Tarporley Parish Council manages and maintains outdoor sports and recreation facilities across the village. This page brings together the two main projects — the Brook Road Outdoor Sports and Recreation Ground, which opened in 2020, and the ongoing work to improve the Village Playing Fields behind the Community Centre.
1) Brook Road Outdoor Sports and Recreation Ground
Last updated Autumn 2020
Outdoor Gym Equipment
A big thank you to those who took the time to give us feedback on the selection of outdoor gym equipment. It was really helpful. We’ve taken the comments into account in making the final selection:
- More equipment suitable for older people
- More static, maintenance-friendly units
- More items overall, whilst keeping within our budget
The final selection is shown below and has been ordered. It will be installed and ready for use when the park opens later in the Autumn.
Plan and Guide
Click on the plan below to open a full screen view of the July update leaflet distributed to all homes in Tarporley and containing this detailed plan and guide to the outdoor sports and recreation facility.
Brook Road Q&A
How much has this cost?
The cost of the facility is approximately £360,000 including design, ecology, planning and other fees.
How was it funded?
The Parish Council received approximately £305,000 as a result of the Taylor Wimpey housing development off Brook Road.
There were strict conditions on what this could be spent on, with £168k allocated for ‘Open Space’ and £137k for ‘Playing Pitch’.
Additional monies have come from Parish Council reserves and other funding.
When will it be open?
Despite work starting on site last September, progress has twice been delayed; firstly by the extremely wet Autumn 2019 weather and then by COVID-19. However, works have since progressed well.
Opening will be dependent on how quickly grass and vegetation becomes properly established over the Summer (so that it is mature enough not to be damaged in use) and when CWaC complete the access road, enabling the discharge of the final Planning Conditions.
We hope to open the parkland areas this Autumn, but the pitches will not be playable until the start of the 2021/22 football season.
Who will operate and maintain the facility?
The facility is owned and will be operated by Tarporley Parish Council on behalf of the village. The Parish Council will maintain the facility to a high standard from its income and charges made for use of the playing pitches.
Why hasn’t more children’s play equipment been installed?
No money was provided for ‘Children’s Play’ as a result of the Taylor Wimpey development. The strict rules on what the money from the developer could be spent on meant that we couldn’t allocate ‘Open Space’ or ‘Playing Pitch’ money towards play equipment.
However, space has been allocated for playgrounds and the Parish Council is looking at alternative funding to enable the provision of a limited range of play equipment at (or soon after) opening.
Future expansion of this will be dependent on obtaining further funding or community fund raising.
Why has so much space been allocated to Great Crested Newt (GCN) habitat?
Whatever your views on GCNs, we had no choice. GCNs are protected species under the Conservation of Habitats & Species Regulations 2017 and were identified as using the field for foraging.
Planning requirements and environmental laws meant that no development was permitted until Natural England (NE) were satisfied that our proposals would not significantly impact on the newt habitat. This delayed the commencement of the development for a considerable period of time and the final design contains the minimum mitigation measures that NE were prepared to accept.
It is an offence (carrying a penalty of up to 6 months imprisonment) to harm GCNs or their habitat.
Will dogs be allowed onto the facility?
No, dogs will not be permitted.
Another requirement of our Newt Mitigation Licence is that dogs are prevented from entry and it was a stipulation that we had to provide a perimeter fence, with mesh infill panels, to prevent this.
The upside of this is that the playing pitches will remain free from dog faeces and children will be able to play safely.
How do I book a playing pitch?
The playing pitch surfaces need to be fully established before they can be subjected to use. This is likely to take about a year.
A booking system will be announced nearer to the time when they are available.
How much will pitch hire cost?
An announcement on this will be made nearer to the point when the pitches are available. In setting a tariff, the Parish Council will take into consideration the rates charged by other local providers.
The charges will help maintain the pitches to the standard specified by the designers.
Isn’t the pond a safety hazard?
Many municipal parks and public attractions have unfenced ponds, often close to children’s play areas.
The Parish Council has taken a cautious approach and carried out a risk assessment. Playground areas have been located distant from the pond and the pond/wildlife area will be separately fenced off with additional pedestrian access gates. In addition, a lifebuoy will be available.
Parents should understand the risk of taking young children into the pond area.
2) Village Playing Fields
Background to the project
In 2020, a small working group was formed to discuss the potential re-design of the play area and playing field at the rear of the community centre.
The reasons it was felt that the play area needed to be redeveloped included:
- The size of the play area is too small, particularly given the size of Tarporley and its catchment area.
- Some of the play equipment is dated.
- The aesthetics of the play area are not in keeping with the village.
- Some of the play area equipment looks tired.
- Some parents would sooner drive to other play areas than use Tarporley play area.
- Parents would prefer to improve the Tarporley play area such that they didn’t feel the need to go elsewhere.
- The maintenance costs are excessive due to the age of the equipment.
- Better surface is needed so it is not so slippy in wet/snowy conditions.
The Play Area Working Group
Tarporley Parish Council are responsible for the existing play area and equipment. The area is leased from the Community Centre who own the land and the rest of the field.
The working group is subject to the Parish Council’s Play Area Working Group Terms of Reference.
Membership currently comprises:
- Mark Ravenscroft – Chairman – Parish Councillor
- Lisa Miller – Parish Councillor
- Andy Hallows – Parish Councillor
- Gordon Pearson – Parish Councillor and Community Centre Trustee
- Linda Martin – Community Centre Trustee
- Tony Yeates – Community Centre Trustee
- Lisa Allerton Harris
- Mike Atkin
- Neil Roberts
- Ann Wright – Parish Council Clerk
- Abigail Webb – Parish Council Deputy Clerk
Scope of work:
The Group will have overall responsibility for developing a long-term strategy for the play area at the rear of Tarporley Community Centre to include its redevelopment and possible expansion. The Group will be responsible for the following in consultation with the Parish Council:
- Development of a design or scheme for the play area.
- Consultation and community engagement.
- Identification of funding sources.
- Oversee the grant funding and tendering process.
- Oversee implementation of the design including installation.
- Providing regular reports, updates, and recommendations to the Parish Council.
Notes of Meetings
These are the published notes of the meetings relating to the Village Play Area Project.
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Design Options Consultation
The working group want to create dedicated playing areas for 0–5 year olds, 5–11 year olds and 7–14 year olds and also an area for older teens to be able to use.
The Parish Council commissioned Cheshire West and Chester Council Landscape Architect to prepare some initial draft plans and over the summer of 2021, a consultation took place to gain the views from the local community including both the High School and the Primary School.
Following the consultation, the working group will apply for a number of grants so the work can hopefully begin in 2022.
You can also download the full size PDFs of these plans here:
Option 1 PDF | Option 2 PDF | Option 3 PDF
Have Your Say
Tarporley Parish Council would love to know what you think of the current playground and these plans for the future. Please have a good look at the three options above and take a couple of minutes to complete this survey: