Henhayes Recreation Ground Enhancement Project

Henhayes Recreation Ground Enhancement Project

Henhayes Recreation Ground is a playing field owned by the Town Council and situated in the town centre of Crewkerne. It is adjacent to the Aqua Centre, the Henhayes Centre, the new George Reynolds Centre and near to the Waitrose store, shops and shoppers car parks. It is also within easy walking distance of all businesses, Cropmead Industrial Estate and Lawrence’s Auctioneers which regularly attracts many buyers from the south west and London.

The Grounds contain the following:

• Three sports pitches: one football, one rugby and one cricket;

• Two old buildings for demolition: a sports pavilion (changing facility) and a sports clubhouse;

• A junior and a separate infant’s play area;

• A small car park;

• George Reynolds Centre for sporting and youth activities (including new changing facilities)

• Aqua Centre (swimming pool and fitness facilities)

PROJECT PROPOSALS

The Council recognises that open spaces are an important part of the environment in which we live. The quality of these open spaces has an effect on our quality of life. They are valuable and free resources for recreation and education.

Crewkerne Town Council is committed to enhancing Henhayes and undertaking an improvement plan of this site in partnership with SSDC. Henhayes is a well used community resource that will benefit from improvement.

The visual appearance of the recreation grounds will be upgraded to include uniform seating and bins, with an increase in seating all around the pitches. It ishoped that a circular seat will be installed around the large Turkey Oak. Removal of unkempt areas around the perimeter particularly by the former carton factory and near Wyvern Court.
The play value of the site will be improved and enlarged, after the demolition of the sports club and pavilion, in consultation with the community.
The open space will be quality landscaped to improve the vitality and excitement of the children’s play area whilst maintaining the green space.
Provision of two new junior sports pitches in the south-eastern corner. The two steel containers in this area will be relocated to a less prominent position elsewhere on the grounds.
New signage to enhance the welcoming appeal and ensure contact information is available.
Provision of a proposed new all weather circular path which would have huge amenity value, promote healthy living and be used: i) to provide improved access for prams and pushchairs, those in wheelchairs, the disabled and the elderly, ii) as a circular jogging track (two laps will be roughly one mile) and possibly iii) for parents to help train youngsters to ride a bike, etc.
Additional tree planting to provide sustainability over the generations.

FUNDING SOURCES

South Somerset District Council has offered £12,500 to be matched by the Town Council to improve the recreation ground
An application has been submitted to the Football Foundation to help create the new junior pitches including drainage and diverting the existing path in the designated area.
A successful grant application to the Market Town Investment Group (MTIG) to improve the seating, the signs, tree planting and phases 1,2 and 5 of the circular footpath
A grant application has been submitted to the County Councillor Health and Wellbeing Budget for assistance with the final sections of footpath

HISTORY OF THE GROUNDS

The green space in the centre of Crewkerne known as Henhayes was acquired in three parcels. The first was purchased by Crewkerne Urban District Council (CUDC) on 31st March 1950 from the Haslock family. It was an old fruit orchard which was re-landscaped and equipped as a recreation ground and was a memorial to the Festival of Britain celebrations. The General Purposes Committee of the CUDC in June 1953 agreed the grounds be designated for the playing of organised games rather than unrestricted use. CUDC also raised funds for a children’s playground.

Following local government reorganisation in 1972 the land was vested in Crewkerne Town Council (CTC). The second parcel of land was acquired on 13th May 1982 from Somerset County Council as part of a land swap agreement for the building of a new infant’s school upon HappyValley land on Kithill. The third parcel in the north-east corner, which enabled a separate rugby pitch to be created, was acquired on 5th March 1993 with assistance from Crewkerne Sports Club.

The Council leases the sports pitches to the Trustees of Crewkerne Sports Club for formal sports activities.

Henhayes is also the site of the very successful Crewkerne Aqua Centre and Active Lifestyle Centre built and owned by CTC and run by Crewkerne Leisure Management a not-for-profit Trust.

In 1996 the junior playground adjacent to the Luccombe Oak tree was relocated to the north side of Henhayes Lane in order that the swimming pool could be constructed.

Temporary planning permission was granted for car parking as part of the Waitrose scheme in 2005. Most of the area has been returned to grass however a section sufficient for around 30 cars was retained with temporary planning permission which expires at the end of January 2013. The Council is seeking to make this car park permanent.

In 2009 the Town Council obtained full planning permission to build the George Reynolds Centre, a sports and youth community centre adjacent to the Aqua Centre. This Town Council owned building was opened on 9th November 2012 and is run by the volunteer directors of Crewkerne Sports and Youth Activities Ltd, a charitable company. The project for this building started over 6 years ago when a dedicated team from the community led by the late George Reynolds, a resident of the town, started the process of defining the needs to replace the old facilities and identifying where the necessary funding could be obtained.

The grounds were subject to a Town Green application in 2010 which was subsequently unanimously rejected by the Somerset County Council Regulation Committee in July of that year.

Area

31950sq m

Grid Reference

The grid ref for the centre of the grounds is Easting 344369 Northing 109657