Baldock

I am writing to ask that you make it a priority to provide proper sporting facilities for the people of Baldock. Proper facilities are already scarce in Baldock and as it seems likely that Baldock is going to have huge housing development in the near future, it is important to ensure that there is adequate facilities for the existing and new population of the town.

Baldock Town desperately needs a facility in the town for local community sport.

Baldock Town FC & Baldock Town Youth FC have strong foundations already built and the only thing missing is a football stadium and sports facility, the club is standing still without one.

If the stadium and facility were to be positioned in Baldock, the club would continue to grow and improve and with many new houses proposed in the town, it provides a good platform for sport in the town itself and the growing population.

Baldock Town FC first team have been football ground sharing in Letchworth, Hitchin and now Stotfold for too long, there is nothing in the town that is suitable for the level of football that the club is at. The level the club is at brings in supporters and commercial values but these are impossible to enhance with not being in it's own town.

Please could you agree planning as not only will the whole town and community of Baldock benefit enormously but the council itself will reap the rewards of this project in the long term.

I am writing with my concerns regarding the future of North Hertfordshire. Our future is the success of young people, lack of funding for many local authorities has impacted on the resources and people who voluntarily commit in Supporting young people in sport .

A local amenity is key for young people to access recreational activities, therefore this must be considered to keep young people from the streets, reducing risks of crime anti social behaviour and improving health and emotional wellbeing.

I am therefore supporting Baldock Town football club as a parent to oppose any proposals to move any local amenities from Baldock.

In Baldock whenever you walk past a park or an area of large green space do you see children out playing football or some kind of sporting activity. There are plenty of pubs,cafes/eateries but not much for the youth i.e cinema, youth centre.... The youth of today need a purpose and a safe place to be creative and to let off steam.
As a parent of a youth player we have to play our games at a school and there's no toilets facilities or even an inclosed hub to provide refreshments we have to use a urn and table exposed to the elements whatever the weather, it is quite imbarrassing as more local clubs have these set ups and facilities. As a volunteer with the senior team we lack attendance and support and I highly think this is because we play out of the town, the club try to do promotional stuff to introduce a new stream of supporters but it Is hard to do when you don't have your own pitch or ground. As the club ground share games can be called off if the weather isn't brilliant because the ground holders want to prevent the ground deteriorating to put their clubs football before that of Baldock's. Due to Baldock playing in a different county they have to play their herts centinary cup matches at the Hertfordshire county ground due to the club not having a ground in this county.
In Baldock we take pride in our town with events like balstock, our own fireworks display and our annual beer festival I truly believe with a stadium and football facilities for the youth teams we will rally around and take it to our hearts and take pride in our club and the club would be able to have a better chance getting the voluntary support it needs on match days and it would make it easier for the youth teams to have the opportunity to experience being Matchday mascots as parents struggle to get their children to Stotfold in time after their child's match in the morning.
Please help our community take back our pride and give us the opportunity to get behind our teams and the youth of today by granting them the opportunity to strive and develop in our own town.

I would like to take a few moments to pen a few words in support of the campaign to improve the sporting facilities in the town of Baldock.

I myself am a long term resident of town, indeed this is the town where I was raised. Whilst I am not opposed to the building of additional housing in the town, I am frankly concerned by the lack of sporting facilities that are on offer within the town. I say this now even at it's current population level.

I am also an avid supporter and season ticket holder of Baldock Town Football Club. Also my ten year old son plays for Baldock Town Youth Football Club.

I often discuss the team I support with my fellow residents of the town, they always seem to show an interest in the progress of the team and demonstrate some interest in maybe attending games. Many of them do, at least once. But unfortunately after one trip to a "home" game in Stotfold, that is where the interest ends. I really do believe from my experiences that there is a healthy fan base for the football team within the town just waiting to be tapped into once they return home. A return to a facility within the town could provide a leisure facility for both current and new residents, breed a sense of community pride in a team that achieve very highly in their respective part of the football pyramid and could also bolster the community in a potentially shared passion for a local football team.

There would also be a huge benefit for the youth system of Baldock Town FC. As I have mentioned, I am also a parent of a BTFC youth player and I have seen with my own eyes the lack of pitch space and the congestion at allowed playing areas for our youth players. One facility for the club at both youth and senior level would also help supply the current demand and supply the potential future demand for playing space for our growing academy.

I would also like to highlight the endeavours made by the senior team to engage the youth team, I cannot remember a Saturday game without some sort of mascot representation by various age groups within the youth system, my son's age group included. Volunteer representatives from both the youth team and the senior team pull out all the stops to give the youth team players a fantastic day out and it is always a resounding success. But again I feel there is far more potential there to be taken advantage of because again, albeit a short journey, the journey to our "home" ground in Stotfold is a stumbling block for what would otherwise be a very keen group of Baldock based parents. The thought of both youth and senior teams sharing one facility within the town, again I feel would be a cornerstone of a potentially very vibrant community and therefore must be considered in any future planning of the town.

I really hope you will take the time to consider my words in your decision making process. We have a wonderful community already here in Baldock and I am sure any further development will only add to it's divergence and strengthen it. But I am also sure there is a passion for our local team here which many feel was taken away from them with the folding of the old team. Many I have spoken to were also ardent supporters of the old BTFC and often tell me they would gladly return to the club upon it's return to the town. We as a populace and yourselves as the relevant authority now have a wonderful opportunity to not only bring something needed and worthwhile to the town, but also return a community focal point to it's rightful place and also to ensure that the right and proper facilities are in place not only for this generation of both the Baldock Town FC senior and youth teams together, but also many generations of this wonderful community servant to follow.

I am writing to you to ask that in your plans you include to bring back sporting facilities to the town of Baldock.

This is urgently needed in the community for the children and for everyone in the town who would benefit from using the facilities.

My children are currently 6 and 3 and in the next coming years they will be even more involved in sports. Having facilities in Baldock would give them a better advantage to attend sporting clubs in the local area attended by their school friends and making great memories for them. More family members would be able to attend to support them.

A sporting facility back in Baldock is a urgent requirement to a massively growing area.

At present Baldock are lacking in sporting facilities, for many years Baldock Town fall well behind on many of its neighbours. With the proposed population of Baldock expanding With 3000+ new homes to be built, what is the Council going to do?
The government are sending out health issues all of the time and concerns with the youngsters, Diabetes, obesity etc., should we have a possibility of say an extra 10,000 people descending on Baldock possibly a third of them youngsters, what are they going to do in their free time? Not only the youth but adults, as we are continuously told "you have to exercise and keep active"!!.
I would like to ask, no plea with yourselves, to seriously consider on equipping Baldock with the sporting facilities that it really does need - Baldock FC belongs in Baldock, not another town.

I am writing to express my wholehearted support for more sporting facilities to be built in Baldock, especially a new home for Baldock Town FC.

Although I no longer live in the town, I grew up there, I still have a deep affection for the place, and I still consider it my 'home town'. To me, the lack of sporting facilities for adults and especially children in a town of that size is shocking, and with Baldock set to double in terms of population over the next few years, the problem will get worse.

All towns need good sporting facilities. With obesity a growing problem, it is imperative that people of all ages are given the opportunity to exercise and keep fit. It is essential to get kids interested in sport at an early age - not only for the physical advantages, but for giving them something to keep them occupied and out of trouble.

A new home for Baldock Town FC should play a vital part in this - sports clubs can be the heartbeat of a town, providing excellent facilities for the community, and providing a sense of pride when things are going well on the pitch.

It is scandalous that BTFC are unable to play in the town. Myself and my friends spent many happy Saturday afternoons at Norton Road supporting the Reds when we were youngsters, and it's a real shame that children growing up in the town today cannot do the same in the town.

I urge you all, for the sake of the town, to ensure that there is suitable provision for community sporting facilities within any development plan for the future, the centre piece of which should be a new home for Baldock Town FC that the town, and the whole of North Herts can be truly proud of.

I am writing to say about the local football facilities in Baldock, I have lived in Baldock all my life played for youth football and the first team when reformed and for a few years the reserves, I have recently been helping out with what were the under 9s now 10s.
I also played 5 a side locally to, the main problem in Baldock is facilities for football mainly a pitch for the adult teams with sufficient changing rooms, but also as a club as 1 to come together through all ages, and have a strong community spirit with parents coaches adults etc.
This is vital Letchworth have an all in 1 community pitches and facilities, this needs to be looked at in Baldock. Could bring a community together and the club will prosper as 1 but also financially as all under 1 roof with changing rooms a clubhouse and local facilities so the team can come together, at the moment it's all over the place with local school pitches no changing rooms Knights Templar field changing rooms shared with members of public at the sports centre, the arena which is owned by people out of Baldock, and latterly the first team playing at Hitchin and paying money and now Stotfold, I would expect bigger crowds if Baldock was in Baldock and residents using there money into the clubhouse, when I was younger I enjoyed going to Norton Road playing pool in the clubhouse, and watching the players, with coaches. Need to bring back these days to the town and the community and for the children a good pyramid structure all under 1 venue.

I understand plans are in place to allow a housing development to be built on Baldock Town's old ground in Norton Road. Whilst I fully appreciate the increasing need for affordable housing, the need to provide facilities for local children and indeed adults as well to participate in popular sport like football, cannot be ignored. Baldock used to have a thriving football club offering opportunities for children and adults alike and it would be great to bring that back to the town, so consideration needs to be given to providing that balance between the demand for more housing, without loss of the necessary recreational facilities. Having previously been involved with Knebworth F C for over 18 years, youth and senior, as manager and chairman, I can honestly say that the support received from the local council was invaluable in the health, welfare and development of the local community, particularly the children. It would be wonderful to see the same achieved in Baldock again, whilst still satisfying the commercial and required housing needs.

Having lived and played in the area for over three decades it's amazing how much hasn't been developed and how plans haven't been approved.

Baldock football club when I was growing up was a club that was well respected and help develop some great young talent that went onto becoming professional footballers.

It's embarrassing that there is no ground they can play at and entertain local fans such as myself who want to watch Gregsons team win the title this year in there home town.

We need to develop more for the future and for the next generation I feel very strongly about this.

I hope something can change and quickly.

The future of Baldock's children and grandchildren is in your hands.

It is already a well known fact that children and families are obese, do you want to be part of a statistic that has failed these people?

Falling below the national average of 40% for providing facilities for children is a massive failing on your part. Facilities with all sports should be built to accommodate the children and families living here already.
I for one am not against the building of new homes, providing that adequate leisure and sporting facilities are also provided.

My grandchildren are being failed by this government, I'm not going to stand by and watch their children be failed too.

There are not enough football facility's in Baldock, the only facility's available are The Arena & The Knights Templar Sports centre, which are both dominated by youth teams from all around Hertfordshire. The lack of full size grass pitches in Baldock has lead to Baldock Town playing away from Baldock for 3+years, even local pub & Sunday league teams have to play in neighbouring towns & Villages. Baldock Town Youth & seniors can't grow or develop if they are forced to play in Letchworth or Stotfold, there suppose to be 'local' teams but they aren't all because of the lack of football facility's. Bringing the club back to Baldock will also bring money to other local business.

The future looks bleak enough for children without finding out that the facilities that Baldock Town are providing is actually 40% below the national average!

How can a government fail these targets and then expect to build more houses and put more children at risk of not only not fulfilling their sporting potential, but failing to provide adequate facilities for the parents as well!

To me Baldock Town is an obese heart attack waiting to happen!

If Baldock Town FC want to help build a sports for all facility to encompass the existing families and all the new ones coming into the town then the government should help provide it! It would bring a community together, create jobs and could even bring a sporting hero to our midst! Who knows where the next England Captains of whatever sports are? There could be Olympic champions just waiting to be discovered! We might never know unless facilities are provided!

I would like to say that the plans look amazing for Baldock. If Baldock had this type of facility it would be great for the youth of the town who are involved in football. Its a shame Baldock Town FC had to move outside of the area to play their football and use another towns facilities. Bring back football to Baldock and their youth teams, I am involved in the youth sector and have to use local schools and the sports centre's facilities, this is great but would be much better and easier if we had our own, that we could call our own. All surrounding villages have their own, i.e., Stotfold, Hitchin, Royston, Biggleswade, Buntingford, Arlesey, Letchworth, With all the growth going on in Baldock what we have now is not enough. Baldock Town fc and Youth Teams have to beg and borrow to have their meetings, events, presentations etc, even having to use local pubs for their meetings, this is not right!!! Please bring it back to the town where it belongs..

Baldock is set to expand further by housing developments that are planned, with this there needs to be an increase in sports facilities otherwise it will see local people going elsewhere for this, when it should be available to them in their own town.
From a young age I played football for Baldock Youth Football Team and there was always a large turnout to sign on. With the expected population increase it seems necessary that more sports facilities are created to help with this, as there is only Knights Templar currently that offers changing rooms along with its pitches. This will also have a positive effect on the local community, as I believe sport can teach younger children in particular discipline, team work, leadership and pushing themselves to achieve something. Instead of loitering in parks or in areas around the town causing disruption. Also as I progressed with Baldock Town FC from youth to adult level, games for the first team were played at Letchworth County ground (now at Roker Park in Stotfold) and the reserves on the Grange also in Letchworth (now the Arena, owned by Hitchin Town FC). Baldock needs its own stadium within the local community like it used to have, along with more facilities to encourage people to take up sport or take it to the next level. This can only benefit the town on a whole and see it grow in the right way.

The importance of children being active and getting involved in sports is consistently being highlighted. Surely if the town's already inadequate facilities are to come under a far more pressure in light of the proposed building, it will be even more difficult to take part in sports without having to travel out of town.

As the plans for the expansion of Baldock with new housing is debated and agreed then there is no better time to compliment that with improved sporting facilities within the area. There are few options currently available and for a thriving town such as Baldock the options are painfully thin compared with its neighbouring towns.
Alongside Government plans to tackle the growing threat of childhood obesity new amenities would help to build the community and give a healthy outlet to the current and future generations of Baldock youth as well as all age groups within the locality.

I hope the plans to add and improve the recreational outlets are put into practice in the near future.

I am writing to you in the hope that Baldock Town Football Club may return to Baldock.
I am a Baldock Town Football Club supporter and feel that it is such a shame that a town the size of Baldock doesn't have their own namesake football team playing in the town.
I feel if Baldock Town Football Club was given permission to play in the town of Baldock they would be able to grow local talent and also achieve better attendance as more people from the town would come along and watch their local team.
The set up that Baldock Town Football Club have is incredible and have achieved so much since their re formed but sadly still lack their own ground in their rightful place of Baldock.
I have followed Baldock Town Football Club from playing at the County Ground in Letchworth then off to Top Field in Hitchin and now at Roker Park in Stotfold.
There is so much land in my opinion that would be suitable for Baldock Town Football Club to make use of that surely now the time is right to get behind a ambitious club with a bright future.

I see that we have to supply houses due to the huge amount of people now living in an around our area but the Baldock Football club has been a big part of Baldock's history too. If you are going to build houses then you must supply somewhere for children/adults to train - in our society we are all about promoting fitness, that children are becoming obese - well then we need somewhere to train to achieve this!

I am writing to you in regards to the lack of sporting facilities in Baldock Hertfordshire. For a number of years I have lived in Baldock and having gone school at Knights Templar and being keen player of all sports its very easy to spot a complete lack of facilities. This is highlighted plain and simply by me and my friends having to venture outside of the town to find somewhere to play sports and with the proposed housing increase and inevitable population rise this issue is going to just get worse. I have also been a player/supporter of Baldock Town Football Club and this issue for me is magnified by the fact that they are forced to play their home games away from Baldock Town which in turn has a massive impact on the club financially and stunts any chance of improvement and growth where as other towns and football clubs don't have this issue as they seem to get more support from the local Councils. This not only has a detrimental effect on the club but for a community it discourages individuals from getting involved in football and sport in general. Having sporting facilities easily accessible to the community is key for children and adults alike as this only aids the drive in decreasing well documented obesity issues across the country.

Having been following my son's two Baldock Town teams through the various age groups It has been clear that Baldock Town is lagging behind in terms of facilities to other clubs. This is not only clear at the youth level (my sons play at under 8's at under 10's) but also for the adult first team. I watched the first team now play games at Letchworth, Hitchin and Stotfold which is a really sad position for the town and club to be in. With the intended development of new houses this is a perfect time to engage more of the local community (including the new arrivals) to build a bigger better Baldock Town football club at all levels. It is my opinion that we already more than hold our own against the surrounding areas so imagine what we could do as a town with our own facilities and a home ground for the local football club. With more people coming to the area it could also be a valuable source of income with people using and hiring the facilities and also keep money in the Baldock town area.

As a young footballer it was always an ambition to play for my local club. With the lack of facilities it will make it a lot harder for other young footballers to stay within the area and not move away to other local clubs. This weakens the grass roots infrastructure and will damage the reputation of the club in the long term.

As a current playing member and supporter of Baldock Town Football Club for over 16 years now I feel that it is key that we increase the number of facilities in the town to support this.

Not only is it frustrating to have to travel to Stotfold to watch the first team it is also frustrating knowing the cost of this as well as having the reserves have to rent the facility at the Arena which is therefore a further cost to the players in the reserves like myself.

Having also been a member of a successful youth structure that fed a first team at Royston Town FC I can't express enough how important an individual facility available to use by Baldock Town FC could be for the local community. When a member of the under 18s there we had midweek league matches which was increasing the ability of the young players and also 3 mens adult sides to feed into as well as a both womens and girls teams on the Sunday. This was made possible due to the success of the first team and the money raised from their own facilities.

When speaking to other local people they would be very happy to get behind the side if we were able to play home matches in the town itself. This would provide job opportunities for local people and also an obvious route of progression for young players growing up in Baldock.

I feel for the above to happen and to make the club as successful as possible for the local community we really need to get some help in bringing back sport to Baldock now!

I am writing in reference to the above issue about the lack of Sporting Facilities in Baldock. Not just in recent years but for over a decade now Baldock has been neglected suitable facilities for many sports, predominantly Football and Rugby with very little if actually any aid from the local council. As a founder member of BTYFC and also having spent 15 years running my own football team in the town I constantly had to struggle to arrange a suitable venue for games. After Bakers Close was closed some 5/6 years ago the building has been left to rot and paying extortionate prices at KTS under Stevenage Leisures management is just not feasible.

Now, after many years has a successful Football team that has spent more time out of the town (in Letchworth, Hitchin and Stotfold), depriving what is actually a thriving community of its support. Whilst Baldock has, and will continue to grow with countless developments nothing is being done to assist in such needed facilities. Whether it's Football, Rugby, Cricket, Sport brings communities closer together not just aiding that sport but more importantly aiding the Town and it is time that more notice goes into this rather than it being continually brushed aside.

I for one sincerely hope the council will finally see sense and give Baldock not just what it needs, but what it deserves.

I am writing to you to show my concern regarding the lack of sporting facilities in Baldock. Baldock town's current leisure facilities are way below the national average and with increasing housing plans the population is looking to double in the near future, with no plans to increase the sporting facilities.

It would e a crying shame for the town to be full of people with nothing to do, especially for the youth of the town. We should be encouraging the next generation to stay fit & healthy in order to make their & our future bright.

It is also concerning that Baldock Town Football club does not even have a pitch in Baldock!

With the planned (significant) expansion of Baldock, adding around 3500 new homes, it is essential that the sporting facilities for both adults and children keep up with the needs of the local community; this includes a suitable home for Baldock Town Football Club.

I would like the inspectorate to take into consideration that the current plans have no provision for increased sporting and leisure facilities within Baldock Town. At present the Town is some 60% for adults and 40% for children below the national average which is unacceptable even before a single dwelling is built.

Our adult teams are having to play their matches in Stotfold, which is not even in Hertfordshire and this really should not be the case. We currently have youth teams playing on our local school pitches with no changing or toilet facilities. Whist we appreciate that the schools are helping out with the chronic shortfall of available facilities the problem needs addressing now. I often wonder what sort of message it sends out when players, sibling's and their parents either have to leave the match and go home to use the toilet or as in some cases hide behind a tree!! It is an embarrassment for not only our youngsters but also the oppositions and clearly shows that Baldock has been left behind when it comes to sporting facilities for all ages.

With the new housing development set to significantly increase our population you must ensure that land is set aside for sports facilities including a new stadium for our adult teams. The consequences of lack of sports facilities are well documented, with obesity and crime levels amongst the young and teenagers significantly increasing. That will be the reality if these proposals go ahead in their current form and I urge you to use your powers to ensure that all ages have access to sports which help to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Currently the children off our Town do not have enough areas to play football and this is only going to get worse when 3,500 houses are built in Baldock. The Youth team already have over 300 children (boys and girls) playing for them and this is only going to double when the new houses are built. Unless Baldock have more facilities built to accommodate the extra players then we will only see more children stuck at home playing on consoles and watching TV as the youth team will not be able to take on any more children.

I'm emailing in reference to the lack of sports facilities available to the local residence of Baldock

Having grown up playing for the Baldock town youth and adult football teams I have seen many good people leave the club for other local teams who can offer sports facilities far greater than the ones available to Baldock. To have the towns adult team borrowing pitches and grounds in different towns is damaging to the town trying to bring through youth players who are also struggling to find pitches and changing rooms for their teams. The lack of a 'Baldock town home' is dividing the local residence who are already being forced out over Hertfordshire to find facilities and teams that are up to standard and with the prospect of 3500 additional homes being built there will be huge pressure on the already full facilities to accommodate the new family's who want to take part in sport and represent the town