Folkestone Parks and Pleasure Grounds Charity - Wednesday 21 May 2025, 4:30pm - Folkestone & Hythe webcasting

Folkestone Parks and Pleasure Grounds Charity
Wednesday, 21st May 2025 at 4:30pm 

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  1. Cllr Tim Prater
  2. Cllr Tim Prater
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  1. Ms Jemma West
  2. Cllr Tim Prater
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  1. Mr Andy Blaszkowicz
  2. Cllr Tim Prater
  3. Cllr Connor McConville
  4. Cllr Tim Prater
  5. Cllr Jeremy Speakman
  6. Cllr Jeremy Speakman
  7. Cllr Jeremy Speakman
  8. Mr Andy Blaszkowicz
  9. Cllr Tim Prater
  10. Cllr Tim Prater
  11. Mr Andy Blaszkowicz
  12. Cllr Tim Prater
  13. Cllr Tim Prater
  14. Webcast Finished

Cllr Tim Prater - 0:00:00
This meeting will be webcast live to the internet.
For those who do not wish to be recorded or filmed, please leave the chamber.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:00:06
We shouldn't be surprised if I know.
Members, officers and others speaking at the meeting.
So important microphones are used so that viewers on the webcast and others in the room may hear you.
Anyone with a mobile phone, please set it to silent as they may be distracting.

1. Apologies for absence

Thank you very much for coming trustees, particularly new trustees.
It's great to see you.
So this is the Parks and Garden charity,
so that's the basis we are meeting on.
We are trustees and not cabinet
members until 5 o 'clock.
At which point we change a hat or something,
so we will go directly into the agenda.
So there are apologies for absence.
I suspect we've received an
Ms Jemma West - 0:00:51
apology from the leader.

2. Declarations of interest

Cllr Tim Prater - 0:00:53
Spare point that the leader does
apologize he's at a conference on
our behalf in Leeds this this afternoon.
and couldn't get back.
Two, any declarations of interest are on the agenda?
I'll take that for none.

3. Minutes

Item three, the minutes of the...
to agree the minutes of the 28th of April 2025.
Are people happy with those?
Can I have a poser if happy?
That's from Councillor Fuller
and Councillor Polly Blackmore as a second.
Unless there's any questions or comments,
all those in favour, please share.
That is unanimous.
Then we go to our substantive item of business,

4. Lower Leas Coastal Park - Play area refurbishment

which is the Lower Lees Coastal Park play area refurbishment.
The report is in front of you,
and if I could ask Andy to give us an outline of the report.
Mr Andy Blaszkowicz - 0:01:51
Thank you, Chair.
Good afternoon, members.
This report informs the Post and Parks and Pleasure Grounds
charity trustees that the player refurbishment proposed
the Lower Lees Coastal Park and seeks approval to proceed with the proposed refurbishment
project which is partially located on Charity Land.
The Coastal Park is home to the Council's premier destination play area in the District.
The 1 .2km linear park consists of formal gardens, wild zones and play space.
Since the Coastal Park's regeneration in the year 2000, the Green Flag award -winning park
has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors year round to the District.
The main piece of play equipment currently within the play area is a multi -tower,
It was constructed from pressure treated softwood,
which typically has an expected lifespan
of between 20 and 25 years.
Due to the coastal environment,
the equipment now 24 years old is beyond
economical maintenance and repair.
Other items of the original player equipment
also been removed in recent years from
other areas of the park for the same reason.
This project proposes to refurbish
the player with consideration for
improved accessibility for all users.
The new player equipment will replicate
and enhance both the quality and
experience visitors expect at the coastal park.
The play area is located on land owned by the Fodson Parks and Pleasure Grounds Charity
and land leased by Fodson and Hyde District Council from the Radner Estate.
Cabinet Report C2504, due to be heard at tonight's Cabinet meeting, also needs to be considered
by the trustees of the Fodson Parks and Pleasure Grounds Charity.
The trustees are asked to agree with the recommendations of the report and authorize officers to proceed
with the Lower Lees Coastal Park Play Area Refurbishment Project.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:03:28
Thank you. Thank you. Now bearing in mind the separation that we discussed earlier between
us meeting as trustees now and cabinet members later, this part of the meeting is affected
through the trustees of the charity deciding whether we accept the council making a three
quarters of a million pound replacement capital refurbishment on some of which is on our land
and later we will discuss as cabinet members whether we should.
So if we can do this with the, this section with the trustees hat on, it just tries to
make sure that we don't have the same debate twice.
So it is open to the floor.
Councillor McConville showed first and then behind.
Cllr Connor McConville - 0:04:12
Yeah, I'd say happy to move the recommendations and I mean just to say that, assuming that
If things go to a cabinet then the new play area will be a huge addition and benefit to the charity.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:04:30
Councillor Speake.
Cllr Jeremy Speakman - 0:04:33
Cllr Jeremy Speakman - 0:04:34
I don't appear to be lighting up.
Cllr Jeremy Speakman - 0:04:47
Sorry, now it's working.
A query on seeking the grant funding.
Is there grant funding that one might have in mind
or is it just making most of any opportunity that might arise?
Are there any specific grant programs that you might be...
going for. Just curious as well.
I think they were detailed in the Cabinet Report but there's two
Mr Andy Blaszkowicz - 0:05:11
specifically we're going after.
One which will be the Heritage Lottery and the second one being the Roger the High and Charitable Trust for play areas.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:05:23
Paragraph 3 .19 if you're looking for it.
And we'll ignore the one dubious spelling of the word Roger in there.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:05:36
Any further questions, please?
I'll have one to give you a warm up at this stage.
Clearly the capital cost of this is being met by the Council,
that's fine, but the revenue cost of maintenance falls to the charity
as detailed within the report.
Are there any reasons to expect that the revenue cost of maintaining
this equipment will be any different from maintaining the existing
equipment that we will be replacing?
Mr Andy Blaszkowicz - 0:06:02
First of all, it's not the full revenue implications because half
is actually less than half that's on charity land and there's more of it on general fund
land. In principle the cost should be less for a considerable period of time with how
much maintenance we have to do on the existing structures.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:06:23
Thank you, I hope that was the answer. I'm not seeing a wave of hands with further questions.
we have a proposer and a seconder for the recommendations...
Pardon?
I haven't got a seconder. Sorry, I have now.
Councillor Fuller has... Hang on a second.
Whoa!
In my head Jeremy had seconded it
and then put my headmate back up. I do apologise.
Both to everyone else and to my...
So that is recommendations one to three to receive a note of the report
authority to officers to proceed with the lower Lees Coastal Park play area project
on charity land and to note the financial considerations at section 3 of the report.
All those in favour please share. That is unanimous. Thank you very much.
Cllr Tim Prater - 0:07:15
There ends this trustees meeting and we reconvene as cabinet members at 5 o 'clock. Thank you.