Minutes of a Meeting of the Recreation & Amenities Committee Held in the Council Office, Grayshott Village Hall On Present: Mr I Robinson (Chairman), Mr. C Slaughter, Mr. H Murphy, Mr. R Fudge, Mr. C Thompson, Mr. S Georgii, Mr. S Herrett, the Clerk, Mrs. Liz Pennick, the Assistant Clerk, Mrs. L Coney and 3 members of the public. 1 Apologies – Mrs. A Myers 2 Declaration of Interests – None declared. 3 Minutes of Meeting held on 4 Matters Arising - There were no matters arising. 5 Allotments 5.1 Inspection Reports Beech Allotments – Most allotments are now being worked Stoney Bottom Allotments – The padlock needs replacing as it has broken again. The clerk advised that this could be done under warranty. It was agreed that if this kept happening then the system should be replaced with a lock and a separate chain. It was also noted that one plot to the bottom left of the site is not being worked. 5.2 Waiting List. There are two half plots available at Beech and there are currently two people on the waiting list for Stoney Bottom. 5.3 Allotment Improvements / Allotment Society. The owner of Sunnyhill says the pile of manure placed by the allotments has blocked access to his garage. A note will be written to all allotment holders at Stoney Bottom asking them to use the manure as soon as possible. At Beech the allotment holders have set up an allotment society so they can get discount at garden centres and help each other out with watering in the summer. They have also obtained a rotavator for communal use. Mr Gill volunteered to be Steward 6 Littlejohn and Lyndon Green Play Areas. 6.1 Littlejohn Play Area – Nothing to report, although the gate is a little stiff. Mr. Thompson agreed to take an action to spray the gate at Littlejohn and the swings on both play sites with grease. 6.2 Lyndon Green Play Area. Nothing to report. Mr Hitchcock has carried out the work to remove the rust on the commando bridge. 7 Lyndon Green/ Village Green 7.1 Hedges/Paths/ Fences. The access constraints imposed by the planning department have meant that the idea of a new vehicular access to Lyndon Green has been shelved. Instead Mr. Robinson suggested that the committee needed to consider the access on the Headley Road side for PIG plus the remedial work required (branch trimming, erection of chestnut fencing and top soil over the exposed roots.) Give the time constraints Mr. Slaughter suggested using the same access arrangement as last year for Sunday Funday and then topsoiling and turfing the area affected by the exposed roots as soon as possible after the Funday and erecting temporary fencing to stop people walking across it whilst it is bedding in. The meeting adjourned at 7:44pm to hear from Mr. Hatch. The meeting recommenced at 7:55pm. It was decided to permit vehicular access to Lyndon Green for Sunday Funday as per last years arrangement. It was agreed that the burden is upon PIG to protect the path and to that end extra planks will be used to prevent overloading the edging stones. It was noted that if vehicular access were not permitted the event would not be viable. In conclusion the committee agreed to obtain quotes for the topsoil and turf which would be installed after Sunday Funday. In addition, it was decided to explore the possibility of replacing the barrier on Crossways Road with a removable one to make access easier in future years. 7.2 Christmas Lights. The clerk had received the invoice for the electricity for last Christmas (£526) It was agreed unanimously to ask BIG to make a donation of £525.00 for their use of Council amenities. 8 Trees 8.1 GPC Village Tree Survey Works. All Category 2 work has now been completed together with the tree felling on the tennis courts. It was noted that there were still some logs on the Sports Field which needed removing. The logs were offered to the assistant clerk for her wood burner. The clerk will liaise with Mr. Taylor with regard to the budget and priorities for the category 3 and 4 works. 9 Sports Field & Pavilion 9.1 Moles. Two moles were caught the first time the traps were set and one mole the second time. Unfortunately on the third visit the traps were stolen. However the mole man has since been back and used a sonic device, which hopefully will complete the job. The first bill of £50 has been paid and another invoice for a further £50 is awaited. 9.2 Refurbishment Plans / Survey. It has been approximately 8 years since a survey was undertaken. This survey at the time recommended a life span of 10 –15 years for the pavilion. Remedial work has been and will be done as necessary but it is not likely that the building will last more than another 10 years. The Sports Field Committee are in favour of another survey and would like to go ahead with improvements to the heating and showers in any event. The surveyor should be asked specifically to look at these and also the life expectancy of the roof/building. The meeting adjourned at 8:11pm to hear from Mr. Archer. The meeting reconvened at 8:25pm. In light of Mr. Archer’s comments it was agreed to go ahead with a survey. It was decided that the survey should certainly address the safety issue of the asbestos, which is porous. Also, the survey will need to look at sustainability including CO2 and emissions. Without insulation the building is not environmentally friendly and the cost of heating is unsustainable, especially with using immersion heaters, so therefore a full energy audit will be required as part of the survey. Once the results of the report are produced, a meeting will need to be arranged between the Recreation and Amenities Committee and the Sports Field Committee to consider the way forward. 9.3 Bollards. The clerk reported that the bollards are due to be installed on the 23rd April and the application for release of Developers Contributions to pay for the work has been made to EHDC. Mr. Archer requested that the Sports Field Committee receives indemnity from the Parish Council against anyone attempting to hold the Sports Field Committee responsible in the event of accident, if the emergency services cannot access the field because there is no key holder to unlock the drop down bollard. Mr. Archer also said he had spoken with The Grayshott Society and they would prefer to see seating along the line between the car park and the field as it would look more aesthetically pleasing. The Parish Council wished to thank The Grayshott Society for its suggestion but felt that seats would be too costly and it is too late as the work has already been authorised to proceed. 10 Highways & Footways 10.1 Bus Shelters. Further to the last meeting, when it was explained that there is currently no maintenance agreement in place between HCC who own many of the bus shelters in the district and EHDC, many shelters have suffered with the recent bad weather. Hampshire Highways removed the bus shelter on the village green as it had collapsed, however the County Council are not prepared to pay for a replacement. Therefore it is up to the Parish Council to arrange for a new one to be installed. Money can be obtained from the Developers Contribution Transport fund held at EHDC and Adam Craig from HCC has offered a sum of around £500 towards it. The clerk has written to HALC to ascertain if there is anything further that can be done as it is a very poor situation indeed. In the meantime, the committee was asked to look through a brochure of bus shelters and choose one which they felt suitable. It was decided that the shelter named “Guildford” was of an acceptable design and would include a seat. The clerk was asked to refer this to GPC with alternative quotes for this type of design, and to ask any external agencies i.e Grayshott Society) if this would be acceptable to them given its location in the conservation area. The chairman of GPC would take an action in the meantime to apply for Developers Contribution money, write to accept the grant offered by HCC and send details to the Grayshott Society as replacement of the shelter should not be delayed. 10.2 Outstanding Highways Issues. Mr. Slaughter summarised the meeting held with Colin Taylor and Ferris Cowper to discuss Grayshott’s highways concerns. A copy of the letter from Colin Taylor stating how these issues are all to be progressed is available in the parish office. It was noted that Steve Neat has filled the hole left by the removal of the bollard in Glen Road. With regard to the proposed footway in Hill Road, Cllr Sam James had noted at the APM that this would not be progressed by the county because the road was felt to be too steep. The clerk was asked to follow this up with Cllr James and ask for written confirmation and then to contact the Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council as the road is not too steep nor would it be a safety hazard to install a footway. The assistant clerk was asked to correspond with Ruth Olczyk to request a survey in the Headley Road shopping area to ascertain the need for a pedestrian crossing. There had been more than one request to consider lighting in Hill Road to the Social Club. The clerk was asked to ascertain what the county’s policy is with regard to lighting unadopted roads. The assistant clerk had collated the highways / lighting responses to the parish questionnaire received so far. With regard to the proposal for 2 hour waiting so far 38 people had agreed with the proposal and 12 had said NO. In the matter of Street Lighting 18 people said YES, 12 said NO and 27 had no view. Finally with regard to war memorial lighting 22 said YES, 21 said NO, 8 made no comments, there were 4 maybe’s and 3 said YES but only if the lighting was solar powered. It was decided to refer the matter of street lighting to GPC to consider the comments made. The committee took a vote on whether to proceed with the war memorial lighting given the results. 3 Councillors voted YES, 3 NO and one abstention. It was therefore decided to refer the matter to GPC for a decision. 11 Skate Park 11.1 Report. Everything is okay on site. The ROSPA check will be undertaken on the skatepark and the two play areas during May. 11.2 Fencing/ Painting. Mr Pearless will undertake the painting later this month. 11.3 Community Service. The clerk will follow this up with EHDC. 12 The Square 12.1 Inspections and Reports. The weeding and cleaning of the green paving on The Square needs to be done before the Paella event . 12.2 Removal of dead tree / relocation of bin. Mr. Hitchcock has quoted £240.00 to remove the dead tree, undertake the weeding, clean the area with a pressure washer and do the annual weedkilling. It was unanimously agreed to proceed with this. The Village Kitchen has kindly offered to provide the electricity and water to enable Mr. Hitchcock to carry out these tasks. The clerk had received correspondence from a lady who owns a shop on the square asking if the bin could be relocated away from her building. The committee asked the clerk to write back to the lady saying it was not possible to relocate it as this time but it would of course be considered in the forthcoming plans for the square. Mr. Robinson proposed a half hour extension to the meeting to enable the conclusion of business. This was unanimously agreed. 13. Flowerbeds (War Memorial/ Crossways Road/ Headley Road) The clerk has received offers of help from three people for the Crossways Road flowerbed, (Beryl Bamford, Jenny Field and Sue Anne Emmerson) Susie Bower has the planting scheme which will be passed to Vanessa Thompson. The cost will be £500 for the plants and some fertiliser will be required although there should be sufficient with Mr. Thompson. It was agreed to proceed subject to funding being available from Hidden Gardens. If there is no money available form this fund the matter will be referred to GPC to allocate funding. Susie has also asked if she can erect a small sign on the flowerbed. Steve Murphy, together with Susie and a couple of volunteers will remove the old contents of the flowerbeds prior to the new planting. It was also noted that the grass around the War Memorial is in a bad state with a lot of weeds. Grayshott Gardeners will assess this and come back to GPC with a cost for the work. 14 Car Parks. Glen Road Car Park. The clerk and Vanessa Thompson have had a look at the large shrub in the far right corner of the corner behind the gardens of Wayside Flats and pointed out that the shrub has become unmanageable due to its size and girth. In addition the brambles behind the shrub have become rampant and have overgrown the wall. It was agreed to contact Mr Burling from English Landscapes to thin out the rear of the shrub and tackle the brambles. If there were sufficient space after the thinning out an estimate should be sort for planting a small flowering cherry or similar. In addition the clerk had received correspondence from Alistair Tweddle regarding the fencing in Glen road car park that had blown down, stating that ownership of the fence panels was uncertain and there was no budget for repairs, however he would ensure that any damaged or broken panels be replaced. 15 Correspondence. i) Buy in Grayshott meeting minutes (Tuesday 1st April) Noted. ii) EHDC press release for free bus travel passes. Noted. iii) EHDC various e-mails from Karen Dawes, regarding community safety. Noted. 16 Date of Next Meeting – Thursday 12th June 2008 The meeting closed at 9.40pm Signed: ……………………………………….. Date: …………………………………………..
