Wednesday 16 January 2013

Stephen Metcalfe MP rallies behind Pegasus Club

Stephen with Mr Rogocki and Mr Hathaway

Stephen Metcalfe, local MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, has reiterated his support for the Pegasus club following a visit last Friday.

The future of the club has been uncertain for some time since the collapse of the Coryton oil refinery last year. The visit was arranged to follow up action points that arose at an initial meeting in August. At the meeting last year, Councillors, the Leader of Thurrock Council, other interested parties and local MP Stephen Metcalfe gave their unanimous support to the club in its current format, pledging to what they could to maintain and support the club and this was an opportunity to hear what progress has been made.

Unfortunately, following discussions with Pegasus Chairman, Mr Rogocki and General Manager, Mr Hathaway it appears that the future is as uncertain as ever, especially in light of the clubs land being included in Thurrock Councils recently published core strategy review which suggested the site could possibly be used for an alternative use from its current one.

Pegasus, however, will not be lost without a fight. Mr Metcalfe has pledged to redouble his efforts and has agreed to write to both the Council and the Council leadership asking that they confirm their unwavering support for the club and asking for clarification as to why the site has been included in their strategy review.

He will also be contacting the administrators, Pricewaterhouse Coopers to clarify their position on the potential sale of the site and to reiterate his support for Pegasus.

Commenting, Mr Metcalfe said: “The club continues to have my full support as it has done since August last year. I was very disappointed to see that Thurrock Council have included the club in a recent draft of their core strategy review document – particularly given that they did not notify Pegasus that this was their intention. This I believe has the potential to undermine the future sustainability of the club.”

“The club has been an integral part of the community for decades and I will work hard to support them in any way I can. The value of the site to the community is immeasurable and I hope that all those who committed to support the club last year will do so again and work towards a solution that will reflect this.”