Calls For Camp Hill Prison Sports Facilities To Be Opened To Island Community

Sporting facilities at the former Camp Hill prison could be made available to Isle of Wight sports clubs, as efforts continue to secure their release for community use.

Sporting Island, a group working to improve access to sports facilities across the Island, has approached the Ministry of Justice with the support of West Wight MP Richard Quigley.

The site includes a sports hall, gym, hard-surface pitch and artificial-grass pitch, but the facilities have reportedly been unused for more than a decade.

Discussions are now under way to explore how they could be brought back into use.

Mr Quigley said he was working with the Ministry of Justice's legal department to progress the proposal, after previously showing the facilities to former prisons minister Lord Timpson, who he said supported the plan.

The MP added that he would meet the new prisons minister in the coming weeks to push for the facilities to be handed over to the community.

The proposal has received backing from local junior football coach Steve Fletcher, who manages Gurnard Hawks Under-10s and Football Development Centre Under-10s, as well as coaching Gurnard Hurricanes Under-13s.

He said a lack of all-weather training space was restricting opportunities for junior teams, with existing facilities already fully booked and hire costs putting pressure on self-funded clubs.

Mr Fletcher said more than half of his teams' matches were cancelled last season, while no training sessions could take place at the Lanes End base between October and February.

He believes reopening Camp Hill would provide much-needed capacity, allowing teams to train more consistently throughout the winter and giving young players better conditions in which to develop.

Sporting Island chair Graham Biss said the Island lacked suitable sports facilities, particularly outdoor all-weather pitches, and described the unused Camp Hill site as a significant opportunity.

He said the group wanted to work with partners to bring the facilities back into use and encourage more people to take part in physical activity.

Sporting Island also says several parties are interested in providing financial support for the initiative, although it warns that potential backers may turn their attention elsewhere if progress is not made.

The group is encouraging the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service to support the proposal.