George’s Basketball Court Gets Another Step Forward
Young basketball player, George Allen’s proposal to build a practice court has taken another step forward this week after the Town Council’s Recreation & Amenities Committee agreed to recommend the proposal is progressed and that the Finance, Strategy & Management Committee are asked to agree further funding from the capital reserves to complete the build.
George put forward the proposal to the Council in November last year. He has played basketball since he was 6/7 and started going to Reading Rockets basketball club a year ago.
The proposal is to install a basketball hoop and a 7 x 7m tarmac goal end with basketball markings at Makins Recreation Ground. A public consultation was carried out by the Council during July 2022. The results of the survey saw 90% of the 116 respondents saying that free basketball court was needed. 73% stated they would likely use the proposed court and 91% of respondents felt that Makins Recreation Ground was the best location. The survey also asked what type of court should be installed and the multi use games area (MUGA) goal-end came out top.
The Town Council has already pledged up to £11,200 towards the project from its capital reserves. They have made grant applications to SODC Councillor Community Grants (£2,000), SODC Everyone Active Grants (£1,000) and Tesco Community Grants (£1,500). The initial cost estimates for the project, including the MUGA goal-end, tarmac pad and line markings, are between £12,000 and £16,000. The estimate for the project given the most popular option from the consultation would be £13,125 with a 7m x 7m court.
On hearing the decision, George replied, “I’m extremely pleased to see that the results of the consultation were so positive and that the Council are continuing to progress with the court. I will definitely be coming to the FS&M meeting to see the outcome.”
