I RECENTLY noticed, tied to a lamppost outside Richmond School, an application to change the opening hours of the sports pavilion situated on the school grounds. Out of interest I went online to look at the full application and the detail of the proposal.

The application states: “The hours of use are not suitable to the school” and: “We are proposing to remove all constraints on the hours of use to provide the school with flexibility.”

The opening hours on the current planning consent are: school use – Monday to Friday 8.30am -5pm and community use – Monday to Friday 5pm-9.30pm, Saturday 9am-6pm.

I fully agree that the sports pavilion could have longer opening hours, for example it could be open on a Sunday with similar hours to those on a Saturday and community use could be extended on weekdays during school holidays to include 8.30am to 5pm.

However I cannot understand why the school needs the complete removal of constraints on opening hours. Are Richmond Hockey Club going to have push backs at 9.30pm or the Mavericks kick offs at 5am?

This building is a sports pavilion, the purpose of which is to facilitate and enable sporting activity. I am not aware of any sporting activity in the Richmond area which would require the opening of the pavilion beyond the amended hours I have suggested and cannot understand why a sporting facility would have to be able to be open 24/7 365 days a year.

Any answers please?

Mirren Hunter, Richmond