently litter free so there’s little fear that this would be a problem.
  • We understand that the club holds training sessions throughout the year. How will the track be illuminated when it’s being used for training on dark evenings? E.g. will there be flood lighting?
    There are no plans to install permanent flood lighting. The club currently uses very low intensity portable lighting for its winter training at the Peter Driver Field and will be expecting to do the same at Crookham Park.
  • The track area is a public open space that can be used by any resident in the Parish of Church Crookham. What priority will the club be given to the times when they want to hold training sessions on the track?
    The Parish Council and club continue discussions to formalise a usage agreement and club sessions will be advertised. These are likely to be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Residents will be requested to allow the club to have priority of use during the training time slots especially as the training will mainly be for junior athletes..
  • Who will provide and pay for the maintenance of the track area?
    The maintenance is expected to be provided by a contractor employed by the council. The club will expect to pay for its proportion of wear and tear repairs and maintenance fees, which include regular mowing and marking charges.
  • What measures will be taken to prevent dogs from fouling the track area?
    Whilst it is recognised that it will be difficult to prevent dog owners from accessing the track area, it will most likely be through signage that dog walkers will be deterred from using the area for this purpose.
  • Will competitions with external clubs be held on the track area?
    No external competitions are planned for the track. There may be the occasional competition for club members held on training evenings.
  • Will residents be expected to pay for use of the track, which has been provided for the use of the Church Crookham Parish residents?
    The track is free for residents to use at any time but residents are invited to join our club if they want to train regularly with us and receive quality coaching. The primary use of the track training sessions will be for the benefit of our junior section.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to submit them via the following form link:

New Home Questions and Concerns Form