Dear sir,
As a resident of this town, born and bred, I have used many council facilities and services over the years, provided for by public money (our hard earned taxes). I have a good understanding of the origins and history of our town, and have seen how much it has changed over the years, and not necessarily for the better. If anything, there seems to be more taken away from its origins than given back. What we do get back is by no means on par with what was taken away. Newton Aycliffe is still a young town in the grand scheme of things, it is the largest town in the county, it has quite possibly the largest industrial/business park in the region, it is still growing, new generations are coming through, houses are continually being built, but what are we really getting for our money? We once had a boating lake that was enjoyed by so many, but that came at a cost and had to pulled for so called ‘Health & Safety’ purposes, tosh! We once had an annual carnival and then show, but that came at a cost and had to be pulled. Okay, the show was replaced by a smaller ‘fun in the parks’, which I’m sure is enjoyed by many young families, but it is not by any means substituting what we’ve lost over the years, it seems to be a something rather than nothing approach. For years I have been unconvinced by the reasoning for our loss when the town is growing, it is, without doubt, a gold mine for taxes in the area, but why are we losing instead of gaining? I have often wondered is it our council’s reactive approach to a problem rather than a proactive approach, i.e. if the boating lake was costing too much, then sub let it out as a business opportunity alleviating responsibility and gaining an income as a surplus to be put towards other services that our town needs, the same ethos could be applied across the board, turn a negative into a positive and not just take the easy route…pull the plug.
In December, whilst attending a council run facility, the Oakleaf Sports Complex, I picked up a form the ‘Great Aycliffe Town Council Budget Survey 2023-2024’ and the answer was there right in front of my face, in fact, I was standing in it, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at, the highest running cost of all council services at a staggering £763,100 was in fact the Sports Complex! And what was more staggering was seeing that it runs at an eye watering loss which the tax payer is picking up the short fall of £357,950. And what added insult to injury, is over the years just seeing how underused this facility actually is, with exception to the bar area, as that seems to be the only real purpose to the building. This is a publicly funded sporting facility that seems to be used by only a select group of people while the rest of us pick up the bill, surely that can’t be right? It seems to me that this so called ‘Sports Complex’ spends more time out of use than in use, which explains why it’s bleeding tax payers hard earned money. Is this facility really value for money, or is it time that it was re-purposed to take it from a negative to a positive? This town is in desperate need of restructure, the demograph and attitude has changed greatly since it’s development, perhaps it would be best to transfer all sporting activities to the town’s leisure centre and let out the Complex to businesses such as Planet Leisure who are not ideally located? The indoor bowls area would make an ideal tenpin bowling alley, the sports hall would make an ideal skating rink or giant soft play area, the bar could be better themed but, ultimately, it would be more accessible and more used and more of a benefit to the council and the taxpayer, and any surplus revenue could be put to other facilities or services for the overall greater good of the town. Times are changing, and change is what we need before we all fall asleep at the wheel and lose all sense of direction. To quote from an old Aycliffe Development Corporation map; Aycliffe, where ideas grow. So ask, why are we standing so still when the town and the world around us is changing? Why are we paying for this ‘white elephant’ of a service when I bet statistically not even 1% of the town’s taxpayers even use it? Why are we hanging onto it when we’ve lost lesser financial burdens that are of a greater benefit? Surely this financial burden should not be put to the taxpayer when further tax increases are becoming inevitable? Time for a change and a new way of thinking instead of this ‘put up with it and pay for it’ attitude, this town needs to get with the programme, and fast!
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