The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A request for almost £30,000 to fix ‘urgent’ issues at three town sites has been recommended for April’s budget.
On Tuesday, members of the Spalding Town Forum discussed necessary work on three parks: Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field, Monks House Lane Pavilion and Spalding Cemetery, to avoid what will “give rise to high risk health and safety concerns on all three sites”.
An additional £20,800 from the Town Council Reserves has been requested for repairs to the Sir Halley Stewart Pavilion, following a structural survey carried out in January 2019 and a 2018 inspection.
The Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field is home to Spalding United and Pinchbeck United football clubs.
It’s recommended the Town Council release an additional £9,000 for flood light control boxes, new casing and relays, and an investigation into the live wire which goes underground.
In addition, it also recommends £7,500 to repair concrete posts, £4,500 to resurface steps due to uneven levels and £1,400 for health and safety compliant bannisters. The report also states that new goalposts will be installed at the cost of £600
Monks House Lane Pavilion is set to get additional £2,800.
The report states: “The current condition of Monks House Lane is very poor, a number of items have been identified on the recent Health and Safety, Fire Risk, Legionella Risk and general condition inspections as requiring immediate action.
“It is believed the life span of the building is now nearing its limit and it would require significant investment.
An urgent repair detailed is the “deteriorating” crack at the gable end of the pavilion.
The site has been earmarked as an “important grass roots site” within the Lincs FA Local Football Facilities Plan and South Holland District Council will lead a grant funding request to Sports England and the Football Foundation to improve the grounds.
As part of the recommendation, the officer states the money will “enable the council to continue to support sport and exercise facilities”.
Also recommended for extra funds is Spalding Cemetery, which has already spent £4,650 on works to the cemetery wall, which “had been identified as dangerous requiring immediate works to ensure safety”, the report states.
A further £3,500 has been requested to repair the roadway. The report: “The roadway within the cemetery is in a poor condition and requires essential maintenance works.
“These works will greatly improve the current health and safety issues identified at this site in terms of severe pot holes and trip hazards”.
The three sites’ current budget totals £15,500 and an extra £28,750 will be spent if these plans go ahead.
The report states that if the recommendation is followed, the current reserve level will fall from £131,397 to £92,647.
