The case officer (Alex Allen) can only work within the law and the polices and guidelines set out by the council, so it is important that any points you raise in objection are relevant to these. (below is some guidance but not a complete list by any means) Legal We now have a copy of the conveyance of the particular part of the park the council now propose should be a cycle track. This conveyance was set down on the 25th October 1921 when land identified on the map was given to the then County Borough of Bolton. The conveyance document sets out the covenant under which this land was given to the council for use by the residents of the Borough of Bolton as a "Park Recreation Grounds Public Walks and Pleasure Grounds". This clearly does not allow the council to fence off a large section of the park, preventing public access and destroying park land. Theoretically if any single resident objected to the plan it could not proceed, so mention the covenant and loss of park land and restricted access due to fencing. The conveyance was registered with the Charities Commission in 1921 and this might prove a further useful line of enquiry. Reading Bolton’s Core Strategy and think that the following points are also relevant Extracts from Bolton's Core Strategy - http://www.bolton.gov.uk/website/pages/Corestrategy.aspx 2.26 The borough is characterised by a network of green spaces, some along river valleys and others threaded through the urban area. These are accessible to residents and provide an attractive environment, opportunities for recreation, sustainability and climate change benefits. This will be denied to the people who use Leverhulme Park unless you are a cyclist and can afford it. 4.34 Bolton's rural areas provide a significant element of the borough's green infrastructure, providing locations for biodiversity, recreation and agriculture, and supplying a cooling effect for the urban areas during hot weather. Ensuring that the rural areas remain an attractive setting for the urban areas will help in assisting a good environment for economic investment. 4.35 Green infrastructure in the urban area is important for biodiversity and recreation, and provides a vital element in the visual environment. Urban open space includes parks and gardens, informal greenspace, allotments, cemeteries and graveyards, civic space and playing fields. An Open Space Assessment has been carried out for the borough, providing a key piece of evidence for formulating policies on green infrastructure in the urban area. Policy CG3 3. Require development to be compatible with the surrounding area, in terms of scale, massing, grain, form, architecture, street enclosure, local materials and landscape treatment including hard and soft landscaping and boundary treatment. Historical associations should be retained where possible. 7. Maintain and respect the landscape character of the surrounding countryside and its distinctiveness. Any soft landscaping and landscape enhancement schemes should enhance biodiversity and be compatible with the nearby landscape character types identified by the Landscape Character Assessment. The track which is proposed is in an area of the park that has no infrastructure for at least 80% of it and then only a low pavilion. A tarmac track, mesh fence, high street lighting and extra car parks is hardly soft landscaping. Whilst Leverhulme Park is a mixture of open space and leisure activities, the area proposed for the cycling track is an open green space for free activities. The cycling track will be yet another facility that people have to pay for in order to exercise. I therefore feel that the planning application contravenes the above core strategy's laid out by Bolton Council. Please have a look through the Core Strategy to see if they can see any further points. If so let us know. Also Bolton’s 2014 Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) Sport England have said that the proposal for the track appears to be at odds with Bolton’s 2014 Playing Pitch Strategy (PPS) – we need to mention this in our objection, Bolton Council promised to improve drainage, build a club house for football and rounders. None of which they have done! Paragraph 74(iii) of NPPF & Policy Exception E5 Sport England say that as the proposed plan is a non-pitch sports facility located on a playing field the above requirements would need to be demonstrated. Special reference to the rounder’s teams use of facility and that its used regularly for organised football even though not officially for matches. It is fine for us to all use the same arguments but they need to be policy related. Ps All sign the pro cycle track petition, which was to show its not as clear cut as for or against Leverhulme Cycle Track. There is very good reason I ask you to sign this one! https://www.change.org/p/debbie-newall-bolton-gov-uk-a-closed-road-cycle-track-for-bolton-to-correct-standards-and-with-community-support