Medway and Maidstone AC

 

 

 

 

 

Estimated Date	Deliverable
	Achieved :
28th Aug	Track planning permission granted by Maidstone Borough Council
16th Sept	Project Manager appointed - John Cadman John Cadman Associates Ltd part of The Synergy Group
	Outstanding :
17th Nov	Meeting to appoint Contractor
Late Nov	First phase earth moving
Winter	Track constructed
March	Final phase - Track laid - requires good weather conditions
End of Apr / Early May	Track open
TBA	Track opening ceremony

 

 

 

We have also been awarded a grant of £2000 from the Cobtree Trust to go twoards the new track!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historic Day for Athletics in Maidstone

 

Maidstone is set to receive a first class facility for athletics after Maidstone Borough Council approved plans for a new track to be built in Sutton Valence.

 

Tonight’s planning meeting passed the plans and work will begin immediately to finalise the appointment of contractors, with the 10 week building programme due to start in three to four week’s time.

 

Maidstone has never had its own purpose built athletics facility and after many years of attempting to develop a track the plans are now a reality. 

 

The track will be situated in the grounds of Sutton Valence School and is a three way partnership between the school, Maidstone Borough Council and Medway & Maidstone Athletic Club (M&M AC).  Critically, the track will be able to be used by the local community through M&M AC or through the staging of school competitions.

 

M&M AC is already Kent’s most successful athletics club but the new facilities will go along way towards further developing existing athletes and most notably tapping into and nurturing new talent.

 

Speaking after the planning meeting M&M AC Chairman, Paul Alcock, said, “We are delighted the planners have given the green light for this new track.  Maidstone has really suffered from not having its own facilities and we are really looking forward to having a facility that we hope will encourage people to become involved in the sport.  We are also looking forward to being able to host our own events for our current teams.”

 

The track will be ready for use in the 2009 summer season and a special opening event will be held to celebrate its completion.

 

 

 

History
After years of waiting, Medway and Maidstone Athletic Club is moving ever closer to having a track in Maidstone. After a lot of hard work throughout 2007, plans for a new track at Sutton Valence School are now a reality.

Maidstone has been hoping for a track for many years but the work to secure funding and drawn up plans has brought the reality one step nearer.

Partners
The track is not just the club’s project. Maidstone Borough Council and Sutton Valence School are both key partners in the new track and without their support and backing this project would not be going ahead.

The Track is a three way partnership between Maidstone Borough Council, Sutton Valence School and the club. In broad terms the track is being financed by the school and council and will be leased to the club. The school will then maintain the track.

Plans
The outline plans for the track can be seen at the links below.

Location
The track will be in the grounds of Sutton Valence School. Sutton Valance is to the south east of Maidstone, approximately 7miles from Maidstone town centre. The track is being built on the Sutton Valence School site and has ample parking for training nights and race days.

Facilities
As well as delivering a new track, it is vital the club has the facilities to support training and competition. The new track also has a clubhouse and recorders building with toilet and tea bar facilities.

Planning Application
The planning application for the new track was submitted to Maidstone Borough Council on 10th December 2007 and is to be considered by the Planning Committee in February. The final planning application was submitted following a need to adjust the plans to reflect a change in the track location by rotating it 90 degrees, to keep the track at the maximum distance away from the closest two residential properties.

Project Management
A project manager will be appointed at the start of February 2008. They will take forward the tender process to appoint a contractor. The changes to the plans mean there has been a slight delay to the proposed finishing date of start of May.

Track Access
The track will be used by the school, the club and must also be accessible for other local community sport. Although full details are not finalised it is likely the club will get exclusive use at weekends and evenings.

Deangate
In 2008 Deangate will certainly still be used all summer as a training base and club races.

Deangate will certainly still be used all next summer as a training base and for races in 2008. There is of course the Black Lion track on the horizon and this is due to be ready for May 2009. As a club we are not too involved in this project yet, but we do hope to be. Medway Council are in the driving seat for this project and in all honesty the new track at Black Lion will almost certainly totally replace Deangate.

The club will operate from two bases from the minute Sutton Valence opens, with time and effort being put into both facilities. 
 

---