Bardwell  Parish  Field  Submission  to  Suffolk  County  Council  Author:  Peter  Sanderson,  Chairman  -­‐  Bardwell  Parish  Council  

                 6.12  ACRES  CURRENTLY  BEING  OFFERED  UNDER  THE  ‘GROWING  YOUR  OWN  FUTURE’  PROGRAMME  

Bardwell  Parish  Council  submits  this  proposal,  which  has  been  collated  with  the  input  of  residents  and  organisations,  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  village  community.    

 

 Date:  28th  September  2015      

 

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TO LET

Bardwell - Bare Land at Spring Road

Location West of Spring Road, Bardwell, Nr Bury St Edmunds IP31 1AB (Closest Postcode)

Description A single parcel of agricultural land currently put down to grass and utilised for the production of Hay and Silage, as shown edged in red on the attached plan.

Suitable for a variety of rural business uses or enterprises subject to obtaining appropriate planning consent.

Area 6.12 acres (2.47 Hectares).

Access There is a vehicular and pedestrian right of way at all times and for all purposes over the Sports Field Car Park adjacent to Spring Road along the route shown marked in Brown on the attached plan.

Services There are currently no services connected to the land.

Planning The land is currently designated for planning purposes as agricultural and as such any change of use would require consent from the local planning authority.

 

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Bardwell Parish Field  

Use of Land in Spring Road  

1. Introduction  Suffolk CC County Farms plan to let 6.12 acres of Bare Land adjacent to Spring Road when the existing tenancy expires on 10 October 2015 in the programme entitled “Growing Your Own Future”, which is designed to encourage small businesses in the rural sector in addition to those operating conventional agricultural activities.   An exploratory meeting was arranged by County Councillor Joanna Spicer with Suffolk County Farms at the end of July to establish whether the Bardwell Community could submit an application to rent the land but outside the “Growing Your Own Future” project. Bardwell has many thriving activities all indicating elements of sustainability into the future. The School has limited space for extending its activities and more land is required by the Playing Field Association to accommodate a rapidly increasing demand for additional pitches.  

An outline plan has been prepared that proposes a range of possible activities and uses for the field. The Parish Council has agreed to submit the proposal on behalf of the whole community but with significant contributions by both the Primary School and Bardwell Playing Field Association.

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2. Proposals for the Land There are three categories of activity proposed – Education, Sports & Fitness, Community Activity. 2.1. Education

Bardwell School has limited space within its own boundaries for sporting activity and exercise, in particular, since its expansion to accommodate two additional year groups. The land would provide an opportunity for the school to use facilities that would be available without a need to have special arrangements to supervise children on journeys to the Playing Field.  

Letters from Andrew Berry Principal of the Tilian Partnership and Jaimie Jones, Governor, describe how a new area of land would benefit the School. Appendix II (page 9)

2.2. Sport & Fitness Activity  

Trim trail Green gym  

This would be a facility for children of various ages constructed from sustainable resources similar to equipment currently located at High Lodge in Thetford Forest. Additionally a "Trimdich" (very popular in Germany) which is a running route with wooden exercise equipment at various points around the area eg a bar for pull ups, step ups. This would provide a facility for both children and adults to satisfy an increasing need for everyone to take more exercise.  

The intention would be to link directly into the new project being promoted by Suffolk CC and Public Health Suffolk - Being Well in the Brecks.

Additional Junior Football Pitches  

Since its formation in 2014 Bardwell Football Club is thriving with a significant increase in the number of junior, boys and girls, being coached and playing matches.  

The additional land purchased in 2014 to accommodate an increase in both cricket and football activity is already insufficient for the number of junior football pitches required. Two additional junior pitches would be made on the land.  

A detailed projection of the number of teams expected during the next 5 years is attached in Appendix I (page 8)  

 

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2.3. General Community Activity  Allotments The Parish Council has received requests in the recent past but land has not been available. Those in Stanton on the border with Bardwell are fully occupied and not available for Bardwell residents. A Community Vegetable Garden could be an alternative to allotments. Sensory Garden This is much more than scented flowers and would be up to two areas strategically placed with benches. Space for a Pop up Cafe area could be made within such a garden.

 

Woodland It would be intended to landscape the whole area with trees, hedges, to make the area pleasant but not to generate an urban park. A Maze could be incorporated into this area including a learning experience, drawing on the school curriculum for historical facts and questions, variations being made during the year.

Intersecting Pathways throughout the area, suitable for wheelchairs, with benches and boards providing information about the history of Bardwell and local wildlife.

Additional Play Equipment There is potential for an additional Play Area to complement the facility at the Playing Field that would be located closer to the school and the centre of the village. Combined with an Adventure/Wildlife Area This could be used for both educational purposes and for play.

 

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3. Conclusion  Bardwell is a thriving community with a significant number of small housing developments (35 new homes in last 5 years). Each of the proposed activities generate additional sustainability for the village that has a wide range of thriving and active groups. There is a huge level of voluntary activity in the village. For example, last year additional land was purchased for the Playing Field and volunteers contributed greatly to the removal of existing trees, preparation of the land for seeding and planting over 2000 trees/hedging plants on the new boundaries. Bardwell Parish Council as the lead partner in this project proposes that the land involved is removed from the “Grow Your Own Project” and on behalf of the Bardwell Community allocated on a long-term tenancy to Bardwell Parish Council as the named tenant. This proposal is supported by the Management of Bardwell Primary School that is part of Tilian Partnership and Bardwell Playing Field Association, both of whom would contribute financially towards the rent and upkeep. Provided an agreement can be reached with Suffolk County Council to proceed with this broad proposal the Parish Council with the partners involved will prepare a Business Plan. This will include a financial statement regarding revenue including funding, rent and other services.  

A public meeting will be called of all residents in the village from which a long-term plan would be developed.  

September 2015

 

 

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Appendix  I  

Bardwell  Youth  Football  Club  

Currently  the  playing  field  has  three  football  pitches:  

1.     11  v  11  U13  pitch  

2. 9  v  9  U11/12  pitch  

3. 7  v  7  U9  pitch  for  school  football  training  and  matches  

The  table  below  shows  how  we  expect  our  portfolio  of  teams  to  develop  over  the  next  5  years.  This  does  not  include  School  football.  

 

  2014/15   2015/16   2016/17   2017/18   2018/19   2019/20  

U10  Mixed   -­‐   -­‐   1   1   1   1  

U11  Mixed   1   1   1   1   1   1  

U12  Mixed   1   1   1   1   1   1  

U13  Boys   -­‐   2   1   1   1   1  

U14  Boys   -­‐   -­‐   2   1   1   1  

U15  Boys   -­‐   -­‐   -­‐   2   1   1  

U16  Boys   -­‐   -­‐   -­‐   -­‐   2   1  

U17  Boys   -­‐   -­‐   -­‐   -­‐   -­‐   1  

Total   2   4   6   7   8   9  

 

Currently  where  we  have  more  than  one  team  for  a  pitch  they  alternate  home  and  away.  

When  the  current  U13  teams  become  U15  in  2017/18  they  will  require  a  full  size  pitch  with  full  size  goals.  It  will  not  be  possible  to  host  all  of  these  pitches  at  the  Playing  field  without  overlapping  pitches.    

Therefore  we  would  fully  support  the  BPFA’s  bid  to  secure  more  land  on  Spring  Road  and  would  contribute  to  the  upkeep  and  rent.  

We  would  like  to  be  able  to  site  at  least  two  pitches  on  the  new  field.  

 

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Appendix II  

From: Andrew Berry [mailto:aberry@tilian.org.uk] Sent: 14 September 2015 09:44 To: Peter Sanderson Cc: Andrew Berry; Antony MacRae; Colin Bewley; Jaimie Jones; Pauline Smith Subject: Re: Land in Spring Road  

Dear  Peter  

Thank  you  for  email  and  sorry  for  being  slow  to  reply  to  the  original  request.  

As  I  am  sure  you  know  the  school  has  a  small  playing  field  at  the  back  of  the  buildings  adjacent  to  this  field.  This  playing  field  is  very  small  and  does  not  provide  an  adequate  space  for  team  games,  athletics  or  training.  Currently  we  make  use  of  the  village  playing  field  which  is  a  fantastic  resource  but  is  several  minutes’    walk  away  from  the  school  -­‐  this  therefore  reduces  our  PE/games  time  and  brings  in  safeguarding  concerns  (which  as  you  know  requires  more  time  and  paperwork).  

The  possibility  of  having  use  and  access  to  a  playing  field  closer  to  the  school,  within  easy  walking  distance,  is  very  exciting.  

If  this  was  a  sports  field  we  would  certainly  wish  to  make  significant  use  of  it.  

This  opportunity  becomes  even  more  necessary  when  we  consider  the  future  of  the  school.  Our  classrooms  are  small  and  not  designed  for  the  upper  Key  Stage  2  pupils  that  we  now  have.  An  additional  classroom  is  needed  and  the  only  possible  site  is  our  back  field  (thus  reducing  our  sports  space  even  further).    

In  summary,  this  is  a  very  exciting  opportunity  for  the  school  and  the  village.  The  school  would  be  keen  to  use  this  resource  as  soon  as  it  becomes  available.  

Andrew-­‐    

Andrew  Berry  

Principal  of  the  Tilian  Partnership  (Bardwell  CEVCP,  Gislingham  CEVCP,  Old  Newton  CEVCP  and  Palgrave  CEVCP)    

National  Leader  of  Education  

SANTSA  (Suffolk  and  Norfolk  Teaching  School  Alliance)  

( 01379  783283         Mob:  07713095029  

* aberry@tilian.org.uk

 

 

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-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐Original  Message-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐  From:  Jaimie  Jones    Sent:  14  September  2015  11:13  To:  Peter  Sanderson  Cc:  aberry@tilian.org.uk  Subject:  RE:  Land  in  Spring  Road    Hello  Peter,    This  all  sounds  very  exciting,  it  also  may  or  may  not  be  worth  mentioning  that  during  the  School  reorganisation  process  Bardwell  primary,  unlike  all  the  other  schools  in  the  Thurston  pyramid  didn't  get  an  additional  funding  for  an  extra  classroom.    Our  urgent  need  of  extra  space  is  a  direct  impact  of  school  reorganisation  and  this  use  of  land  would  be  hugely  significant  for  us  as  a  school  now  and  in  the  future.  Kind  regards  Jaimie                            

       

End  of  Submission  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Additional information relating to the content of this document is available from:

Peter Sanderson, Chairman Bardwell Parish Council Waltham House Quaker Lane Bardwell Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP31 1AJ

Tel: 01359 251442 Email: peter.sanderson@btinternet.com

Pauline Smith, Clerk Bardwell Parish Council Lavender Barn Bowbeck Bardwell Bury St Edmunds Suffolk IP31 1BA

Tel: 01359 221934 Email: bardwellpc@gmail.com