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PCSO and Youth Leader
“ As the local Police Community Support Officer for Doxey and as youth
leader of Doxey Senior Youth Club I have spent the last three and a
half years building relations with Doxey's young people. These young
people want an area which they can call their own to play, meet and
take part in lesiure facilities. They currently have no safe, open
space in which to utilise and providing them (and the community) with
an area will allow them to become involved in something positive and
will contribute towards diverting young people away from ASB. “
Helen Clarke
PCSO and Youth Leader
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Borough Councillor" So, what is there to do in Doxey for the young, or old for that matter?
A simple question deserves a simple answer: It's nothing. There is
nothing to do. To be fair that's not quite true; there is some left
over facilities from the Universal Grinding Wheel factory. For how
long? Well that's anyone’s guess!
But I doubt it will be for long. And what is in place is because of the
initiative of a strong local commitment from a few local people. Not
Stafford Borough Council. As your councillor I've tried for the last 8
years to get improvements. I've thought a couple of times I've managed
to get something moving, but no, when it's come down to it 'the rugs
been pulled' and the inevitable disappointment felt.
So, you'll see that I'm behind PlaySpace4Doxey and wish the project all
the luck it deserves and I’ll do all I can to help. But for the
immediate future I'm hopeful that we can achieve a successful outcome
towards retaining a football field in Doxey. I'm in the process of
bringing together senior officials and politicians to discuss the pitch
and will fight to ensure the outcome is the one best for Doxey.
Then we can all concentrate on securing the important long-term
plan to address open space and play facilities for Doxey’s future
generations"
Peter Goodland
Borough Councillor
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Priest-in-Charge
“ The quality of life in any community depends not just on the standard
of its housing but on the open spaces that are available for leisure
and recreation. This applies especially to young people who need areas
where they can play together, meet up on a casual basis, and interact
with people of other ages in the community.
The Church has always taught that wholeness for human beings involves
fulfilment on every level of their being – physical, emotional, mental
and spiritual. Without open spaces the opportunity for exercise,
relaxation, reflection, prayer and contemplation of the beauty of the
natural world, disappears and people feel diminished, bored and
restricted. There is then more likelihood of frustration and friction
in a community. Any Borough Council worth its salt should be
committed to the protection of such open spaces; and in Stafford, Doxey
is well overdue for that kind of attention and action. “
Paul W. Thomas (Rev.)
Priest-in-Charge of Doxey.
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Resident
“ As the coordinator and publisher of the Doxey Parish Plan 2007-2012,
it concerns me greatly that the suggestions made by the residents for
the need for increased recreational facilities for all age groups have
thus far been ignored or disregarded by the those in power at all
levels Parish, Borough and County. In the four years since
the plan’s publication the facilities available to residents have not
improved in any shape or form and have in fact declined through lack of
maintenance. Housing developments under construction and
those proposed for the future, will eat into the available usable space
and are likely to increase the population of the Parish by a third from
two to three thousand persons, so it is imperative that the planners at
Borough and County levels make their overall plans for the Parish
crystal clear, so that all residents and future residents know what
their community will be like in 2020. “
Mike Turner
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County Councillor
“ I am very concerned as County Councillor for the village of Doxey,
that after many years of effort, the Community is no further forwards
in its quest for permanent recreational facilities.
After many unsuccessful attempts to solve this problem by all sectors of the Community two overarching facts become clear.
Firstly the play area at Greensome Close is not “fit for purpose” as it
is in the wrong place and our children do not feel safe playing there.
Secondly, a “coach and horses” was driven through the rights of
residents throughout the country to have green areas within urban
communities when at 3.31 pm on the 7th March 2000; John Prescott
announced that 60% of new homes should be built on Brownfield sites. We
must ensure that any future development addresses the needs of the
Community, not the needs of the Developer! “
Mark Winnington
County Councillor - Gnosall and Doxey Division
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Parent & Labour party member
“ As a parent of three teenagers we have had ongoing tensions between
our children's reasonable desire to kick a football and the needs of
neighbours with gardens. As long as a suitable space
was accessible (that is in easy reach and open) we could find
an easy solution. I am increasingly concerned that, as land is
reclaimed for housing needs, open space for physical recreation is far
less available but no practicable alternatives exist or seem to be
close to realisation. As the landscape in Doxey changes, as it
inevitably will, it seems sensible for us to think what sort of
qualities and attitudes we wish to instill in its young people, in
whose hands the community's future lies. If the only independent
activity that is possible for them is 'hanging out' on street corners,
we should not be surprised if they do not engage
constructively in the life of Doxey. Some safe space for
independent recreation is what my children, and all Doxey's
children, deserve. “
Jane Essex
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Resident
"The threat to Doxey's football pitch in Nov 2010 made me realise how
little recreation space there is in the parish and how little of that
is publicly owned. When compared to the rest of the town, Doxey is
woefully under-provisioned. We have no access to 'our own' Doxey
Marshes and the football pitch, paths and dog walking areas, used for
decades, can be fenced off at the whim of the land owners. The setting
up of PS4D provides a forum where all Doxey residents can come together
to press for proper planning of recreation resources and to ensure that
the neglect of recent years is reversed."
Iain Simpson
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Football Team Chairman
“On behalf of the football team Doxey Universal, I would like to stress
the importance of maintaining play and recreational facilities within
the parish of Doxey for its present and future population. At the
moment we play and train on the existing football pitch in Doxey and
with the loss of this it would have a huge impact on us both socially
and physically.
I think the team creates a great meeting time for players, and many
friends are made as word gets around about the team. Lots of people
join us to train with the team and then many of these follow on to join
as players. The use of the football pitch encourages people of all ages
to stay both socially and physically fit and great fun is shared
without any effort on the individual and many friends are made. “
Simon Tarplee
Chairman – Doxey Universal Football Club.
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Parish Councillor
'I think it is important that we do not lose sight of the opportunities
that exist at present with the public open space within the current
Redrow development - Redrow is willing to create a football pitch if
approval can be obtained from SBC for a variation to the existing plan
for a BMX track and a MUGA.SBC has not responded to a letter from
Councillor Peter Goodland pressing for a decision.The Police are not in
favour of a BMX track.We must also consider possibilities for the
future should Bellway purchase and develop the land owned by St.Gobain
- it has already been acknowledged that there is a responsibility
to replace any leisure facilities taken as part of a development.'
Dave Adams
Parish Councillor
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Head Teacher
' After working in Doxey for two years now, I am still astonished to
see only limited recreational facilities in our area, despite the high
participation rates and ability shown by the children during PE and in
extra-curricular sport at Doxey Primary School – one football pitch and
a small playground does not meet the needs of its children.
The lack of recreational facilities in Doxey is a clear hinderance to
the children within our community, in attempting to lead a healthy
lifestyle, whilst the children residing in many other areas of the
borough and further afield in Staffordshire have many more
opportunities with extended recreational facilities. Where families are
more affluent in Doxey, they travel to other areas in Stafford, but
this is not the case for all residents in Doxey.
Therefore, not only must we protect what limited facilities we have,
such as the Saint-Gobain land, but we must also ensure that when large
residential sites, such as the Redrow development are built within our
area, they too take into account the recreational needs of the
community, especially the children.
The children of my school are ‘crying out’ for recreational areas in
Doxey – only recently they made superb suggestions for the
refurbishment of Victoria Park, but unfortunately due to the travel
implications, not all from Doxey will be able to utilise these new
recreational facilities in Stafford. The children deserve to have such
facilities on their doorstep, which they can walk to easily and play
for many a happy hour.
I hope that PlaySpace 4 Doxey is able to achieve their aims of
conserving what limited recreational areas we have and ensuring new
housing development in Doxey supports the local community by donating
land for recreational purposes, i.e. MUGA, skate park, bike track,
playground for toddlers and older children et al. If investments are
made in the children of our community today,our community will reap the
rewards in years to come!'
Jon Dreher
Headteacher – Doxey Primary School
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Resident
' My experience of planning matters in Stafford stretches back nearly 30 years – long before I moved to Doxey 2 years ago.
House developers usually accept as a matter of course that they will
have to provide community facilities for the people who live in the
homes they build. These nearly always include public open space where
people of all ages can exercise or relax.
Doxey must not accept the loss of its well-used football pitch to make
way for more houses. If more homes have to be built, new areas for play
and recreation must be provided alongside them.'
Neil Thomas
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