More on the purchase of the Heston sports ground and how we intend to work with students moving forward

On 25 June the College announced plans to purchase a new sports ground in Heston.

The Heston ground provides 27 acres for a range of sports, as well as including indoor facilities such as a theatre.

The new site, located just over two miles from Imperial’s existing Harlington sports ground, marks a continued commitment by the College to providing the best sporting facilities to its students.

With the purchase of the Heston Sports Ground Sport Imperial will be taking stock of the facilities the College now has and the best way to make use of them to deliver the best sporting experience to all our students. This means from the 2014/15 academic year Imperial sport will be focused on Harlington and Heston, suspending College sporting activities at Teddington Sports Ground until the new arrangement is properly assessed.

The next step will be to work with students to determine how the new site can best meet users’ needs in the longer term. Sport Imperial plans to work with Imperial College Union, the constituent College unions and sports teams on details for the new site, such as:

• the configuration of pitches and facilities to work well for the different student sports clubs' patterns of use
• training times for clubs at the new site
• the booking process for sport and non-sport facilities
• the opening of catering and bar facilities on site after training and games
• transport to and from the site, including considering where Medics may be travelling from
• how best to bring the history and identity of Imperial and ICSM sport to the new Heston site and its bars and social spaces

Since making the announcement Sport Imperial have hosted tours of Heston for Union representatives, as well as holding a question and answer session on Friday 27 June. The Sport Imperial team are continuing to meet any students who wish to discuss the configuration for sports for the upcoming year and any concerns they have. Students can contact sport@imperial.ac.uk.

Why has the College bought this new sports ground? 

The Heston Sports Ground represents an excellent opportunity for College sports. It has a better range of facilities than the other College sites, including five football pitches, two rugby pitches, six grass and six hard floodlight tennis courts, two floodlit netball courts, three cricket nets and a shooting range.

There is a lot of indoor space, including five squash courts, basketball and badminton facilities, a fitness and weights gym. The site also has a range of social space including three bars and a theatre, which could be used for a range of student activities. The other sports grounds are limited in such provision. The site is close to Harlington, enabling easy access between the two sites for students juggling multiple sporting or social commitments on Wednesday afternoons, during evenings or over weekends.

Why were students not consulted before its purchase? 

Due to commercial sensitivity the College was unable to publicise its interest in purchasing the Heston Sports Ground and the implications on Teddington before it had entered a formal agreement.

The College did inform Imperial College Union President in confidence ahead of the announcement and communicated the purchase to the wider student body as soon as the agreement was formalised and the subject was no longer commercially sensitive.

Now the agreement and plans are public the College will be working closely with students to communicate these changes and consult with them on the use of the new site and its facilities to make sure they get the best from the new arrangement. 

What will happen to Teddington in the future? 

With the opening of the Heston Sports Ground next academic year we will be focusing on Heston and Harlington for College sport.

Once the purchase of Heston was made the decision to focus activity on Harlington and Heston had to be made operationally – to have activities spread across all three sites wouldn’t be sustainable.

During this time the College will be carefully considering the future use of Teddington as there is a lot of overlap between its facilities and those available at Heston. Whilst no formal decision has been made there are no plans for student sport to take place at Teddington in the future. 

What will this mean for Medic Sport? 

We know that many sports teams, particularly those of ICSM have a long history of using Teddington. The new configuration and the greater range of facilities offered at Heston, aims to enhance sports opportunities for all College clubs, including the Medics. Sport Imperial will be working with them to ensure that the new site meets their needs.