Concerns over the state of repair at Cheltenham Athletics Track
The athletics track in Tommy Taylors Lane failed the trackmark accreditation test by England Athletics in 2022
There are concerns the poor state of repair of a Cheltenham athletics track is causing injuries in young athletes.
An athletics club in the spa town is calling on civic chiefs to invest in the Prince of Wales stadium site and bring it up to standard.
The athletics track in Tommy Taylors Lane failed the trackmark accreditation test by England Athletics in 2022.
Because of this, licensed competitions cannot be staged there.
Cheltenham and County Harriers say they have been unable to hold 24 matches to date as a result of this.
Club members called on Cheltenham Borough Council to invest in the site and submitted written questions to the cabinet meeting yesterday (June 10).
Jane Woolley, who is a team manager for the under 17s and under 20s and is an administrator for under 13s and under 15s athletes, said: “I am severely disappointed to see their training facilities are still in poor condition, contributing to some injuries our athletes are suffering.
“I am asking when will some money be allocated and invested into repairing the track, which was deemed unsuitable for competition by England Athletics in 2022?
“There has been a lot of talk and no action, and money allocated to other parts of the Cheltenham Trust.
“Our club is producing some national standard junior athletes and spends in excess of £50,000 per year for hiring the training facility which is currently unfit for purpose, but there is no alternative.”
Crispian Webb, acting chairman of the Harriers, said the facility was key for the town but there is still no date for resurfacing to take place.
“The track surface was assessed as needing to be replaced in 2022.
“Three years on, there is no date set for the resurfacing to take place. It is around 20 years since the track was resurfaced.
“How much has been set aside year on year towards the known cost of track replacement?”
And Polly Symondson asked council chiefs to list what they have been doing to solve the problem and when work would commence to make the track fit for purpose.
Borough Council leaders explained they are responsible for the structure of the facility including the athletics track while Cheltenham Trust is responsible for the day-to-day management of the facility such as cleaning as well as managing the relationship with Harriers and other stadium users.
They said they currently do not have money set aside to replace the track – this was estimated to cost just under £500,000 when it was assessed in October 2024.
Finance and assets cabinet member Peter Jeffries (LD, Springbank) said they recognise both Leisure at Cheltenham and the Prince of Wales are ageing facilities.
They have recently commissioned an assessment of the sites and financial appraisal for a mix of options for the sites and will make recommendations for the council to take forward. He also said the track was last refurbished in 2012 at which time the track surface was re-topped with a 4mm layer of ‘crumb’, which was to designed to extend the life of the track
“Whilst we acknowledge that the track does not currently meet the criteria for England Athletics it does remain open, accessible and safe for general use,” said Councillor Izaac Tailford (LD, All Saints), the economic development, culture, wellbeing and public open Spacecabinet member.