LETTERS From Anya Phoebe Poerscout-Edgerton (aged 11), Adgestone:
The article, on last week’s front page stated that Heritage Great Britain would like to build a Burger King or Nando’s on the much-loved site at Sandham Gardens (CP, 23-0-12-16).
As well as the possibility of a 'high-profile brand’ instead of a vital children’s playground, 20 new beach huts, a golf-course, an ice-cream parlour and pop-up shops could replace the park.
These will definitely not help our Island youth.
Today, nearly a third of children aged two to 15 are overweight or obese. And more than 7,400 IW children live in poverty. The government is trying to change this.
Many are pushing to enforce a sugar tax, and the government recommends 60 minutes of physical activity per day, with more than half provided by parents and carers.
Also, replacing fun, open-air parks and spaces with expensive, fast-food outlets is very unhelpful for families living and dealing with obesity and poverty. So why get rid of the only decent park in the whole area?
What I also challenge is the meeting agenda for the IW Council’s children’s committee meeting on November 24.
The Sandham Gardens deal was proposed in October, and yet it is mentioned nowhere in the published agenda and minutes.
You may class this controversial issue as nothing to do with children and entirely a monetary issue.
But for us, it is a place to make friends, have fun, and make memories that will last forever.
This issue was also missing from the health and wellbeing board meeting agenda from November 29.& ;lt;br />I think this is shocking, as well as the fact that when you search this matter on the internet, however you word it, nothing about this comes up.
Does the council not want people to know what is happening to their Island?
Overall, I ask the council not to give Heritage Great Britain the lease.