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BLEWBURY PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes
Of the special Parish Council meeting of Blewbury Parish Council
held on Thursday 1st December 2011 at 7.00 pm in the Methodist Chapel
Councillors present: Ms J Gibson (Vice-chairman), Mr C Lakeland, Mr M Shayler, Ms V Fox, Mr M Blythe. Also present: E de Ridder (clerk), P Skelton (Lengthman), 2 members of the public
1. Apologies for absence. Mr R Farrell, Mr M Shread, Mr M Carey, Mr B Cooper
2. Declarations of interest. None made
3. Tickers Folly Field play space
JG explained history of the TFF play space development where a group of people from the village worked together (with the Parish Council’s blessing) to develop a new play area aimed at older children. It was explained that various expert opinions were sought throughout the process and the necessary risk assessments have been carried out. It has proven to be a very popular area. She also explained that at the annual inspection of the Parish Council’s playground the inspector voiced some serious concerns about some of the equipment. JG, the clerk, Anthony Stiff (AS) and Toby Hill (TH) had an urgent meeting following this inspection and the installers and their inspector were contacted with these concerns. The clerk, TH and the inspector (John Clark) met again at the play area and notes were made of the suggestions Mr Clark made. A full risk assessment is still awaited from Mr Clark.
4. Open Forum (relating to TFF play space)
AS gave précis of process. About 2 years ago the need for a play area for older kids (8-13 years) were identified. AS and a previous parish councillor attended Playbuilder workshops, applied for funding and eventually won a Playbuilder grant based on idea of bespoke equipment. The following summary was sent to the insurers:
The new Playspace is primarily a response to demand from the village for a play facility suitable for older children (8 to 13 years) for whom the existing play area near the Village Hall is no longer adequate. It is also envisaged that children and young adults from 14 years upwards will use the new facility as a meeting place, and that it will support other village organisations and activities such as the Brass Band and the biennial Blewbury Festival.
The new facility takes the needs of all these users into account but places primary
emphasis on the play requirements of the core target age group. The design has
also evolved in parallel with the development of the Parish Council's Play
Policy, which recognises the physical, emotional and social benefits of play
activities that incorporate a managed degree of risk, and that challenge
children to assess their own degree of risk tolerance rather than have it
dictated for them.
Quotes were
invited from 3 companies and there were 2 front runners. The grant was
initially withdrawn but when confirmation was received that it would go ahead,
only Adventure Playground Engineers (APES), who built about 70 areas in and
around London, were available. AS went to see areas built by them and followed
up references. The committee liaised in detail with Howie Watkins from Playbuilder,
the Oxfordshire Playing Fields Association and Roger Davis (now RoSPA) during
the design process. An above average risk was highlighted but it was medium to
high risk (which is lower than a skate ramp) but not deemed unacceptable. Chris
Guy inspected on behalf of APES and 2 of the installers are inspectors
themselves. Mr Guy picked up some items pre-completion and APES informed that Parish
Council that he signed off on the once these issues were addressed. TH and AS
also identified some issues which were addressed. The result has proven
extremely popular. A huge amount of support has been generated during this time
and parents and children use this area regularly and which provides in-built
supervision by the general attendance of parents.
AS explained that the area is outside the usual guidelines for safety and needed to be managed by risk assessments. It was suggested that a risk assessment approach be used so that the Parish Council can make an informed decision about the risks and address those risks which are deemed too high.
JG concurred that the process has been thorough and with a clear audit trail. The Parish Council needed to be mindful of the fact that an inspection will be carried out annually and therefore these concerns needed to be addressed. Even if yet another opinion was sought, the Parish Council had to take note of these concerns and decide if the risks identified were acceptable or not.
The clerk explained that the play space could be classed as an adventure playground but these areas are usually fenced in and supervised. As the play space was in an open space, it falls under the EU regulation BSN 1176 and that was the standard used to assess the safety of the play space. It was also explained that playgrounds do not have to comply to this standard but as it is an EU wide recognised standard, the Parish Council should make an informed decision as to why they agree to the non-compliance.
The clerk circulated the list drawn up at the meeting with Mr Clark. TH worked through the list drawn up the meeting. The first issue discussed was the use of fibre ropes which can form a noose and which can stretch making them more dangerous. They are also very easy to vandalise and do not last very long. It was recommended that steel core fibre ropes or chain with plastic sheath be used instead. The Parish Council preferred the former. As the ropes have already stretched they were removed and will be replaced with new ropes for the time being. The hexagonal swing was discussed and it was decided that the risk was not high enough to warrant the replacement of seats. Protruding timber on slide platform should be removed. Finger and head entrapments should be addressed and 2 D-handles installed at the platform of the slide. More surfacing should be installed and gaps filled in. The biggest issue was with the border swing. The mushrooms should be rearranged into a wavy line.
The Parish Council felt it was imperative that the risk assessment of the inspector should be passed on to APES as soon as it was received. The clerk asked the Parish Council to consider if they were willing to wait until the risk assessment was received before action was taken as there were no guarantees as to when it would be received.
In conclusion the PC recommends that the second platform be removed as soon as possible by the committee and replaced with a grass mound in spring. More safety surfacing should be installed on the mound. Action: clerk, JG, TH and AS to edit list and send to APES.
5. Any Other Business
The clerk was asked to pass on some drawings re a possible development on Downside Farm. The clerk was asked to bring those along to the next full PC meeting.
6. Details of the next meeting.
14 December 2011
Meeting ended 8.18pm