Lockwood school vows to re-open sports ground for community use

HOPE is on the horizon for Lockwood youngsters who have been left without a place to play.

Children and teenagers had been left out in the cold after finding the gates closed at an all-weather sports area at Mount Pleasant Infant, Nursery and Junior School.

They had been using the area on evenings and weekends to play football and cricket.

But a few weeks ago, they found the gates locked, leaving them with nowhere to go to play sports.

However, local residents took up their cause.

Meetings were held yesterday between local residents and the school’s headteacher Adele Stringer.

She has now promised to ensure the community can make use of the facilities once more.

She had not asked for the area to be locked and it is thought an error in communication led to the grounds being off limits.

She said: “I’ve had a productive discussion with some residents and I am perfectly happy for our children and the community to use the facilities to play.

“I didn’t need convincing. It was not my instruction for it to be locked and the bottom line is that I would welcome the grounds to be used by the communities. I have absolutely no doubt they would respect school property.”

She added that she is looking into why the area was locked up.

One of the residents who complained about the loss of the play area was 24-year-old Naeem Akhtar.

He said it had led to teenagers gathering outside local shops, including his uncle’s newsagents A to Z Stores on Victoria Road.

He said teenagers had also resorted to playing football in the roads around Lockwood.

He said: “It was getting dangerous for them, playing in the road.

“There’s just nowhere else for them to play, no green spaces.

“I can understand that the school want things to be secure and that you can’t have drug use or needles on the site.

“But the teenagers don’t do that. They just want to play sports.

“I grew up here in Lockwood and used to go to the school grounds when I was younger, all the time. I was there most weekends and there was no problem.”

Sultan Matial, one resident who met with the headteacher, added: “We had a meeting and we should know more in a few days. The discussions were good and hopefully things will be better and the playground can be used again.”