Darsham Village Hall Consultation Results

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Darsham Village Playground Latest (March 2024)

Pre-planning advice has been sought and received for the play area, this is the
first step towards applying for full planning permission and funding for the project. Thank you for all
your suggestions and feedback, these will be fed into the final plan where appropriate.

Darsham Village Hall Playground Latest November 2023

Following the public consultation, we have obtained quotes for the groundworks and equipment, received quotes for the landscaping and held an information evening to share the playground designs with the village. We are now in the process of compiling a pre-planning application. We will keep everyone informed of developments as they progress.

Darsham Village Playground Latest (October 2023)

We are pleased to say that progress continues to be made in Darsham Village Hall’s playground project.

We have completed the village consultation; results as follows from a 39% response rate: 60% voted for 180m2; 36% for 105m2; 4% no view. The playground will have equipment for children up to the age of 8 years.

Village residents  were invited to an Informal Presentation at the Village Hall on Monday 9th October 23, at which we had approximately 40 attendees, including a number of children. 
Information with supporting diagrams and photos of the options regarding equipment choices from 4 different suppliers, including prices, were available for viewing. 
We listened hard to what those who attended were saying - especially the younger ones, receiving useful feedback regarding equipment preferences etc.
Next stage is planning and grant funding applications.

 

Darsham Village Playground Latest (July 2023)

 The playground project has reached the stage where the village is to be consulted. Every household in the village will be receiving the play area consultation document through your doors early this week. There is one document per household. Please complete and return it to any of the 3 locations stated on the form by 13th August.

 

The two proposed optional sizes of play area are 105sq/m or 180sq/m. There are photos of each size in the document. If you want to look at the different areas suggested they are marked out by the village hall with red and white tape. If you have any questions, someone from the Village Hall Committee will be on hand at the fete on Saturday 5th August to answer them."

Complaint

Response

Darsham Village Playground Latest (June 2023)

Playground (next to Village Hall)

It has been very time consuming and difficult getting firms to quote for the work to prepare the ground for the play area.

The Village Hall Committee has now received two quotes from local known contractors. They range from £26,176 to £64,200 depending on the size of the playground and the nature of the preparation.

These quotes are for the site preparation only and do not include any equipment which will be an additional cost. A rough guide to equipment and installation costs could be in the region of an additional £15,000 to £20,000. Although we are committed to having a play area there is some little concern at the overall cost.

We have £36,148 we can access from the Sec 106 contributions made by the developer of Cheyney Green, Sunbury Homes. If we don’t spend £10,273 of that by July 2024 it can be clawed back by the developer.

We hope to apply for some further funding from the Community Infrastructure Levy held by the Parish Council but there is competition for this money for installing solar panels at the Village Hall – both ventures are currently being assessed.

Taking the above into account, a vote was taken with the attending and representative committee members to establish the feeling of the committee. The result of this is that 5 members voted for the “98sqm rubber surface with meadow grass surround” and 4 members voted for “170sqm rubber surface with full rubber surround”.

It is clear that whilst we have a majority feeling within the Committee about which direction we should be heading, we still have a number of hoops through which to jump before a firm decision can be made such as:-

· Final quotations for the contract

· Investigation of equipment  

· Completion of “Play and Sport funding document” and “Outdoor Playing Space fund” documentation

· Village wide consultation/communication of the project

There is also an issue of ongoing costs in terms of insurance, maintenance, initial and annual inspection fees which currently will have to come from Village Hall funds – the Parish Council have indicated possible first year assistance but as yet no firm agreement. 

Although the playground was in the original plans for the Cheyney Green development over 10 years ago, we still have to apply for planning permission for whatever we propose to do with the playground.