ECC Councillors Lobbied
ECC Councillors have known about Summerway’s need for expansion for many years, and have not just been vigorously lobbied in the last year or two. Anyone reading Hazel Ball’s misleading letter of 21st May 2007 to Ben Bradshaw MP might imagine that ECC were starting with more or less a clean slate around 2003/2004. That is certainly not the case.
Two meetings were held at the Club on 20th and 21st June 2000 attended by representatives
of about forty families altogether, and other families received the handouts as well.
All families received the “Reasons Underlying the Need for Development” sheet which
indicated the objects of the lobby. To facilitate communicating with the Councillors,
each family also received a copy of the “Exeter City Council -
It was vital to Summerway that the old school playing field was retained in the Local Plan Review, and the desperate need for extra courts was registered. ECC Councillors were duly lobbied by the families, and the website author lobbied Cllr Midgley as Chair of the Community Services Committee. Please note the word that was underlined in the letter sent to Cllr Midgley, as that is the distinguishing feature of the Club. As a result of the letter, Cllr Midgley and Bob Acland (Interim Leisure Manager) met Jim at the Club on 25th July 2000, and he was assured of the goodwill of this ECC Councillor and Officer towards the Club’s need for development.
In due course, the playing field was retained as open space. The text of Jim’s letter to Cllr Midgley, dated 8th July 2000, is shown below. It was duly acknowledged by James R Kelly, Strategic Director Community & Environment on 14th July. Note how little the Club’s ethos has changed over the years!
Dear Cllr Midgley
For nearly thirty years, the Exeter (Summerway) Junior LTC has been providing a unique and valuable facility for youngsters between the ages of eight to eighteen. The Club is situated in the Whipton area of the City, and draws its members from the locality extending up to, and in a few cases, beyond Exeter's boundary. Summerway, as the club is known, specialises in providing affordable Tennis for its members, based on voluntary help from its qualified coaches and referee, and the required participation of parents.
The Club cannot advertise for members, as it continues to be virtually bursting at the seams. It is a community experiment that has succeeded brilliantly, and has provided opportunities for hundreds of youngsters over the years of its existence. The benefits to the community are far from insignificant.
Due to circumstances, the Club is now facing both bright opportunity on the one hand, and the possibility of eventual closure on the other. As the future of the Club depends on several bodies, including the Exeter City Council, besides its own membership, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss matters with you as Chair of the Community Services Committee.
I would be very appreciative if you are able to find the time in your busy schedule to meet me. As a retired person, I do have a fair bit of flexibility in organising the timing of my many commitments, and would be grateful for a call on (01392) 000000 to arrange a time and place to meet if this is possible.
Yours sincerely
Jim Harle
Vice-
Flyer & “Reasons Underlying the Need for Development” sheet