FRIENDS OF POOLE PARK

MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2006

The meeting commenced at 7.00pm and concluded at 8.55pm

Present:

D Chick- Chairman

M Heckford-Friends of Poole Park - Treasurer

B Lister-Friends of Poole Park - Publicity Officer

T Smith-Friends of Poole Park – Events Coordinator

M Raudsepp-Borough of Poole – Open Spaces Manager

A Osborne-Borough of Poole – Arboricultural Officer

L Magill-Borough of Poole – Regulatory Services Manager

L Strothard-Clerk to the Friends of Poole Park

I Andrews-Society of Poole Men

K Bearcroft-Parkstone Bay Association

C Chauncy-Friends of Poole Park

Cllr Collier-Elected Member – Borough of Poole

G Dean-Friends of Poole Park

L Dey-Friends of Poole Park

J Dible-Poole Radio Yacht Club (PRYC)

A Edwards-Friends of Poole Park

E Gault-Friends of Poole Park

P Giles-Poole Radio Yacht Club (PRYC)

E Lawford-Friends of Poole Park

C Middleton-Friends of Poole Park

R Mountford -Orchard Area Residents Association

M Muir-Friends of Poole Park

T Muir-Friends of Poole Park

J Norman-Friends of Poole Park

G Plant-Friends of Poole Park

JR St John-Friends of Poole Park

T St John-Friends of Poole Park

P Steer-Parkstone Bay Association

C Watkins-Orchard Area Residents Association

Members of the public in attendance:0

1.CHAIRMAN’S OPENING REMARKS

The Chairman opened the Meeting and welcomed one new Member to the Friends of Poole Park.

2.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Mr J Austin-Williams, Mr B Butler, Mr G Croft, Mrs D Eldrett, Mr A Fountain, Mr J Gillingham, Dr M Grundy, Mrs V Hill, Mrs J Jones, Mr J Marter (Poole Park Ranger), Mr N Macgregor and Mr K Yeates.

3.MINUTES

AGREED that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 5 June 2006 be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

4.MATTERS ARISING

(a)Rose Garden

A trellis costing £495 had been ordered and would be installed at the entrance to the Rose Garden.

(b)Poole Park Restaurant

Construction work on the new restaurant would commence imminently as soon as the lease had been signed. Members could expect to see compound fencing being installed in the Park within the week. Advisory signs had already been erected.

The Open Spaces Manager advised that the compound would enclose a larger site than that which would eventually be occupied by the new build as extra space was required to accommodate the large amount of materials to be brought on site. A smaller compound would be installed at the Cygnet Café and both compounds would remain in situ for the duration of construction works.

(c)Birdlife / Wildlife

The Chairman reported that he had received an email from Ken Yeates, Chair of the Dorset Wildlife Trust (Poole Group), supporting any moves to provide ‘Bat boxes’ within the Park. The Dorset Bat Group would also welcome such an initiative. Members approved these moves to encourage more bats into the Park.

The Birdscaring loudhailer continued to repel geese, however it was necessary to vary times of use in order for it to continue to be effective. Volunteers interested in helping out were invited to use the device on an ad hoc basis. In addition, the public needed to be reminded of the importance of not feeding the geese. Significantly, increased activity in the Park had a considerable impact on repelling geese and it was hoped that the anticipated return of sailing to the Lake would help to discourage the birds.

(d)Littering

The Chairman introduced Lucy Magill, the Local Authority’s Regulatory Services Manager (Environmental and Consumer Protection Services), who gave a short presentation and policy statement to the Friends of Poole Park on littering. The following key points were highlighted:

  • For a number of years Environmental and Consumer Protection Services (ECPS) had prosecuted any person(s) guilty of littering and had been able to issue fixed penalties since the Litter Act 1982 (Section 5 Payment) Regulations had come into effect in 1986;
  • A fixed penalty of £75 was issued for littering, dog-fouling, graffiti, fly-posting or the irresponsible handing out of advertising flyers, but this sum would drop to £50 for prompt payment. Failure to pay the charge would result in prosecution;
  • Offenders caught twice would not be given an opportunity to pay a second fixed penalty but would automatically face prosecution;
  • In addition to issuing fixed penalty notices, ECPS Officers were also able to issue a warning or caution at their own discretion;
  • All ECPS Officers and a large number of Leisure Services Staff (including Park Rangers) had been authorised to issue fixed penalty notices;
  • Officers targeted their activity in a programme of ‘proactive focused enforcement’ in order to ‘seek out’ offenders. This included timing visits to Parks etc. to coincide with popular times. Approximately 50 Officer hours had been spent patrolling Poole Park and the general consensus amongst Officers was that members of the public were disposing of their litter appropriately;
  • The Local Authority had taken the view that fixed penalties should not be issued to young people under the age of 18 as there were concerns over the perspicuity of ECPS Officers approaching juveniles. In addition any prosecutions would have to be heard by a Juvenile Court. However, the Local Authority was monitoring the activity of other Authorities and would not rule out the possibility of lowering the age to 16 in the future, should this be deemed necessary;
  • In the interim, alternative methods had been devised to tackle the problem of young people dropping litter in the Park, including Officers working closely with Bournemouth and Poole College to educate students. A poster campaign had been timed to coincide with the start of term.

A question and answer session followed, summarised as follows:

In response to a query from Peter Steer regarding how Officers dealt with offenders who failed to identify themselves correctly, the Regulatory Services Manager responded that this was a difficult issue to address, but pointed out that failure to correctly identify yourself was a criminal offence in its own right. In such cases, Officers asked Dorset Police to investigate and confirm an individual’s true identity. Only two individuals had given a false identity since the Enviro-crimes scheme had commenced.

The Treasurer noted that children were often the worst offenders for littering. In response, the Regulatory Services Manager underlined that much work was being undertaken in Poole’s Schools and with the College in order to educate young people against littering.

Mrs St John queried whether members of the public should take photographs of offenders? Cllr Collier strongly advised against this course of action, stressing that there could be serious repercussions in light of both the Human Rights Act and issues relating to the protection of children. The Local Authority’s Youth Services would liaise with any young people causing problems in the Park and would develop strategies to encourage them to develop healthier pursuits. In addition, the Regulatory Services Manager confirmed that Officers liaised with Control Room staff in order to identify culprits through the Local Authority’s CCTV system.

The Regulatory Services Manager agreed to a request from Bob Lister that ECPS provide a stock of cigarette butt holders and chewing gum disposal pouches for distribution by the Friends of Poole Park.

A request was made that an additional litter bin be sited near to the cricket pavilion as the current bin was not large enough to contain the volume of waste regularly disposed in it. Further to this, members felt there was a need to investigate whether all bins in the Park should be replaced with larger bins, possibly incorporating a squirrel-proof flap to deter animals? The Regulatory Service Manager undertook to look into the issue, however it was pointed out to Members that Leisure Services was responsible for providing bins in Poole Park and moves to replace bins in the Park would incur significant costs to the Unit (the average cost of a bin being £600).

Cllr Collier asked Members to anticipate a future initiative to provide re-cycling bins throughout the Borough, including Poole Park. The Local Authority had trebled re-cycling and was keen to capitalize on this by introducing recycling facilities into public spaces. This in itself would help ease pressure on the current bins and may negate the need to replace the existing bins.

Responding to a question from Peter Steer, the Regulatory Services Manager confirmed that concession holders could be prosecuted for excessive litter, however, a significant amount of evidence was required in order to do so successfully.

The Regulatory Services Manager was thanked for her presentation.

5.POOLE PARK UPDATE

Matti Raudsepp gave an update report on completed and planned works within the Park as follows:

(a)Completed Works

(i)35m knee-rail fencing opposite the mini-golf enclosure had been replaced;

(ii) the RSPB Identification Board had now been installed;

(iii)various repairs to vandalism had been effected;

(iv)there had been repairs to the safety surfacing in the West Field Play Area;

(v)Information Boards regarding the new restaurant had been installed;

(vi)Leisure Services Officers had assisted in Event Management for Poole Park ‘Fest.

(b)Planned Works

(i)Gate barriers would be refurbished in order to ensure no access to vehicles before 10.00am;

(ii)the mini marina car park would be resurfaced;

(iii)a trellis would be installed at the Rose Garden entrance;

(iv)dredging of the Lake would begin after Christmas, with artificial islands to be constructed at the same time;

(v)repairs to the Lake edge were planned.

The Open Spaces Manager confirmed that the works currently being undertaken at the bunny related to the railway line and not to the bunny itself. The Local Authority was not involved in these works. In addition, Leisure Services had no plans to refurbish the inside of the cricket pavilion, despite a report circulating that some funding had been secured for this purpose. It was possible that Property Services may have provisional plans but this was speculation on the part of the Open Spaces Manager.

Cllr Collier reminded members that plans to refurbish recreation areas in Whitecliff were likely to have an impact on Poole Park as these could result in an increase in children and young people using the Park.

Peter Giles sought assurances from the Open Spaces Manager that the algae bloom which had recently appeared in the Lake was not toxic. In response, Matti Raudsepp explained that the water was checked weekly by Environmental Agency Officers and that the current algae, although unsightly, was harmless and was not of the ‘Blue / Green’ variety. Dredging of the lake would help to reduce algae in the future.

6.TREE PLANTING AND POLICY

Following technical difficulties, members agreed to defer to the December meeting a presentation by the Local Authority’s Arboricultural Officer on the Management Plan for the planting, care and maintenance of Poole Park’s trees. The presentation would also be loaded onto the Friends of Poole Park website for information (

Members discussed the Local Authority’s policy for the replacement of the Horse Chestnut Tree Avenue. Members were advised that at present, the intention was to replace all trees together in order to preserve an ‘even-aged’ feature. Up to 50% of the trees had already died in one area and preparatory work was being undertaken into proposals for a total replant in the next 5 to 10 years.

The Arboricultural Officer noted that the replacement of dead trees with mature specimens as and when trees died was economically prohibitive, environmentally impractical and ‘high-risk’ due to the maritime environment of the Park. In addition, a debate needed to take place into options for replanting a different species of tree as there were concerns that the Horse Chestnut did not flourish in the Park.

The Local Authority would welcome future discussions on a replacement strategy with the Friends of Poole Park. In the interim, members agreed to defer a full debate on replacement of the Horse Chestnut Tree Avenue to the December Meeting.

AGREED that

(i)a full debate on the replacement of the Horse Chestnut Tree Avenue be deferred to the December Meeting; and

(ii)that members receive a presentation from the Local Authority’s Arboricultural Officer on the Management Plan for the planting, care and maintenance of Poole Park’s trees at the December meeting.

7.TRAFFIC ISSUES

The Open Spaces Manager introduced this item and explained that the key to resolving the problem of speeding in the Park was the introduction of unobtrusive traffic-calming measures. The installation of granite setts between existing speed humps remained the best option both financially and aesthetically and installation could be effected in a short timescale. The Open Spaces Manager, supported by Cllr Gillard, recommended this option to Members.

Cllr Gillard wished it be noted that he would not support measures to install additional signage in Poole Park, nor would he support moves for the selective closure of the Park to traffic at peak times. In addition, due to higher priorities elsewhere in the Borough, current police resources did not extend to the policing of traffic flow throughout Poole Park. Instead, Cllr Collier suggested that if there was sufficient evidence to indicate that traffic problems were increasing, he would ask Dorset Police to issue a press release highlighting the problem.

Following further discussions, the Publicity Officer invited Ken Bearcroft to attend the next Meeting of the Poole Town Safety Forum in order to raise concerns with Dorset Police over the speed of traffic.

Members would not support a proposal to reduce the number of disabled car parking spaces on the causeway in order to encourage ordinary traffic to park along the route, despite a suggestion that this would help slow traffic. Instead members agreed to support the installation of granite setts between the existing speed humps.

AGREED that Members support the installation of granite setts between existing speed humps in order to reduce the speed of traffic in Poole Park.

8.PLANNING OBLIGATION FUNDING

Peter Giles, representing Poole Radio Yacht Club, repeated a request that consideration by given to dredging the model yacht enclosure at the same time as the main Lake was dredged. In response, the Open Spaces Manager confirmed that consideration would be given to this, on the proviso that the extra work could be contained within the overall budget.

Cllr Gillard assured Members that the Local Authority had consulted extensively over plans to dredge the Lake and urged patience over requests to extend the agreed project, underlining that the process for determining appropriate projects took a great deal of time and consultation.

Leisure Services were in the process of seeking expressions of interest for boat concessions in Poole Park.

With the consent of the meeting, the Chairman varied the order of the Agenda in order to consider the Events Report before the remaining items.

9.EVENTS REPORT

The Chairman introduced this item by noting that Fest ’06 had been a “fantastic event”, the best ever since the inception of the festival. On behalf of all members of the Friends of Poole Park, the Chairman expressed his gratitude to all the ‘Fest volunteers, Bob Lister (Publicity Officer) and Terry Smith (Events Coordinator) for all their hard work in managing this year’s event.

On behalf of the Local Authority, Cllr Collier wished to express his sincere thanks to members who had worked so hard to set up such an impressive event, which he recognised raised valuable funds to support the park. Although unable to attend the meeting in person, Cllr Bulteel had also sent a message congratulating the Friends on their management of the large scale event, noting that it had not attracted a single complaint from local residents over noise levels.

A resident of Twemlow Avenue expressed disappointment at the number of parking tickets issued in the immediate vicinity on Bank Holiday Monday, explaining that this had spoiled a good day out for many families. In response, Cllr Collier explained that the Traffic Order covering the area did not allow for Bank Holiday exemption and the Local Authority was obliged to issue fines wherever it found cars parked illegally. In addition, a number of complaints had been received from local residents inconvenienced by the excess of cars parking near their homes. Cllr Collier suggested bollards should be placed on the road for future events. The Events Coordinator and Publicity Officer noted the suggestion but clarified that information on free parking was widely circulated prior to the event via radio, park notices and advertisements in the local press.

A full report on Fest ’06 was given by the Events Coordinator (see Appendix A). In addition, he expressed his sincere thanks to the volunteers and volunteer coordinators for their invaluable support and also to Mr Kyps for providing the music over the two day festival. It was noted that approximately £6000 worth of services had been provided voluntarily by Mr Kyps and in future the Friends of Poole Park may have to consider making a contribution to these costs.