One O'Clock Club: The official position

For any readers wanting to know EXACTLY what the situation is with the new One'Clock Club, changing rooms and pitches on Peckham Rye Common, the following may be of interest.

I submitted a question to the relevant Cabinet Member for last Wednesday's Council Assembly meeting. The response can be found here in the official council papers, but I've also pasted it below:-

"QUESTION TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR CULTURE, LEISURE & SPORT AND THE OLYMPICS FROM COUNCILLOR GAVIN EDWARDS
What progress has been made on delivering Southwark Labour's manifesto commitment to turn the plans for a new One O'Clock Club and changing rooms and pitches for local sports teams into reality?

RESPONSE
A development plan for Peckham Rye was completed earlier this year defining sporting facilities and the future development of the cafe area of Peckham Rye Common. This plan has support from the community. The total estimated cost to realise this plan for the Homestall Road Sports Facilities and the Park Central Area Development Plan is £2.1m.

This is broken down into the following:

Homestall Road Sports Facilities and works to park pitches £1,100,000
New one o’clock club buildings £500,000
Replacing the temporary changing rooms with a permanent
facility on the maintenance area £100,000
New play area including water play £100,000
Landscaping and relocating car park to Peckham Rye Common £300,000
Total £2,100,000

To date £209,000 has been secured from the cleaner greener safer capital programme. The council has also sought a further £300,000 from Sure Start and £100,000 from the play builder programme. However since the election of the coalition government the Sure Start programme has been cancelled and play builder has been suspended and is unlikely to be available.

Over the last few months officers have been negotiating with the Harris Boys Academy which is willing to invest £400,000 to improve drainage and refurbish the grasses pitches in exchange for exclusive use of the Homestall Road site at specific times.

A meeting is being held on 20 October to confirm details. This funding would also be able the council to apply for Football Association (FA) funding in the region of £250,000.

Possible funding for this project is therefore as follows;
Homestall Road Sports Facilities
Harris Boys Academy contribution £400,000
FA contribution £250,000
Peckham Rye Park and Common
Current CGS funding £209,000
Total identified funding £959,000

If FA funding and Harris Academy funding is granted, the project is still left with a shortfall of £1,141,000 to complete the entire project. Officers have submitted a bid for a further capital funding for this amount and this will be considered by the cabinet in November as part of the wider council capital programme."

So, decisions are due to be made in November and we will continue to keep a very close eye on this issue.