A WISBECH councillor has assured residents that football pitches on a local estate must be available to all members of the community.

Councillor David Wheeler was responding to a complaint that a play area on the Limes Avenue/Edinburgh Drive site had caused problems.

One resident told the community website, shapeyourplace.org. that the site had been “a great success until last year when I note the football pitch now gets taken over by young adults.

“The youngsters on the estate are now prevented from using this pitch, for whom it was meant, even during holidays due to the many non English groups who now use it.”

Cllr Wheeler responded that “the pitch is there for all to use. No one has the right to stop anyone from using what is a community facility.”

He said he wanted to hear about any incidents “of denial of use” and urged people to contact him by email (david.wheeler@btinternet.com) or through the community house on Mount Pleasant Road.

Cllr Wheeler said: “The Lime Avenue football pitches were worn out through continuous use by 2006 because no maintenance was being carried out. When I was elected in 2007 I began lobbying Fenland Council to repair them.

“The ground passed to Roddons Housing Association and I continued to lobby them until they eventually put in the all weather pitch that is there now.”

One other correspondent to the website suggested a booking system since “everyone needs to be able to use. We don’t want people getting frustrated and things getting out of hand.”