A controversial plan by Kelburne Hockey Club to take over Ralston Sports Centre has been thrown out by Renfrewshire Council.
The hockey club had hoped to be given a Community Asset Transfer (CAT) to take over the pavilion and grounds from OneRen.
But it had faced strong opposition from Ralston Community Council, councillors and sports groups who were worried the plan would mean the end of access to the sports facilities.
And, after reading the club’s submission, Renfrewshire Council’s CAT panel decided to refuse the application.
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Their reasons for rejecting the application were the uncertainty of funding, the significant opposition to the plan and the impact that would have on the community.
Ralston Community Council chairman, Allan Thompson was delighted with the news.
He said: “The Ralston community were strongly opposed to Kelburne Hockey Club’s application to take over the running of Ralston Community Sports Centre.
“The community council and many of the sports centre’s user groups hope to work closely with OneRen and Renfrewshire Council to fully utilise this community asset.
“It’s a great day for the community.”
Neill Graham, Conservative councillor for Paisley Northeast And Ralston, said: “I am delighted Ralston Community Sports Centre has been saved and will remain in public hands.
“The community really did pull together on this issue. The fantastic work of both Ralston Community Council and Ralston Skills in arranging public meetings and getting the Ralston Community pulling together to save this building is something we all in Ralston can be proud of.
“This is a true example of people power and shows that communities when they come together anything is possible.”
Paisley Northeast and Ralston Labour Councillor Graeme Clark added: “I believe the way in which the community has been brought together in recent months speaks well for the future development of Ralston Community Sports Centre and an increase in the use of what are already well used facilities.”
SNP Councillor Jennifer Adam also welcomed the decision, saying the application had created a lot of anxiety.
She said: “I have worked closely with the community council and I’m in no doubt they will also be relieved and delighted that their voices have been heard throughout this process.
“I would like to thank everyone that took the time to write to me and then lodged their concerns on the Renfrewshire Council website to ensure the officers had a true understanding of the strength of feeling and genuine concern around this application.
“Going forward, I am looking to work with Kelburne Hockey to look at other potential ground that could help them secure their vision for the future.
“I hope the community can now relax and continue to make use of this fantastic asset we have in Ralston.”
Secretary of Kelburne Hockey Club, Billy Anderson, told the Express they were “extremely disappointed” with the decision and were deciding on their next move.
He said: “We don’t agree with this decision for a number of reasons.
“We are considering all our options, including appeal, and that will be discussed at our board meeting next week and fed back to the council.
“With this decision, there are no facilities to allow our team to play hockey in Paisley.”
Billy said they would like the support of councillors to help them secure hockey pitches of the right standard to allow them to play, even if that’s in Linwood.
He said: “Our call to arms is this. Local councillors should be fighting for hockey. We are their constituents.
“We want them to give us a formal commitment that they will fight for a suitable pitch for us to play on.”
Billy also called on Ralston Community Council to publish its plans for the centre.
He explained: “We want them to outline their plans, confirm when they’d be keeping the centre open from 9am till 9pm during the week, which is what our proposal included.
“We’d also like to know when they’d get the work done to the football pitches to allow them to be used. Also to confirm the amount of classes they are going to increase in the pavilion.
“In objecting to our plan, we want them to be open and transparent with their plan.”
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