Minutes of a Meeting of the Recreation & Amenities Committee Held in the Council Office, Grayshott Village Hall On Present: Mr R Fudge (Chairman), Mr. H Murphy, Mr. S Georgii, Mr. C Slaughter, Mr. C Thompson, Mr. S Herrett, Mrs. A Myers, the Clerk, Mrs. Liz Pennick, the Assistant Clerk, Mrs. L Coney and 3 members of the public. 1 Apologies – None received. 2 Declaration of Interests – None declared. 3 Minutes of Meeting held on 4 Matters Arising (from previous minutes) The RoSPA report has now been received. A price has now been received from Tru Green via Vanessa Thompson of Grayshott Gardeners for the proposed treatment of the grass in the War Memorial garden. It had been agreed to proceed with the programme of work suggested by Tru Green to improve the condition of the grass. 5 Allotments 5.1 Inspection Reports Beech Allotments – Much activity on most plots although a small number are not being worked. The meeting adjourned at Stoney Bottom Allotments – The padlock has broken again. The allotments are generally in good order. The fence still requires mending. 5.2 Waiting List. There are 6 people on the waiting list (4 for Stoney Bottom and 2 for either site) Three live outside the parish boundary but within the 1 mile limit. 5.3 Maintenance. A resident has asked if they can access Beech Allotments from Wheelwrights in order to cut back overhanging trees. The clerk was asked to write to the resident granting permission just requesting that they remove all clippings or branches from the allotments once the work is done. Councillors were asked to look at the compost heap at Beech to see if it needs turning or reducing. Some new allotment holders have asked for permission to erect compost bins on the site. It was agreed that these could be placed on the shaded ½ plot at the end of the site. Mr Robinson recommended that they use either plastic or wooden constructed bins. GPC should be consulted over any plans for constructed bins. 6 Littlejohn and Lyndon Green Play Areas. 6.1 Littlejohn Play Area – Reports had been received by the clerk. No action required 6.2 Lyndon Green Play Area. Gordon Sanderson will get the scouts to clean down the fencing again this autumn as the plastic is turning green again. The sign on the gate needs either re-engraving or at the least a good scrub. Also the flowerbeds need weeding and mulching. Clerk to ask Mr Sanderson if the scouts could clean the plaque and do the weeding when doing the fence. Finally, the 7 Lyndon Green/ Village Green. 7.1 Weed and Feed. The clerk gave councillors two quotes from Stuart Mulcaster and Nigel Jeffries to carry out the weed and feed for Lyndon Green and the Village Green. It was agreed to accept the quote from Mr. Jeffries of £140 plus VAT for the Village Green but work on Lyndon Green was felt unnecessary at this time. 7.2 Top soil and Turf. Again, the clerk showed councillors quotes from Stuart Mulcaster and Nigel Jeffries. The assistant clerk said that she felt Mr Jeffries work was of an excellent standard but she had not knowledge of the work of Mr Mulcaster. It was decided to proceed with the quotation from Mr. Jeffries of £385 plus VAT. 8 8.1 Sports Field Floodlights. Mr. Slaughter and Mr. Taylor had looked at the trees and felt the floodlights were too close to them. It is therefore more sensible to move the floodlight posts rather than cutting back the trees. It has been confirmed that the electricity used for the new lights will be within the capacity of the pavilion electricity supply. 8.2 Canadian Maple. Mrs. Bicknell had offered a Canadian Maple to the Parish Council to go on Lyndon Green near the play area. Mr Taylor had said this was unsuitable, as the roots would eventually affect the play equipment so an alternative location was sought. The Village Green and the churchyard were both unsuitable but a location on Lyndon Green away from the play equipment has been identified, adjacent to a chestnut and cherry which will need removing in the future. It has come to light that Mr Bicknell and Mr. Taylor (the tree surgeon) used to work together and so Mr Taylor has volunteered to collect the tree from Mrs Bicknell and plant it for the Parish Council free of charge. 9 Sports Field & Pavilion 9.1 Knotweed. The knotweed has now been treated again. 9.2 Pavilion Refurbishment / Rebuild (Survey Results). The recently commissioned survey says the pavilion is in an acceptable condition and will remain so for at least a couple more years. The survey is available for councillors and the Sports Field Committee to read. It is not however to the standard of a modern pavilion. It is felt that there would be little support in the village for just a replacement pavilion but more support for something more, which would take account of future use. It was therefore decided to look at a village plan for sport, recreation and leisure so that the future of the pavilion could be looked at with a holistic approach. Mr. Thompson has had discussions with Nick Chiltern who can help steer the council in the right direction with funding. The Assistant Clerk said she was also aware of a fundraising workshop in 9.3 Grasscutting. The gang mowers are coming to the end of their natural life and Mr Baker is looking to sell his Land Rover which currently is used to pull the mowers. The council needs to decide whether to try and repair the existing mowers, purchase new ones or use a grasscutting contractor in the future. Mr Murphy said he felt the current mowers are probably past repair. He has spoken with Mr Baker who feels that the best way forward would be for the Council to buy their own. Contractors can be good but prices can rise steeply over time. It was agreed to form a small committee to look at this in more depth over the next couple of weeks. The committee to comprise of Mr Slaughter, Mr Murphy, Mr Thompson and Mr. Fudge. 10 Highways & Footways 10.1 Bus Shelters. The replacement bus shelter for the village green has now been installed. It was agreed to pay for Mr Hitchcock to apply varnish and woodstain to the seat at a cost of £90. A quote had been received for a reinforced backboard for the new shelter. At £600 councillors deemed it too expensive and unnecessary for now. 10.2 Outstanding Highways Issues. The Assistant Clerk had received a response from Ruth Olczyk with regard to the issues of 2 hour waiting and a crossing point on Ms Olczyk also stated the amount of signage required for the 2-hour waiting. She said that there were not the resources for a Traffic Management plan for the village though. Another idea which had been suggested by the consultants working on the project for The Square was to look at a scheme called Living Streets which could mingle pedestrians and traffic in this part of The SLR was working well and had been moved around the village on a fortnightly basis. The Assistant Clerk now understands from Mr Allen that the SLR does indeed collect speed data which will be collated and made available once the scheme has been completed. The clerk was asked to chase Colin Taylor at Highways to see where they are with regard to the list of footways and potholes issues that had been collated by Mr. Slaughter and Steve Neat (Hampshire Highways) last year. Spray markings had been put down at the time to highlight each area but these have now rubbed off and the work never done. With regard to the 11 11.1 Report. There is new graffiti, but none of it is obscene. The disclaimer notice at Beech Allotment end of the park is missing and the sign at the other end has been vandalised. 11.2 Graffiti. The clerk was asked to pursue the Community Liaison officer re. graffiti removal. The clerk is still looking at details of artists who might be able to work with the skaters / bikers to paint over the graffiti with murals. 11.3 Cleaning. Mr Fudge reported that the cleaner previously employed by the Sports Field Committee cleaned the Pavilion and the Skate Park but the cleaner currently paid by the Cricket Club just does the pavilion. Mr. Hitchcock is therefore cleaning the 12 The Square 12.1 Inspections and Reports. Reports had been received by the clerk. No action required. 12.2 Survey (HCC). Square Group committee members met this week with the landscape architect employed by HCC. Through consultation exercises they hope to have a design drawn up by November. This can then be used to raise additional funding. They will be looking to have a public consultation on the first Friday and Saturday of February 2009. The results of this will form the final detailed plans which can then be put out to tender with work to commence in Spring 2010.To date about £220,000 of potential funding has been identified with up to a further £100,000 to find. The site survey has been done and now a survey will be carried out to check for underground utilities and soakaways. The Group is endeavouring to get permission from Co-op to erect a temporary notice board on their wall outside the shop, which will publicise regular updates and minutes of square group meetings and steering group meetings so people can keep updated with progress. Fundraising continues and there are a number of fundraisers planned for this autumn / winter. 13. Flowerbeds. In response to Grayshott Gardeners, councillors are indeed happy with the planting in the War Memorial garden. 14. Car Parks. The clerk had been in correspondence with EHDC to remove the old topsoil from the beds in Headley Road Car Park and replace with new topsoil. They were happy to drop a load of topsoil into a parking space for the Parish Council to use but were not prepared to remove the old soil. The clerk was therefore asked to obtain quotes for digging out the old soil and replacing with the topsoil. Mr Hitchcock will do the work on the beds in 15 Haz-Box. Councillors were given details of the Haz Box system that could be used for battery disposal in the village. Cost £25.00 per box and £49.00 per collection. It was decided that given the cost, the clerk should speak to EHDC to ask them to pay for the box, explaining that many parishioners do not drive and therefore cannot get to the tip at Bordon to dispose of their batteries. 16 Correspondence. i) HCC - Letter and flyer re. Village Community Grant Scheme available for local village shop. Clerk asked to pass information on to Mr. & Mrs. Reidy at the Post Office. ii) Hampshire Fire Service - flyer re. Electric blanket testing at Grayshott Fire Station iii) HCC - Letter re Hampshire Rights of Way conference held in June & issues raised for iv) HCC - Brochures / leaflets re travel in Hampshire. Noted 17 Date of Next Meeting – The meeting closed at Signed: ……………………………………….. Date: …………………………………………..
