Minutes of a meeting of the Village Green Committee held on
Tuesday 9th July 2024 at 6.30 pm in the Jubilee Hall, Bratton.
Present: Cllr Cathy Elliott (Chair), Cllr Eddie Cole, Cllr Keith Rayward.
In attendance: Nicola Duke (Parish Clerk), Mr Chris Tarling.
Open Forum
Members of the public were invited to make representations to the Council on any matters relating to the work of the Council or to raise any issues of concern: None.
AGENDA ITEM
VGC13 Apologies for Absence
None.
VGC14 Declarations of Interest
None.
VGC15 Minutes of Meetings
The minutes of a VGC meeting held on 3rd May 2024 were approved for accuracy and referred to the Parish Council for adoption (proposed Cllr Elliott, seconded Cllr Cole).
Members noted that the bin lid had been replaced and the swing seat repair kit delivered. Mr Tarling would fit. It was further noted that the edging around the gates had been dealt with by Tidy Bratton. Vegetation had also been cleared where necessary. The Chair confirmed that Tesco had approved the retrospective purchase of equipment for the recently awarded grant. Cllr Cole reported that the gate at the pre-school end had now been mended however, the gate at the top end required further work. He would remove the gate to take a further look and order new springs if necessary. Cllr Cole outlined further work he and Mr Tarling were planning to the gates in order to ensure that the self-closing mechanisms were working correctly.
VGC16 Weekly play area checks
Members discussed the recording of the weekly inspections and agreed the following:
• That the excel spreadsheet could be removed.
• The newer document developed by the Chair was confirmed to be working well.
• The Clerk would put the inspection reports from the contractor onto the NAS.
The Chair thanked Cllr Cole for attending to the greasing of the rota cone, which was now rotating better.
Mr Tarling confirmed that the makers labels on the new posts had ‘feathered’ around the edges where they had been installed. He would look into how this could be dealt with. Sanding might not be appropriate as it could deface the label, which should be protected as it held important installation information.
The reported knots of wood were on the large piece of play equipment and were a result of the wood drying out. Mr Tarling had attended to these and was thanked for his efforts.
Members noted that the legs to Lou’s seat had been tightened. Cllr Cole would add some washers.
Mrs Tarling had also cleaned the signs and the Chair expressed her thanks for this.
VGC17 Committee Budget Report
Members noted the below information:
Play Area EMR 01.04.2024 £4,500
Purchase of padlock for gate £49.55
Purchase of swing seat repair kit £85.49
Purchase of replacement bin lid £160.66
Play Area EMR 01.07.2024 £4,204.30
VGC18 Items for purchase
Members considered items for purchase as listed:
1) New play equipment item and its positioning – it was resolved to place the order for Kompan Crazy Scrambler Springer (grant funded by Tesco) and the Clerk would arrange for it to be delivered to Cllr Elliott (proposed Cllr Cole, seconded Cllr Rayward). Members noted the distance which would be required between pieces of equipment when installing the new item. A site visit would be arranged to agree the location for the springer.
2) Grass mats (22mm depth, 1.5 x 1 m @ £22.62 each inc fixings) – Members agreed to place the mats underneath the slide and the round swing and the purchase of matting and base filling was approved up to a cost of £150 (proposed Cllr Elliott, seconded Cllr Rayward). The Committee would liaise outside of the meeting to establish the work needed to prepare the ground and install the new grass mates.
3) Concrete for holes for new springer unit – Members discussed the concrete required for a 1m area, 20 cm deep. Reference would be given to the manufacturers installation guidelines in planning the amount of concrete required. Cllr Cole would investigate and prepare costings and liaise with a local resident for support in digging the required hole. The latter point would be taken forward once the exact size of the hole required was established. A cubic metre might be required at a potential cost of £100 (delivered to site).
VGC19 Annual RoSPA inspection
Members discussed the timeline for jobs required prior to the annual inspection in September (as listed) as listed. The Committee set a date for a site meeting to discuss the dates for the required work.
1) Dig 2 holes
2) Repair cone climber
3) Repair swing seat (item purchased)
4) Straighten fencing
5) Edging of surfaces under swings
6) Lay grass mats
VGC20 Members Reports
None.
VGC21 Date of next Committee meeting
October 2024 – date to be arranged – to set budgets for 2025/6 and refer to Council budget setting process.
There being no further business the meeting was closed at 7.15 pm.