Have Your Say On The Future of Ilmington’s Playground
Much of the equipment in Ilmington's Playground is near the end of its life and requires substantial investment or decommissioning. The council would like resident's views on how it should respond to this challenge.
Published: 9 December 2022
Questionnaire deadline: 5pm on Friday 6 January 2023
Grace’s Playground is an asset to our village. The original equipment was installed over 50 years ago and is at the end of its life. The generous donations made to Grace’s Fund has resulted in more equipment than usual for a village our size. Much of that is now also near the end of its life after 15 years’ use and needs major maintenance or replacement.
This year the council has already spent £3,500 maintaining the playground but is struggling to maintain it all to a satisfactory standard. The council plans to spend around £20,000 to replace some of the items of equipment that have failed. However, to replace all of the equipment would cost £150,000 to £200,000, which is well outside its financial resources.
This year the parish precept (the Council’s income) derived from the Council Tax is £20,969. This gives rise to an annual charge for a Band D property of £54.25. Half of the Council’s income (£10k) is committed to the costs of running the council and discharging its legal obligations. A quarter (£5k) is spent on mowing the village greens and playing field, leaving £5k for other purposes including the playground. In short, the council does not have the financial resources to maintain and replace all the equipment in the playground.
The council intends to seek the support of the staff and pupils of Ilmington School to establish the relative popularity of each item of equipment. This will inform the difficult choices as to which equipment should be repaired or replaced and which decommissioned.
The Council would like resident’s views as to how it should respond to this challenge. We invite you to complete the questionnaire distributed to all households and return it in accordance with the directions given. Replies are anonymous and therefore confidential.
Questionnaire deadline: 5pm on Friday 6 January 2023
If any household has been missed or mislaid their leaflet, please contact a member of the Council for a replacement. There will also be spares in the Village Shop. Should you require any further information then please contact us.
Cllr Underwood has written a longer article with additional information about the potential impact on the parish precept, which we invite you to read: https://ilmington-pc.gov.uk/playground.