MP Supports Royal Opening of the Basildon Sporting Village.
Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois recently attended the royal opening of the Basildon Sporting Village by his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, and saw for himself the wonderful facilities that are now on offer to residents in South Essex.
The Sporting Village is a state of the art £38 million leisure complex which includes two giant sports halls, a 50m swimming pool (one of only a few in the South East), an ultra modern climbing wall, a large gymnasium, and also a completely refurbished athletics track, plus 5-a-side football pitches and netball courts, all at Gloucester park, just to the north of Basildon town centre. Since opening, the sporting village has attracted several thousand members, not least because of the high quality facilities that are on offer there.
The Sporting Village was officially opened by HRH the Duke of Gloucester, who was introduced to Mark, as well as other local VIPs, as part of the opening ceremony. HRH also unveiled a special plaque to commemorate the occasion. Commenting on the opening of this brand new facility, Mark Francois said:
“It was a privilege to be present at the opening of the Basildon Sporting Village, which is there to serve residents of the whole of South Essex, including some of my own constituents from Rayleigh and Wickford. I was also very pleased to be there as HRH the Duke of Gloucester is also the Colonel-in-Chief of my old regiment, the Royal Anglian Regiment, with whom I served as a TA infantry officer during the Cold War. It was good to have a chat with him, including briefly about regimental matters. As his father had opened the original Gloucester Park many years ago, it seemed very fitting that he was now able to perform this additional opening ceremony in the 21st century. I believe the Sporting Village will be a real asset to our county and I was very proud to represent my constituents at the official opening.”