The Oval – New Playground Equipment

From Steve Marson:

Upon the completion of the housing development at Rosewood Close we received a payment  in line with Section 106 of the Town and County Planning Act. This payment is known as a LEAP contribution, to be spent on a Locally Equipped Area for Play.

Last year after a number of months of consultation with local Parents and Children, along with members of the Parish Council an outline plan was developed for some additional pieces of  equipment  to be introduced to the Oval area, utilising the money that we had received.

The equipment we have chosen is:

·       A timber skate ramp

·       A zip-wire

·       A basket swing

·       A timber and rope climbing frame

The new items will compliment the current equipment, which we plan to redecorate this year. Replacement, slightly smaller goalposts will also be installed during this year. Upon completion of the work we will have facilities that span from young children through to teenagers for the first time.

Following a formal tender process, with 3 suppliers submitting detailed proposals we are now at the stage where we are in a position to appoint the supplier to carry out the work. At the next Parish Council Meeting we intend on discussing the final proposal with a view to voting to gain approval for the work to be undertaken.

Out of courtesy we have written to all residents of houses surrounding the Oval highlighting our plan as well as placing detail on the Village website. The picture below indicates where we intend to install the new equipment. If you would like to discuss any of the above then please contact me using the details below.

Many Thanks,

Steve Marson,

North Luffenham Parish Council

07720 699781/steve@potentialinside.co.uk

14 thoughts on “The Oval – New Playground Equipment

  1. S M Lawson

    “Out of courtesy” we have been consulted? No we have not. What a high handed remark . This rather new councillor should be reminded that he be careful about his facts. Also the goal posts are perfectly adequate. Dads and kids play together. Some times at the weekend young men have an impromptu kick about. So why do you want to shrink the goal posts? Also the cricket nets are used by .Dads and little kids, which is a good idea and does no harm and should be encouraged.

    Reply
    1. Alex

      I have played football on that ‘pitch’ many times and can assure you the goals are far too large! Especially if you happen to be in goal! As for being consulted I don’t believe that there is any requirement to consult with you!? You might wish to be involved with how it pans out, but you do live in a house that backs into a busy village park, so not sure what you expected?

      Reply
  2. Gemma Cutmore

    These look fantastic and a great addition to the village. My children are looking forward to using them. I grew up in North Luffenham and have lovely memories of playing at the oval on the play equipment. It’s great to see that the play equipment is being updated and with such great equipment.
    Thank you for your time and effort in organising this.

    Reply
    1. Steve Marson

      Thank you for your comments Mrs Smith. I have had very similar feedback from many parents this week too. Many Thanks.

      Reply
    1. Steve Marson

      We will replace the current full adult sized goalposts with only a slightly smaller version that are more suitable for the age range of children who use them. They will also be positioned closer together to form a smaller pitch.

      Reply
    1. Steve Marson

      I am disappointed to hear that you think that the introduction of a piece of equipment that has been specifically requested by children from the Village will get vandalised and covered in graffiti. There is very little evidence of this happening elsewhere in our Village to date but should it occur then we will take the appropriate measures to remove the graffiti and carry out any necessary repairs. I have personally visited a number of similar sized villages that have a range of equipment installed and can confirm there was very little evidence of vandalism having taken place.

      Reply
  3. juliedoris

    Great to see the plans on the website. How does the Parish Council propose to communicate these plans for new play equipment & locations to those Oval users that on not on the web? Thanks

    Reply
    1. Steve Marson

      We have written directly to all residents with properties that look directly onto the Oval highlighting our plan and have placed the same communication detail on each of the Parish Council notice boards. Letters were posted to residents on Tuesday morning and the notice boards completed on the same day with the website being updated 24hrs later.

      The size of the equipment is very small (well below 5%) in comparison to the overall area of the Oval which will enable all other users to continue to enjoy the vast majority of the space that is available today.

      Reply
      1. juliedoris

        You have posted the measurements of the equipment, but I cannot see any height. By my calculations the skate ramp will be between 2-3 metres at its highest point which will make it taller than the hedge, and add to its noise rating and visible impact – is this correct?

        Reply
        1. Steve Marson

          The information from the suppliers is that the skate ramp will be 4ft tall, so around 1.3 metres. This doesn’t include the fall barrier at either end which is approximately 1 metre tall but does mean that the noise will be at a lower level than perhaps you had assumed.
          In our selection we have tried to find something that can be used by a range of children and not something that would just appeal to older, more serious skaters or scooters users. By doing this it also mitigates the risk that we would see large groups of youths arriving into the Village. There are much taller facilities in place in surrounding larger towns.

          Reply
          1. kate

            As a resident neighbour of The Oval, I note with some concern that The Council appear to have already made a number of decisions regarding the location, installation and decoration of this play equipment without any significant consultation with nearby residents who may be directly and adversely affected by it.

            From what I can see here, any consultation has been limited to ‘beneficial and interested’ parties only.

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