City council approved a development permit for Cloverdale Athletic Park’s new field house on Monday night, but not without some initial hesitation.
“Is that the real colour it’s going to be?” asked Mayor Doug McCallum, to some laughter from the room. “I know in South Surrey they’re building a couple of buildings down there and it fits really nicely into the landscape. Is that the real colour?”
The proposed two-storey field house will be clad in red corrugated steel, making it look like a red barn. It was designed to have an “agricultural look,” according to a city report.
Laurie Cavan, manager of parks for City of Surrey, explained that the design had been approved after “extensive consultation” with community groups that will use the field house after it’s complete, including the Surrey United Soccer Club, which jointly funded the project.
“There has been a lot of support for this colour and this design,” said Cavan. “And it’s also the team colour, so it’s a reflection of the sporting community in that area.”
Councillor Steven Pettigrew expressed a different concern — he moved to send the application back to staff so that the Cloverdale Community Association could be consulted on the design. “I’m really concerned about the CCA, and I would like to hear their thoughts on this,” he said.
Coun. Doug Elford disagreed. “It’s my understanding that the Surrey soccer group has gone through quite an extensive process,” he said. “I think they’re beyond the point of referral at this point. I think if we looked at the colour, or minor design changes, I would support that.”
In the end, council approved the issuing of a development permit without referring the application back to city staff for further consultation or design changes.
The field house comes as part of a $5.8-million project that has been in the works for more than a year. The project, jointly funded between the federal government, the City of Surrey and Surrey United Soccer, also included the installation of new artificial turf playing fields and a renovation to the water park.
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