PLAYING FIELD REFURBISHMENT 2020-2021
THE PLAYING FIELD AGM WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM ON 13TH APRIL 2021. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND THIS MEETING PLEASE CONTACT GUY TIMSON – guytimson@hotmail.com
As spring arrives we look forward to all facilities being available for use as soon as government regulations allow.
Some of you will have noticed that some maintenance has been taking place over the last few weeks.
ROSPA highlighted the swings as requiring improvement in their last report and work has now been carried out. The bent, rusty framework has been straightened and sandblasted and new swings seats, chains/fittings have been installed. Thank you to those who have volunteered their time to paint the frame. The cost of this work was £2200 and we are grateful to the Parish Council for their support of this project. Hopefully, children will be able to make good use of these new facilities this summer.
Over the summer fence panels and posts were replaced in addition to work on perimeter fence rails. This amounted to £427. The broken fencing by the car park has now been fixed at a cost of £130.
Sanitisers are installed at both gates and since June £78 has been spent on sanitiser equipment and gel. We are very grateful for a recent donation of hand sanitiser and thanks must go to one of our trustees Marie for regularly refilling the containers. We encourage everyone to make good use of them.
We are aware of damage to the yellow OXO spinners attached to the Parish King climbing frame and have carried out a temporary repair. The manufacturer has been contacted and the whole of the OXO unit would have to be replaced at a cost of £500 + removal and fitting. Our next ROSPA inspection is due in the summer and we will seek their advice on how to proceed.
Goal posts were also highlighted by ROSPA as needing work. The posts will be repositioned as soon as the ground is dry enough to carry out the work. Thanks to Roy Merrifield who has made a donation to this work in memory of his wife Maureen who died in 2020. This will enable us to buy new nets supports and nets. Maureen loved her sport, particularly football, and would be delighted to see children and adults playing at the field.
Thank you to everyone who has supported our 100 club which raised £540 for the playing field. We intend to run it again for 2021-2022 (new year starts in July) and we will be glad of continued support.
When rules allow we would also like to run our annual fund raising quiz. Our biggest source of income , however, comes from a hard working team who steward at the Glastonbury Festival and raise £2,500 a year, approximately. With the festival not taking place for two years our income has been severely reduced but regular outgoings such as safety inspections, insurance and maintenance have had to be met. We are indebted to Andrew Sealy who has voluntarily cut the field for us over the last couple of years and to Malcolm Harding who helps us with all the heavy maintenance. Thanks must also go to Danny who for many years has voluntarily cleared litter from the field. Our fieldsman Gary Marshman looks after the rest of the field cutting the grass in the play area, trimming and generally keeping the field tidy. Others have cleared weeds from matting, painted climbing frames, strimmed around equipment and cleared leaves and branches from the ground. Thank you to everyone.
We look forward to being able to enjoy Village Days, Handlebards and other events at the field soon.
100 CLUB WINNERS FOR MARCH ARE RAY COLLINS – £20 AND JUDE BURNS £10.