If you did not hear the news after last week’s council meeting to decide the future of Preston Park track then here it is:
Brighton and Hove Economic Development and Culture Committee met at the Jubilee Library on Thursday 17th September to decide, amongst other business, whether to pursue renovating Preston Park Cycle Track to racing standard. This was clearly a very important issue for local cyclists and especially members and supporters of Preston Park YCC.
To help make the case for the track our own volunteers Anthony Rogers and Alison Lewis were present to give evidence on why money should be allocated to replace the current fencing with fencing appropriate for racing and training in this day and age. With the cost of the fencing amounting to £285,000 this was a significant investment for a cash-strapped Council, but one many people consider essential.
Our case was helped by the report prepared by the Council’s own officers, which recommended that the money be spent on the fencing and identified where it would come from without using the Council’s own funds. Thus a combination of funds from Section 106 funding, sourced from the London Road Cooperative site development, and the Preston Park car parking charges fund will be matched funded by British Cycling to achieve the total.
The Friends of Preston Park, whilst not “against the renovation of the track per se” put a case for other considerations for the money to be spent within the park. They were invited to take this idea to the more relevant Council committee, Environment, Transport and Sustainability.
The Committee then discussed the motion for some time and were clearly seen to be highly supportive of the track and its importance to the City. With great pleasure those of us present from the cycling community were able to witness the Council’s resolve to follow the recommendations of their officers and agree the the funding of the new fencing.