Letter: Effingham’s KGV Playing Fields Have Priced Themselves Out of the Market

Published on: 22 Oct, 2017
Updated on: 22 Oct, 2017

Removing concrete from Browns Field to allow Howard of Effingham School to use it for rugby.

J Dickinson

In response to the Effingham Eye column

Regarding the changes to the Howard of Effingham School’s sports venues, what matters most is using facilities that are managed with a focus on, and investment in, sporting excellence and performance.

Secondary schools have to make safe and appropriate provision across the ability range from reluctant, inexperienced youngsters to those competing nationally and internationally.

The Howard has always needed to take its most able pupils elsewhere as KGV has never met this full spectrum. By losing its founders’ focus on sport and adding more and more “free” facilities that are also expensive to maintain, today’s KGV Playing Fields meet far less of the school’s ability range and by trying to get the school to subsidise non-sporting freebies, have priced themselves out of the market.

Responses to Letter: Effingham’s KGV Playing Fields Have Priced Themselves Out of the Market

Liz Hogger Reply

October 23, 2017 at 9:59 am

J Dickinson is misinformed. As a trustee of the EVRT charity which manages the KGV Fields, I can state categorically that all users of the KGV are expected to meet the costs to the charity of providing the facilities they use, so that there is no cross-subsidy. We are a charity, not a commercial business operating in a marketplace. The charity simply cannot afford to provide facilities at less than cost.

To suggest that the KGV was trying to get the Howard School to subsidise ‘freebies’ is outrageous. Residents pay through the parish council precept, part of their council tax, for their ‘freebies’ such as playgrounds.

The Howard School was simply asked to continue paying the full cost to the charity of providing the facilities the School used: two football pitches, two rugby pitches, an athletics track, and cricket square, together with open use of the whole KGV grounds for sports such as orienteering and cross-country. The cost to the charity of maintaining those facilities amounts to £29,000 per year, a small 2.1% increase in the previous fee paid by the school. Sadly they declined that offer.

I have every sympathy with the Howard School’s wish to cut their costs, given the difficult funding situation for schools nationally. The Howard School is part of the Effingham community, and I wish them well in their efforts to find alternative facilities.

Liz Hogger is the Lib Dem borough councillor for Effingham