Row over park funding

A long-standing row over the funding of Glen Park in Surfleet is coming to a head as the park remains closed during the busy summer months.

The park has been fenced off since May after a safety inspection showed problems with some pieces of equipment including the Everest Tower, aerial runway and climbing nets.

Surfleet Play and Recreation Charity (SPARC), which has looked after the park for the last 21 years, say they’ve say they’ve had a fantastic response from the community as they look to raise £3,000 for the improvements needed to re-open it.

It includes a Just Giving page being set up to raise the funds by one local parent, Charlotte Hellen which has so far raised £355.

But SPARC say this will “simply put a sticking plaster over the whole issue of Glen Park funding” and are calling for the parish council to up the precept.

However, Surfleet Parish Council say they have already offered to look at increasing the precept, but say SPARC has not been forthcoming when the council has requested to see the group’s business plans for the park and its accounts.

A spokesman for SPARC said: “With over 40,000 users a year, the 10.5 acre Glen Park site is one of the district’s best used sport and recreation venues, but with only the income from the astroturf pitch to rely on, struggles to meet the £35,000 annual cost of keeping the park well maintained.

“The feedback we’ve had has been great and mostly constructive, but to continue to have to depend on ad hoc donations, however welcome and well-intentioned, simply puts a sticking plaster over the whole issue of Glen Park funding. 

“Clearly the present situation doesn’t make good reading, but if it finally persuades the Parish Council to acknowledge Glen Park as a village asset worth saving and approve the necessary legal framework to put it on a proper financial footing through the parish precept, rather than having to rely on volunteers to keep it running, perhaps it will turn out to be no bad thing.”

A recent Facebook post on the page Friends of Glen Park said that a bid to increase the precept to £12 to maintain Glen Park had been turned down four years ago.

Surfleet Parish Council chairman Mr Glyn Waltham, said: “SPARC get a lot of help as the parish council pays for the grass cutting and there’s been various donations for the past few years for the play area.

“We’re very disappointed that in the summer months when it would be busiest its got in such a mess and is not open.

“They asked for a rise in the precept and we asked them for a business plan and a copy of their accounts, but we’ve not received anything.

“Without proper information we can’t do more and get money from tax payers.

“We’ve even offered to try and work out a business plan with them.”