Tewin Parish Council_
Clerk: Mrs Caroline McFarlane, 2 Badgers
Walk, Tewin Wood, Welwyn, Herts AL6 0HP
Tel:
01438 798969 Fax: 01438 798969 E-mail: caroline.mcfarlane@virgin.net
NEWSLETTER December
2006
Proposal:
A Small Playground for Young Children in Tewin
Tewin Parish Council is applying for
planning permission for a small playground on Upper Green, Tewin for young
children aged 0-8years.
This newsletter has been distributed to
every household in the Parish.
Background
In 1996 the swings, slide and climbing
frame behind the tennis courts on Upper Green were removed upon the advice of
East Herts Council, as they were not up to modern safety standards. Since then
Tewin has not had a public playground, the nearest is currently just north of
the Parish at Burnham Green.
In 2004 in response to a petition
requesting a playground the Parish Council sent out a questionnaire to the 600+
households in the village. 100 responses were received, which is deemed to be a
high return, given that there was no co-ordinated drive to get people to reply.
Of these, 92 were in favour of the provision of a playground. When asked about
location with the options Near Lower Green/Near Upper Green/ Elsewhere (please
specify), there were 59 indications for Lower Green and 43 indications for
Upper Green. (This implies that 10 responses probably ticked both options)
The Parish Council is recommending that
a playground is installed on Upper Green, just north of the copse that borders
the car park – see map. No trees will be removed.
The site is centrally located in the
parish being between the Lower Green settlement and the Tewin Wood settlement.
The Parish Council has a long term
lease on this land, which is owned by Herts County Council, and in preliminary
discussions with HCC there has been no objections to this proposal. A copy of
the planning application has been submitted to HCC Rural Estates Dept.
The Parish Council feel that the
playground as a recreational structure is in accordance with the rights
associated with the use of the green.
It is hoped to install a two seat
cradle swing, a two seat normal swing, a multi-play unit including a slide, and
a spring rocker. These will be in metal for durability and ease of maintenance.
There will also be a bench.
The Parish Council feel that given the
larger scale of Upper Green that the playground will fit in without excessive
visual impact on the rural scene. The equipment will be painted in muted
colours rather than the vibrant colours of urban playgrounds. The safety
surface allows the grass to grow through. The playground will be surrounded by
bow topped green painted metal railings, which present less of a visual
barrier.
The Parish Council has met with the
East Herts Council Playground Inspector who has no objections and regards it as
a suitable site. With regard to the possibility of incoming cricket balls the
Parish Council has spoken to Tewin Cricket Club and is aware that this will be
limited to summer weekends. The Playground Inspector advises us to display
prominent notices warning of the danger.
The playground is intended for younger children who, given the location
of the playground, will invariably be accompanied by adults.
Equipment, fencing and safety surfacing
will all be in accordance with RoSPA requirements
The playground is visible from the road
and thus meets visibility criteria from a safety aspect.
The Parish Council acknowledges that in
walking up from Lower Green, there is no pavement beyond Godfries Close, but
pedestrians acting responsibly can, and do, use this road in safety. The recent
upgrading of Back Lane to an easy access route enables parishioners to get from
the Rose & Crown to Upper Green with buggies and prams using this route.
There is also FP15 which runs from Upper Green Road to Upper Green which could be improved. There
are several footpaths giving access from the Tewin Wood area.
In a rural area, some residents will
always prefer driving, and one of the main advantages of the Upper Green site
is the adequate parking facility. It also has the advantage of being associated
with the main recreational area of the village where tennis, cricket and
football all take place.
Security/Policing
The Parish Council accepts that there
is likely to be opposition from residents in the immediate vicinity of any
proposed playground site, and that this arises from the real fear that the
playground will act as a magnet for older children. The Parish Council aim to
keep local residents informed and has a very good relationship with the local
Police, who recently did an excellent job in curtailing nuisance behaviour
around the bus shelter opposite the Rose & Crown. We expect to work with
them again, to ensure that the Upper Green site does not become a problem area.
The Parish Council has been awarded a
grant of £10,000 from the Big Lottery and £7,000 grant from the Local Network
Fund for Children and Young People towards a playground in Tewin. The Parish
Council is extremely grateful to the Friends of Tewin for their support and in
particular Ben Roberts for his substantial time and effort in achieving the
latter grant.
With these grants and funds from the
Parish Council there will be enough funds to pay for the entire playground.
The Parish Council has agreed to submit
a planning application to EHC for the playground, whilst this is not strictly
necessary it does give parishioners a formal means of expressing their opinion.
Any comments should be sent to East
Herts Council, Development Control, Wallfields, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8EQ
where the plans will be available to view shortly (01279-655261). The plans
will also be available for viewing by appointment only with the Clerk
(01438-798969).
The rest of this newsletter contains a
summary of the other sites considered. It is fair to say that if the Upper
Green site is not adopted, then the Parish Council sees no other viable
alternative site, and no further work will be done on this project in the
foreseeable future. It then follows that we must return the £10,000 Lottery
grant and the £7,000 Local Network Fund grant, which were specifically awarded
for the construction of a playground.
A
Summary of Other Sites Considered
In the vicinity of Lower Green, the
Parish Council spent a significant time investigating the possibility of
putting a new playground on the primary school site in Cannons Meadow, where it
was known that the school was thinking about upgrading its own equipment.
One of the concerns of the school was
that public use of the playground should not disturb pupils during lessons.
Schools also need to have a secure boundary. Therefore the playground would
have required a separate public entrance together with lockable gates to be
able to switch the playground between school use and public use. There were
potential problems in providing public access to the playground at both ends of
the school day when parents with younger children came with the older children
to the school. During the short winter days the playground would effectively
only be open to the public at weekends and school holidays.
A problem also arose with physically
providing the separate public access to the playground. The only option
appeared to be to go across land currently rented from a private landowner to
provide allotments for the village. Not only would these have caused
disruptions to the allotments, but also the Parish Council would have had no
security of tenure. It is also land where the owner has already tried to get
planning permission for housing.
The playground would also have
aggravated the existing car parking problem in the area.
It was finally concluded that the
school site was not viable.
The EHDC Playground Inspector
considered Lower Green to be a high risk site because it is surrounded by roads
and there are no parking facilities.
Given the relatively small size of the Green, the playground would have
created a major visual impact. The provision of a playground would have
impacted the annual village fete, a successful fund raising event for the
Memorial Hall, which already uses all the available space on the Green.
There were also issues with electricity
cables and water pipes running under the green and the incidence of swallow
holes in the vicinity.
This is not central enough, being on
the extreme southern edge of the residential area.
When the Bowls Club gained planning
permission, there was a section 106 condition for the provision of a play area
on land adjacent to the car park. Subsequently conditions set by EHC were found
to be unenforceable and the bowls club would not give a long term lease or
right to buy the land if they sold.
Since the petition in 2004, the Parish Council has approached the
Bowls Club and has been advised that circumstances are not deemed to have
changed.
The Parish Council has also been
advised by EHC that the 106 condition is not enforceable. It is not an ideal
site anyway because of pylons and parking.
Green area adjacent to Back Lane by the
Rose & Crown: Too small, no parking
To the rear of the Memorial Hall by the
“Scout Hut”: Private land, too small.
Open land along School Lane: Privately owned. Not available.
Other suggestions of “land behind xxx”: These generally fail the
visibility criteria of current safety standards. The land will be privately
owned, often with aspiration to eventual housing development.
Offers of playgrounds in association
with housing: There have been two offers to provide land for playgrounds in
association with housing developments. Both of these developments were opposed
by villagers. Also very difficult to make sure that the end result lives up to
the initial promise.
Apart from the site currently being
proposed, two other sites on Upper Green need to be mentioned.
Area
of the original playground: The original
playground was at the far end of the tennis courts behind the pavilion. This
was already quite a small area and there is now a tennis practice wall there.
Also not visible enough.
Area
at the far side of Upper Green: Even though
it is directly accessible via Back Lane from Lower Green, this area feels like
being “in the middle of nowhere”. Also there would be a permanent problem with
parents trying to reach it by car using the private right-of-way across the top
of the Upper Green.
Great
Crested Newts (GCN)
We are aware that GCN have been
reported in a pond in the garden of 51 Upper Green.
The area proposed for the playground is
mown several times a year and thus unlikely to be a GCN resting habitat. When
the playground is completed, any GCN will be able to pass through the area as
easily as they can do now. The site is already part of a recreational area.
No GCN have been reported within the
copse adjacent to the proposed site. There are a number of well worn paths
within the copse, so it is not an undisturbed habitat. None of the vegetation
in the copse is being removed anyway.
Between the pond in 51 Upper Green and
the proposed site are two houses and a busy road. The work on the site is
unlikely to affect any GCN at the pond.