Minutes of the Open Spaces Committee Meeting

19 January 2022, 7.00pm

Held in the Community Centre, King Georges Avenue, Leiston

Present:           Cllr Selena Levermore (Chair)

                        Cllr John Last

                        Cllr David Bailey

                        Cllr Lesley Hill

                        Cllr Nicky Corbett

                        Mrs Hannah Everett-Spearing (Facilities Co-ordinator)

                        Mrs Beverly Kemp (Admin Assistant)

	Action
1. PUBLIC FORUM No members of the public were in attendance.
2. APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Cllr Boast.
3. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD 15 JUNE 2021 AND WALK AROUNDS ON 01 JULY AND 21 SEPTEMBER It was proposed by Cllr Levermore, seconded by Cllr Last and agreed that the minutes were a true record.
4. MATTERS ARISING King Georges Recreation Ground – 15 June 2021 Mrs Everett-Spearing informed Councillors that the welcome signs have been received and will be displayed in due course. Mrs Everett-Spearing informed councillors she had received a quote of £1372.50 from Norse for the three Jubilee Trees (Holly Oak Evergreens) for the recreation grounds, this price includes labour and fencing.  She informed councillors we had been successful in our bid for a free Jubilee Tree from East Suffolk Council, therefore we would only need to purchase two trees which will reduce the cost. Mrs Everett-Spearing will ask Norse to provide a revised quote to include the purchase of two trees, but provide labour and fencing for the planting of all three trees.  Two trees will be planted at King Georges recreation ground one for each school Leiston Primary and Alde Valley.  The office will make contact with the schools regarding becoming involved in the planting and watering of the trees at King George’s recreation ground.  Cllr Levermore will contact the Scouts/Guides/Brownies regarding the planting of the Victory Road Recreation tree and Cllr Hill will contact a local resident regarding watering of the tree.  It is hoped the trees will be planted in February. It was proposed by Cllr Corbett, seconded by Cllr Hill and agreed to recommend to full council to approve the quote of £1372.50 from Norse for the purchasing and planting of the Jubilee trees. Note: awaiting revised quote from Norse. The toddler climbing frame is due to be painted by the end of March weather depending. Noticeboards – 15 June 2021 Mrs Everett-Spearing informed Councillors that the artwork for the noticeboards has been completed.  She is currently working on the wording and hopes to have this completed by end of February.  The history board for Haylings Pond is ongoing and a post asking residents for information will be placed in the next newsletter and on Facebook. Haylings Pond – 01 July 2021 Mrs Everett-Spearing to contact Gary Whiting regarding the planting of wildflower seeds at Haylings Pond to see if he will support the project. LYCAS request for the car parking to be looked at is still ongoing and further quotes need to be obtained. Community Orchard – 01 July 2021 Mr Miller’s tree has been replaced, Cllr Levermore commented there are two further trees that need replacing and she will liaise with Paul Tyan directly concerning these. Cllr Corbett raised concerns about the height and width of the trees along the promenade behind Hayling’s Pond.  Mrs Kemp will liaise with John Willis, Arboriculture Manager for ESC regarding these.	HES/BK HES/BK SL LH Council Action HES/BK HES HES/BK SL BK
5. SKATE PARK ENHANCEMENT Mrs Everett-Spearing reported that the grounds survey has now been completed and there appears to be no restrictions on which areas the skate park can be expanded.  This will be discussed further at our next skate park meeting on 8 February.
6. LEISTON MAKES SPACE FOR WILDLIFE Cllr Corbett gave an update on the Leiston Makes Space for Wildlife Project.  The sub-group were delighted at the uptake of the seed giveaway to launch the project and although they didn’t get as much public feedback as they would have liked felt it was a good way to launch the scheme.  The Facebook page continues to grow and she asked if councillors who have Facebook would share any posts to help spread the word wider.  Part two of the project is to sow wildlife friendly meadow grass and flowers at Victory Road Park (north east side) in March and Hayling’s Pond in the autumn.    She said they would ideally like the new planters being supplied by Leiston Together to contain grasses and pollen rich flowers, the group will liaise with Helen Greengrass, Leiston Change Manager to progress this.  The ambition of the group is to create 20% of our public open spaces for wildlife, they will explore further ideas for public participation for the summer possibly a Jubilee related event.  Councillors spoke about getting some bug hotels for the Community Orchard,  Cllr Hill will liaise with Alde Valley to see if we can engage their students with this project.  It was also noted that there could be possible funding available for these  through ESC Green Initiatives Fund and the Greenlight Trust.  Cllr Corbett spoke about swift boxes, these can be provided free of charge through the Swift Trust but the council would have to pay for installation.  She asked councillors to identify any possible locations and let her know and Leiston Makes Space for Wildlife will progress. 7. SPORTS FIELD – POSSIBLE USES Mrs Everett-Spearing raised an issue regarding the under use of the sports field along King Georges Avenue and asked councillors to consider other usage options for this area and suggested an enclosed dog walking area. Mrs Kemp/Mrs Everett-Spearing will look to investigate this idea further and will also contact Sarah Shinnie, ESC Active Communities Officer to see if she could offer any other suggestions as to what the area could be used for.	LMSFW LH HES/BK
8. COMMUNITY ORCHARD ENTRANCE WORKS Mrs Everett-Spearing talked through the quotes that she had obtained for wooden pergolas to be sited at the Community Orchard entrances.  Councillors felt that the wooden pergolas quoted for would be too big for the entrances and that wooden gateway rose arches would be better.  Mrs Everett-Spearing to obtain new quotes and lead times. 9. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Cllr Levermore raised concerns over the entrance way from Seaward Avenue to the King Georges Recreation, she feels it is unsightly and unsafe.  It was noted this is an issue for Suffolk County Highways and Cllr Levermore will raise it at the next Highways meeting. 10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING A walk round is scheduled for Monday 11 April at 4.30pm, meeting at the Community Orchard.	Action HES SL

Meeting finished at 8.35pm