Committee Minutes - 1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021

Minutes of a Recreation Committee meeting held remotely on Tuesday 9 March 2021 using MS365 Teams.  

No members of the public were in attendance. 

At 7.01pm the Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed the delegates. As no members of the public were present, the Chairman declared the meeting open.

1. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting. 

Due to IT difficulties, Mr Fleming and Mrs Harris were not present at the meeting. 

2. To receive declarations of interest and to consider applications for dispensations in relation to DPIs.  

No declarations of interest were made at this time. 

3. Notes of the meeting of the Recreation Committee held on Tuesday 19 January 2021 to be approved as Minutes. 

Action: The Committee RESOLVED to approve the notes of the Recreation Committee meeting held on Tuesday 19 January 2021 as accurate minutes. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Cox and approved unanimously.  

4. Update on financial matters: 

4.1.  Expenditure to date.  

The Committee was still within budget.  

4.2. To consider the quote to replace the missing boundary fence at Parkfield. 

A quote for £1,442.00 had been received and circulated prior to the meeting. The quote was cheaper than the quote previously approved and was within approved budget for the MUGA installation, therefore the contractor could be requested to commence the work.  

5. To receive an update on the installation of 6 LED PIR lights at the pavilion and removal of the 7 old lights. 

The removal of the old lights and installation of 6 LED PIR lights was to commence on Thursday 11 March 2021. 

6. Review of Covid-19 measures and the re-opening of sporting facilities following government guidelines.  

Government information had been circulated prior to the meeting within the Clerk’s report. 

    6.1. Play areas (Currently open with daily weekday cleaning, disinfecting, and guidance for use displayed.) 

Action: To continue with the daily cleaning until government guidelines indicated otherwise.  

    6.2. MUGA (Currently closed due to lockdown 3.0  restrictions (when open - daily weekday cleaning, disinfecting, and guidance for use displayed.) 

Action: Following the government’s roadmap for easing the pandemic restrictions, the MUGA could re-open for use on 29 March 2021. The surface of the MUGA looked clean and Cllr Cunningham was assisting the handyman in installing the self - closing hinges at the entrance and exit to the facility on Thursday 11 March 2021. 

    6.3. Sports Pavilion (Currently closed, including the toilets, due to lockdown 3.0 restrictions.) 

This would re-open in line with government guidelines. 

6.4. To consider extended use of the pitches until June 2021 as recommended by the Football Association. 

Action: The Committee RESOLVED that the pitches could be used for an extended period. Teams to be reminded that donations for use of the sports facilities were welcomed.  

7.  To consider the next steps in the creation of a dog exercise area at Parkfield to reduce incidences of dog fouling on the playing fields. 

This was deferred until further information was available. 

8. Delegates/Councillor Reports.  

Cllr Cox advised that dogs were off lead , fouling the sports pitches and running up to children and other facility users. It was noted that people were driving to Parkfield from out of the village to exercise their dogs on the playing fields. Dog owners, when approached, were rude and disinterested in keeping their dogs on leads as there was no sanctions for dogs being off leads.  

Action: The Environment  Enforcement  Warden to be asked to focus on Parkfield daily, reminding residents to keep dogs on leads, and taking all appropriate actions. The wearing of a body video camera by the Environment Warden was already being considered by the HR Committee. The Council could ban all dogs from the playing fields but this would be hard to enforce especially as a  public footpath crossed the fields. 

Cllr White advised of the police report of antisocial behaviour on the car park at Parkfield. They requested the car park gates be locked, or at least closed, overnight. A meeting with the Chairman of the village hall, the Chairman of Council, and the Clerk to discuss the closing of the gates and who would be responsible for closing the gates had not been conclusive.   

Action: To prevent non-residents parking to walk their dogs off lead and to reduce further anti-social behaviour, the installation of an automatic barrier to Parkfield car park to be considered at the Finance and Policy committee meeting on 13 April 2021.  Unrestricted access to the village hall carpark would be required and access for pedestrians.  

The Clerk’s report had been circulated prior to the meeting and the clerk answered questions on this. The Clerk raised the possibility of the Recreation and Environment Committees working together to improve the Council’s green credentials. The use of solar panels for the pavilion was mentioned for further consideration.  

The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.51pm.