Minutes of Great Staughton Playing Field Committee Meeting held on 8th February 2016
Present:
Nicole Yates (Chair) Bob Jewell (Treasurer) Frank Backhouse
Janet Bowen Lauren Fisk (Piglets) Geoff Gilbert
Margaret Sare Angela Young (School) Jackie Wilkie (Horticultural Society)
Mervyn Young Dianne Palmer (Clerk)
1. Apologies: received from Mike Keeble
2. Approval of Minutes of the meeting held on 13th October 2015
The minutes of the meeting were approved and duly signed as a true record.
3. Matters arising from 13th October minutes:
b/f – the new blinds have been delivered and will be installed during half term.
b/f – another small hole has formed on the Fireman’s Pole. R Jewell will get it repaired. Action: RJ
b/f – Piglets have almost completed the work which did not require planning permission.
Item 7 – Football posts chained to the school fence. The Football Club has folded but it has been ascertained that the posts do belong to them. R Jewell will obtain the key to the padlock so that the posts can be moved and are still available for other users. Action: RJ
Item 7 – R Jewell understood that the ladies toilet seat has been fixed.
4. Treasurers report:
R Jewell circulated a report prior to the meeting and expressed concern about the income. The Football Club and Yoga group have both closed and the Cricket Club will be playing several matches at Kimbolton so the income will be reduced. N Yates agreed to put an item in Life to try to attract more people to use the Pavilion.
5. Reports from Clubs & Users
Horticultural Society: – J Wilkie said the AGM takes place in March in the Pavilion.
Tennis Club: – N Yates reported the committee has been formed. The bank mandate has only just been transferred to the new committee so they can now apply for affiliation of the Lawn Tennis Association. Once membership is live they plan to offer tennis coaching for young people. J Bowen suggested advertising in Bystander. The Tennis Club already has a Facebook page.
School: – A Young – nothing to report.
Cricket Club: – R Jewell mentioned that the field will be cut as soon as the weather pemits.
Piglets: – L Fisk mentioned that the front play area will be made into more of a garden. She also said that the toilets do not appear to be as clean as in the past. The key to access the electricity meter will be given to R Jewell. L Fisk mentioned that the committee is due to hold an AGM. A recent Ofsted inspection was good. J Bowen is liaising with Piglets and this seems to be working well.
6. Funding application for play equipment
J Bowen expressed her disappointment as the funding application was unsuccessful. The Mick George grant body will be approached again but it now appears that smaller applications should be submitted and match funding should be obtained. Unfortunately, this will make the replacement of the play equipment much more expensive as each item will need to be installed as a separate piece of work.
7. Operational matters:
W Mumford has dug out the old waste bin and it is hoped he will be able to dispose of it. Action: WM
The overhanging hedge has been cut back. Most of the fence to the rear of the Pavilion has been replaced. There are still some weeds growing at the back.
The Millennium banners have been reinstated.
M Sare asked about the tables in the Pavilion, particularly the old wooden ones. The bolts will be tightened.
R Jewell reported that the Parish Council has agreed to take ownership of the skateboard facility. The current insurance company has been approached with a view to combining the 2 policies and also including the skateboard facility. Some queries still outstanding. Action: DP
N Yates attended a Public Forum meeting at Pathfinder House. One of the speakers has contacts with an insurance company which deals with this type of equipment.
R Jewell informed the meeting that Great Paxton Football Club has approached him to rent the football pitch to catch up on their backlog of matches. L Fisk suggested other football clubs be offered the use of the football pitch. Action: RJ
RJ put forward a suggestion that the school be approached to see whether the playing field committee could offer access to their spare broadband capacity to pavilion users. The school could make a small charge for this service. If this was out of school hours it might attract other/new users to the pavilion for something such as an internet/IT cafe – Kimbolton run a weekly facility in Mandeville Hall with coffee, cakes and IT coaching. A Young thought the Diamond Learning Partnership would need to be approached with this proposal. Action: RJ
8. Correspondence
Information received from RoSPA. The inspection is due soon.
Dates for 2016
18th April 18th July 10th October
N Yates thanked everyone for their attendance and the meeting closed at 8.45pm