From our Reporter at the Parish Council meeting
WITH THE CRIER needing copy by the 11th December and the PC Meeting being on
the 14th there is an obvious problem. I could take the risk that the magazine
goes to press a little late and report the December meeting - or ignore it and
give space to a momentous happening. I decided not to take the risk and to
write on the latter.
Over the last decade the PC has made two vital decisions. In 1996 it agreed to give the Village Hall Committee £10,000 towards the refurbishment of the hall and this encouraged major funding from the Lottery and also from ECDC. The result has been of benefit to the village though there is some doubt whether all this outside funding would occur today as there has been an increasing emphasis on Priority Groups. These are those who are "aged 16 or over anddefined as people with a physical or mental disability, people from black or minority ethnic groups, and people in the C2, D and E socio-economic groups."
Arguably, important as the Village Hall grant was, an even more important decision was the PC's resolution to hold on to the Recreation Ground in spite of the expensive problem with travellers, the hundreds of voluntary manhours spent clearing up the mess, the outlay on grass cutting for no apparent real purpose, and the urge from many people to get rid of it, and good riddance. The PC resisted all this and eventually its commitment to the future has paid off.
At last, on December 11, the final part of the agreement was signed which transfers the lease to Burwell Tigers. The PC has been magnificent and in particular the whole exercise was pushed through by the enthusiasm and tenacity of Steve Kent-Phillips. Apart from its immediate impact the success of the scheme does affect a much wider area in the district
In January 2006 ECDC published a paper on "Sports Facilities, Play Areas, and Informal Open Space" and this was presented to our PC during its September meeting. We learned that the whole of the ECDC area had been divided up into 7 "Football Subgroup Areas" and that Prior had been linked with the usual suspects as well as Burrough Green, Brinkley, and Westley Waterless (noone knows what to do with these three villages and they probably feel out on a limb). The current shortfall" for this area was "4 new junior pitches and 2 new mini pitches", and this shortfall were projected through to 2021. Suddenly, behold, our Recreation Ground will contain 2 junior pitches and 1 mini pitch. At that final important stroke of the pen on 11 December the area need has been halved. It is a great triumph for the PC, a wonderful new amenity for the young, and a great saving for the PC as no longer does any of our money need to be spent on the ground.
Now that I have mentioned the ECDC report on Sports Facilities etc it is worth looking at other parts of the village they examined, especially as the report illustrates the dangers of approaching everything by ticking boxes. Some say we are now a box ticking society, but we are not naturally so. It has been forced upon us over the last ten years. Take the comments on the "Sports Field" at the Primary School. The report notes that there are "No changing facilities, no parking and no pitches." I am sure the school could make some acerbic comments on this.
The report then moves on to the Play Area near the Youth Centre and it reports "Equipment predominantly old, and poor quality. No rubber matting underneath junior swings, no hard paths, cycle racks or disabled access, poor maintenance of planting and enclosure and some litter." Some comments are fair but it has obviously been written by a townie who does not realise that a bit of rustic ambience is appreciated here. It would be interesting to hear the views of the users.
Now we come to the Open Space at Greenhead Road. The report says "Poor
quality/maintenance of paths. No benches, dog bins, car parking, cycle parking,
disabled access or public art." Again it would be useful to hear the views
of local residents and I only want to comment on the lack of "public
art".Coming up to the Millennium a suggestion was made to commission a
piece of public art as a village celebration. No, no, no said the PC - it will
be vandalized, we know what the locals are like. In vain was it pointed out
that Brixton Railway Station has had a number of wonderful bronzes for at least
fifteen years. And Liverpool has always excelled in wonderful public statues.
In both places the Public Art has survived and has not been vandalized. I know
the two fires in the bus shelter will be quoted but is Swaffham Prior really
more unruly than Brixton and Liverpool?
I think the idea of a new piece of Public Art is worth considering again. In the School's wild life section there is a wonderful piece of timber sculpture which must inspire some of the children and mothers as they pass. Perhaps as an experiment we could look with fresh eyes at the small electricity substation at the bottom of Cage Hill. The expansion of conceptual and installation art has shifted the boundaries a little and if those three pieces of machinery are looked at with an open mind they could be seen as very pleasant objects. The views of Sir Anthony Caro are needed. One has to see through the dirt and imagine them painted in various colours and suddenly they could become a feature of the village. But before going too far down this road we would need to have the views of the wide range of artists in the village - appreciating of course that no one person's views are definitive and that one person's loved design is another person's poison.
At the time of writing I do not know whether mince pies and a glass of port will be passed around to all at the December meeting but I hope so, if only to celebrate the Recreation Ground success.