LETTER TO FIONA MACTAGGART MP

This article should have been printed in the league match v Egham Town but the game was postponed thanks to the rain. Thought I should post it now in light of the EDL marching in Slough.

I am writing to you to ask what is happening with Slough Town Football Clubs plans for the old Arbour Park school site.

It might seem a bit odd that a Brighton resident for nearly 25 years is writing to you about Slough Town; but I have been supporting the football club for so long, am still a season ticket holder and travel to most games and can't see that stopping anytime soon.

Two weeks ago there was a big party thrown for one of our most loyal supporters who is very ill. The Herschel Arms was packed to the rafters with fans, players, ex players and managers. The next day he lead the teams out on the pitch. Later his dad tweeted 'Best thing that ever happened to Dave is Slough Town. His family thank you all. He is so lucky to have such friends.'

That sentiment sums up exactly what is fantastic about this club but also why I think Slough Town is more than just a football club; more than 22 men kicking a ball around on a Saturday in front of a few hundred fans.

But I not writing to you just to sing the clubs praises, but to highlight the current impasse the club finds itself in. We have a fantastic chairman who has worked incredibly hard with the council and a housing association to deliver a new sports facilities and homes at Arbour Vale. It will not just be a place for Slough Town to call home but have modern sports facilities for the whole town; multi-use games area, athletics track, facilities for the dance academy and of course delivering much needed housing. This is on top of the clubs football academy for youngsters at Farnham Park.

Our chairman has spent nearly seven years working with the council, had political support from all main parties and in 2012 it was already to be approved. However for the past couple of years nothing seems to have happened and the club seem to be being used as a political football with no one grasping the nettle and making a decision on the Arbour Vale re-development.

If this is frustrating for us fans, I can't imagine how depressing it is for a successful businessman whose used to getting things done quickly.

Now it seems a freeschool has thrown a spanner in the works. I won't bore you with my thoughts on religious free schools. All I will say is that growing up in Slough, my Grammar school was like the United Nations and a working class one at that. I fear that by parceling up children by their parents faith we are storing up problems for the future. With the fascist English Defence League marching in Slough this Saturday we can see how some people will try and exploit these differences.

This is why a football ground in Slough at Arbour Park is even more important. If nothing else it will be one of the few places in Slough that can bind the diverse communities of Slough together. Football is fantastic in breaking down barriers – just look at Bradford City last season when they reached the League Cup final. The football club and the facilities it offers could be a jewel for the town, without burdening the taxpayer with extra cost. But the current impasse does no-one any favours.

Please could you look into this as a matter or urgency to find out just what is happening.