Kelvedon Parish Council
|
Home Page |
blank box |
|
Youth Forum |
blank box |
Play Equipment Project
The council is pleased to announce the recent installation of new play equipment on the village playing field.
Following significant events of vandalism in the past, the council decided to make a fresh investment by purchasing some new play equipment. Residents who have visited the playing field recently cannot fail to have noticed the new equipment. It was installed at the end of last year.
At a total cost of £27,000, the council has purchased and installed the following three major items of equipment:
- zip slide (an aerial runway);
- climbing wall;
- fitness trail (various structures including ropes and bridges installed in a large circle).
The cost to parish funds has been limited to £9,000 because of very generous donations, amounting to £18,000 in total, made by the following organisations:
- Essex County Council - Community Initiatives Fund;
- Braintree District Council - Rural Development Fund;
- Essex County Council - Somewhere to go, Something to do Fund;
- Blackwater Aggregates.
The Parish Council is very grateful for this generous financial support.
The equipment selected was chosen by a group of 20 young people from the relatively new Kelvedon Youth Forum, guided by members of the Recreation Committee. Youth Forum members began by examining a wide range of equipment catalogues, narrowing their choices down through discussion on the basis of preferences and other limiting factors. Youth Forum members subsequently met representatives from three competing suppliers, on site, to explore the relative merits of their equipment. The Youth Forum met again to consider the quotations and review their preferences before making their final preferred selection. Youth Forum members were instrumental in seeking funding to aid the purchase of the equipment, a task in which they achieved notable success.
The Youth Forum recommendations were subsequently approved by the Recreation Committee and the Parish Council.
As a result of their active and successful involvement in this process, the Youth Forum was nominated and short-listed for a government-initiated Community Empowerment Award. Unfortunately, they did not win the competition.
There is a second phase to this project. Youth Forum members secured a grant to help finance this from the Essex Environment Trust, who were moved to indicate in their reply letter that they felt the bid submitted was the most impressive of the schemes submitted to them this year.
This phase of the project is now complete. The final piece of new equipment purchased under the project, a Rock n’ Cross (a climbing frame and seesaw combination), has been installed on the Playing Field and is already available for use.
The Parish Council is very impressed with the manner in which Youth Forum members have participated in this project.
Official Opening
The new equipment was officially opened on Saturday 17 May 2008, following the completion of Phase 2. More information and photos of the event.
Protecting the equipment
Please help us to protect the equipment. It is an expensive investment and installation follows previous bouts of vandalism.
The Council appeals to all users of the equipment to use it sensibly and carefully, and for everyone to discourage all misuse and mistreatment. Please report any act of damage or vandalism to the police or council, as appropriate - immediately if there is the possibility of an offender being identified.