Mar 05, 2012 18:20 GMT Sign the Kingsbridge Petition

Birmingham City Council are seriously considering selling the lease for Holders Lane Playing Fields, and in so doing snatching the site from under the noses of Kingsbridge and its community partners. Don’t stand back and let this travesty happen- sign the petition which will be handed to the Council on the 3rd April. Please encourage as many of your friends and family to sign it as well.

Background information In the last 20 years 5,000 Playing Fields have been sold across the country. Here in within the last 10 years the Birmingham Sports Centre site in Highgate, with its full-sized astro-turf pitch was sold for Retail. Nearby a few years later a large section of Billesley Common Land (Public Open Space) was sold to Rugby Club, now are seriously thinking of selling the lease of Holders Lane Playing Fields (adjacent to , Moseley/Kings Heath) to a large commercial organisation with aspirations to redevelop the site for their own purpose. Meanwhile more than 30 local community sports clubs are without a home ground and the community is crying out for more rather than less facilities for people to come together to enjoy playing and watching sport. Kingsbridge has been working with the Council for more than 4 years developing a feasible, sustainable and community led alternative for the site based on the principles of Community Asset Transfer. During this time Kingsbridge have invested over £44K of public funds, and an equivalent of more than £40K in volunteer hours. Despite these efforts, Birmingham City Council are now minded to adopt a procurement procedure to dispose of the site- a process that will almost certainly disadvantage a genuine community based group such as Kingsbridge.

Sign the petition http://epetition.birmingham.public-i.tv/epetition_core/view/playingfields

Kingsbridge Project is a community based consortium, aiming to develop a vibrant and exciting new venue in South Birmingham. Our aim is to enhance the provision of sport and leisure activities for the benefit of a wide variety of local user groups, in an area where facilities are currently sorely lacking.

For more information visit http://www.kingsbridge-project.org/ Contacts

Amanda Smith Press Contact Director [email protected]