'Planned changes will make the sports hall unusable for team sports'

Melton Hockey Club’s indoor section say reducing the hall size by half will make it unusable for any team sports sessions.

Melton Borough Council sent letters to all the clubs which use the sports hall to advise them of the proposals and to ask for their views on how it will affect their activities.

The hockey club say the consultation period was too short with the matter set to be discussed by councillors tomorrow evening (Thursday), when a decision will be made on whether to award a new 10-year leisure contract to SLM (Everyone Active).

Alistair McQuillan, the club’s honorary secretary, wrote to the council, in a letter seen by the Melton Times, to object to the plans which he said would ‘downgrade Melton’s only public sports gymnasium to a village hall style facility’.

He wrote: “No consultation has taken place with users of the gymnasium during the ‘robust procurement process’ that the council undertook.

“It is also clear that zero consultation has taken place with key users of the Melton Sports Village site as to these changes.

“The changes...will render this space unusable for Indoor Hockey along with any other team sport.”

A Melton Borough Council spokesperson told us in response: “We recognise that in order to make the contract viable, changes to the sports hall may have an impact on a small number of users.

"We have already reached out to each of these and welcome the opportunity for dialogue regarding alternative arrangements to enable activities to continue.”