WOEFULLY inadequate ? that was the verdict on sports facilities in Devon and Cornwall during a meeting in Tavistock last week. The comment came from Tavistock College principal Colin Eves, who last month jointly launched a campaign to build a new eight-lane athletics track for the town. He told the town council that children and adults were being hard done by when it came to sport and recreation in West Devon. Mr Eves last week announced his intention to run the London Marathon along with Kelly College headmaster Mark Steed, in an attempt to raise money for the track ? and heighten the profile of the fundraising campaign. Mr Eves said: ?There are only five athletics tracks in Devon and Cornwall ? and there?s only one that is eight-lane. The provision for about 1.8 million people is really very poor indeed ? it?s about 300,000 people per track ? and I think we have a responsibility, not just for people now but for youngsters growing up, to see this project happens.? Mr Eves said in Wales, where there were 17 tracks, the statistics worked out at 170,000 people per track. In terms of coverage, in Devon and Cornwall there was one track per 2,000 square kilometres. In Wales it was one per 1,200 ? in the West Midlands, there was one athletics track for every 75 square kilometres of land. ?We are significantly worse off in this area ? our youngsters, our talented athletes, are being short-changed,? said Mr Eves. The £300,000 fundraising campaign for the athletics track is a collaboration between Tavistock Athletic Club, Tavistock College and Kelly College. It forms part of a wider, £2.3-million project to improve sports and recreational facilities for the town, including the complete refurbishment of the college sports hall to include a fitness suite, dance studio, improved changing facilities, squash courts and public reception area, and the creation of an all-weather pitch on the college grounds. Mr Eves said he was ?reasonably confident? that the bulk of the funding was in place for the project and said local support was ?very good?. Unfortunately, as yet, grants had not been secured from national funding bodies, who claimed money was being put into revenue schemes for training and not for capital projects. ?But that?s little use if we don?t have facilities in the first place,? said Mr Eves. The predicted increase in population in the area in coming years would place even greater pressure on infrastructure which was ?woefully short? already. He said the collaboration between public school, state school and community groups would be the ideal way fully to use the new facilities once they were built. ?I see this is as a good example of how by establishing the right partnerships, we can pull together to achieve something really significant. I feel this is a fantastic opportunity for the community.? Mr Eves asked town council members to consider backing the sports project. ?A possible area you might like to consider funding is athletics equipment, things like hurdles, jumps etc. It could be spread over two financial years and I wouldn?t be surprised if something like £10,000 would cover it,? he said. Mayor Caroline Keane congratulated Mr Eves on a ?wonderful example? of a partnership project ? and said she was looking forward to leading councillors on the Bedford Mile sponsored race, to be staged in the town on April 1 next year.
