The saga of our village playground has rather dominated the work of the Parish Council since I joined it in 2009. First, the Community Council ground to a halt after running out of members. Then, after the Parish Council 'absorbed' it, we had the problem of the lease on the field, which dragged on and on.
However, persistence has been rewarded, and last week, the Parish Council met to consider the latest version of the 99-year lease we wish to take out on the land.
It hasn't been an easy process, and we have had to be somewhat pragmatic about what degree of compromise we are willing to accept in order to 'seal the deal'. And whilst I think that the balance of risk is worse than I am truly comfortable, I would rather not see further delay and additional legal costs.
Accordingly, I supported our decision on Thursday to agree to sign the offered lease. We've done as much due diligence as is reasonably possible, and more than £14,000 of funds can now be spent as intended - hopefully allowing us to open the new playround in time for the Easter school holidays.
An awful lot of effort has gone into making this happen, with the work of the Community Council over many years, plus generous funding from Mid Suffolk District Council and from the locality fund of our County Councillor, Gary Green, and it will be marvellous to see children playing on the new equipment next year.
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