Langley Township will look for a new location for its next cricket pitch, after council decided to put a halt to the creation of a new playing field following opposition from neighbours of a Brookswood Park.
Demand for new cricket pitches has been rising in Langley over the past few years, as more locals who play the sport have moved to the Lower Mainland and the game has become more popular.
The Township already has one cricket pitch in Brown Park, and last fall approved a second pitch in Bell Park, on 38 Avenue in Brookswood.
However, several locals turned up at the Monday, March 10 council meeting to object to those plans.
“Bell Park is a residential park," said Darren Chan, one of three speakers on the issue.
Chan said the park is used as green space and for picnicking, walking, and for its playgrounds.
“Building a cricket pitch in the middle of the field and dedicating that space to a specific club from March through September, between the hours of 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, creates a space less inclusive for all local park users.”
Speakers Stephen Janzen and Debbie Moore also emphasized that locals felt the park was too small to accommodate cricket. There were concerns raised about how far the ball could be hit or thrown, how close the pitch would be to an existing playground, the lack of parking, and the lack of full washroom facilities.
Several speakers noted that most people who used the park got their on foot, so the lack of parking isn't a big problem yet.
Chan and his neighbours collected 350 signatures on an online petition and 239 on a physical petition against the cricket pitch.
They said it should be moved to a more suitable location, and at the end of the meeting, the council voted to accommodate them.
A motion by Margaret Kunst was passed, which will tell staff to cease work on this location, to review similar cricket pitches in other communities, and to explore alternate locations for Langley's next cricket pitch.
The motion passed unanimously.
