SAVE MAYSFIELD LEISURE CENTER

Wednesday April 02, 2003 13:43

by Cleo

Maysfield leisure centre situated beside central station belfast is in danger of closing next year. Maysfield is one of belfasts only mixed religion leisure centers catering for communities from nearby Short strand, lower ormeau and the rest of south belfast and ravenhill. It is easily accesible, by train, bus etc and provides working class catholics and loyalists, with the chance to learn a range of martial arts, from Tae kwan do, wing chung, karate, to jujitsu at affordable prices.

It also offers swimming and a range of other athletic and recreational facilities for working class children. If Maysfield closes the people of short strand who do martial arts will have to travel up to Avoniel leisure centre. Last year, catholics using Avoniel were threatened at gunpoint, told they weren't welcome and not to come back. I would not feel safe going to Avoniel as, I like to train with my catholic friends, and if they are made to feel unsafe and not welcome at Avoniel, I will not go there too, in solidarity with them. At the same time I feel wary going to Beechmount and andytown leisure centres because I'm not from the local community and also these centres are further away and not accesible by train. Belfast city council wants to sell off the lucrative land Maysfield occupies to private property developers, who've already acquired most of the vacant land around the lagan embankment, to build luxury private apartments, only affordable to rich professional outsiders. The local community of short strand could never be able to afford these luxury apartments and there is not enough rich executives in the world to fill them, so consequently many are empty white elephants. No use to the local community and lets face it, no use to others. What executive in their right mind would want to buy luxury apartments in Belfast? The shores of the lagan are littered with empty white elephant luxury apartments and vacant office blocks, the last thing we need is another vacant useless, extravagant wasteful white elephant. At least Maysfield is used by the local community and surrounding areas.

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Comments (3 of 3)

maysfield

by anounyomous

Tue Sep 13, 2005 22:23

i am a child from the short strand and i wish that maysfield wasnt closed because me and my mates always went there for a swim and we used to have good crack like but now its boring just sittin doin nothin all day and there was other things always on the only place i can go to do hip hop dancing kick boxing and drama is the whiterock and that is to far away so please give us another leisure center.

No profits from community loss

by el pussycat

Wed Apr 02, 2003 14:20

Maysfield is being closed, to sell off the land to lucrative private property developers, which will make a vast profit for heartless money grabbing Belfast city council. The local communities surrounding Maysfield will lose out, in terms of our children not being able to learn martial arts and participate in recreational activities, whilst belfast city council makes a profit.

Local people mounted a campaign to save the Robinson center, so can we

by Bernadette mary

Wed Apr 02, 2003 13:51

The save the Robinson centre campaign was very sucessful with, local people mounting a demo and picket of that leisure to stop its closure. The money grabbing speculative castelreagh council wanted to close it, and sell off its lucrative site to private property developers to make profits.

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SAVE MAYSFIELD LEISURE CENTER

Comments (3 of 3)