New Sports Hub for Elmbridge

Elmbridge cabinet is tonight considering the proposals for the development of the new Elmbridge Sports Hub. The development at Waterside Drive, Walton, will not only provide local clubs and Elmbridge residents with a spectacular sports and spectator facility next to the Xcel Sports centre, it will also regenerate contaminated land, bringing it back into use. The entire scheme will be paid for by the redevelopment of the Stompond Lane sports ground, not by tax payers, at a time when local government budgets are under extreme pressure. When it is built, the sports facilities will be among the best in the country and that will meet the future aspirations of three important local clubs (Walton Casuals Football Club, Walton and Hersham Football Club and Walton Athletics Club), all of whom desperately need new premises. The sports centre is not just about football but will also offer a great facility for Walton Athletics Club. They will have an eight lane track and a county level athletics ground capable of propelling their athletes further in their sporting careers. At the same time the development offers a unique opportunity to deal with the historic contamination of the site in a way that contains and mitigates the pollution and brings the land back into use.