Developers' money to fund improvements at YOSC, Chipping Sodbury Rugby Club, Blakeney Mills

It has been decided that almost £73,000 of developers' "Section 106" contributions paid to South Gloucestershire Council will be used for the following projects:

• Yate Town Council – £23,114.89 capital and £11,649.97 revenue funding for pitch drainage improvements on the grass pitches at Yate Outdoor Sport Complex and to purchase grounds maintenance equipment. 
• Chipping Sodbury Rugby Football Club - £23,114.89 capital and £11,649.97 revenue funding to upgrade existing showers and install heating in the Changing Rooms at The Ridings, Chipping Sodbury. 
• Blakeney Mills Play Area (Housing association) - £1,687.50 capital and £1,774.39 revenue (revenue to be capitalised) for enhancements to Blakeney Mills Play Area.

Yate sports and play project grant successes

In the recent edition of Focus we promised to tell you more about the various projects that Yate Town Council has got a total of £1.4 million funding for. The success of these bids is due to a lot of local teamwork by the Focus Team councillors, Yate Town Council staff, volunteers, friends groups and residents. Here are the "main headlines":

Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC)

Yate Town Council successfully bid for funding to replace the track and athletics facilities. They raised £850,000 in total, from developers' "Section 106 money" to develop outdoor sporting facilities in the area), Sport England and by running their own fundraising campaigns. Construction begins week commencing 9th July 2018 to be completed by the end of September 2018.

Sunnyside upgrade

It wasn't very "Sunny" that day...

Yate Town Council ran a Public Consultation to find out views of local people about extending the Changing Rooms at Sunnyside Playing Field. They successfully bid for unding from S106 money to the sum of £128,205.73 to develop outdoor sporting facilities in the area. Construction will begin mid-June and be completed by 12th November 2018.
There will be two more changing rooms at Sunnyside Playing Fields which will enable:
• Female football to take place alongside male match fixtures;
• Provision of an adequate amount of changing rooms in relation to the amount of teams using the pitches and neighbouring Tennis Court facility;
• Improvement of disability access to the facility to promote inclusive sport taking place on site

Abbotswood

Yate Town Council successfully bid for S106 funding of £89,535 to develop an informal play area on the green in Abbotswood Shopping Centre. This includes installing new equipment to expand the opportunity for children and families to engage in informal play. At the Abbotswood Apple Day the town council will give an update and talk with local people to discuss the overall plan. It is anticipated that the work will be completed by Spring 2019.

Kingsgate Park

Yate Town Council will get £72,380 of S106 money for Outdoor Exercise Equipment at Kingsgate Park. The park will benefit from the installation of Yate’s first and only set of Outdoor Exercise Equipment, which will provide a free opportunity for visitors aged 14+ to increase their fitness and strength whilst enjoying the surroundings of the Play Area and Lake. There will be a range of equipment aimed to exercise multiple areas of the body, including the ability to undertake cardio workouts at a range of levels.

A public consultation will take place at the Yate Rocks 2018 Festival and it is planned that construction will be completed by Spring 2019. This will be coordinated with Dodington Parish Council's project at Lilliput Park to avoid duplication of equipment.

Howard Lewis Park

Yate Town Council will received £49,628 of Section 106 money to develop the Howard Lewis Play Area. Following consultation with residents and pupils of the local school regarding ideas, extra equipment will be installed including a multi play unit, a basket swing and bike trail markings. Other areas of the park will also receive attention such as signage and landscaping. Construction to begin by
September 2018.

Brinsham Fields

Consultation is vital to getting funding on this scale!

Earlier this year, Yate Town Council began work on the project to enhance Brinsham Park. The works are part of a long term aspiration to improve the rest of the play area, in line with the new housing development taking place nearby. YTC were awarded £25,370 to develop and enhance the play area further. Construction is starting this month to create a fort, sandpit play area and an outdoor trampoline. The work should be be completed by the middle of May.

Member Award Funding (MAF)

The magnificent Ridge Sculpture was funded by MAF money

Yate Town Council has launched a ‘Yate Ageing Better Project’ to establish the needs of the fast
expanding ageing community of Yate. The Council is working together with Age Concern. The first steps have been to launch a new lunch club and Men in Sheds. They have been awarded MAF funding totalling £2156.73 to fund this project, which will be launched this summer with a public consultation to seek the opinions and experiences of those who are involved in existing groups and activities as well as identifying any additional interest and/or hobbies.

Witches Hat play area officially opened

The revamped Witches Hat play area was opened yesterday by Cllr Wully Perks, the Mayor of Yate.

And here's a satisfied customer testing the slide!

There will be a free onsite workshop event on Sunday 10th May from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm, with lots of different activities. There is a chance that the mini skate park may be open by then too, it all depends on that part arriving.

Witches Hat playground to open tomorrow (Friday May 1st)

The newly refurbished Witches Hat playground will be officially opened at 4 pm tomorrow. All young people welcome!

The new mini skate will open the following week on Friday 8th May, and there will be a free onsite workshop event on Sunday 10th May from 10.00am to 4.00pm. 

Update 1/5/2015:  The mini skate park will now open around 12 May becasue they're waiting for a vital part. We'll keep you posted.

Update  2/5/2015: The workshop event will still take place on Sunday 10th May from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm, with lots of different activities. There is a chance hat the mini skate park may be open by then too, it all depends on that part arriving.

Help design the changes at Witches Hat Play Area!

Yate Town Council is running an interactive workshop for all ages at Witches Hat this coming Monday 16 March from 3 pm until 6 pm, with lots of fun activities aimed at planning the changes, and exploring the design of the skate park with a pro skateboarder.

 

You can just turn up, there's no need to register, but if you would like more information please phone Yate Town Council on 01454 866506 or email them at info@yatetowncouncil.gov.uk

Major improvements on the way for Witches Hat Play Area

Focus Team members "hanging about"
at Witches Hat Play Area

Yate councillors have raised £148,000 to refurbish the Witches Hat play area at the corner of Westerleigh Road and Rodford Way, and to put in skateboarding facilities.

The council's youth survey in 2013 discovered that many young people wanted facilities for skate boarding, BMX and scooters in South Yate.

Yate Town Council hope the development will be completed by April. The total cost of this development is around £148,000 in total and the council has secured £100,000 of funding from South Gloucestershire Council from the New Homes Bonus, with the remainder coming from a variety of sources.

Councillor John Ford, who has led the project, said: ' We've spent over a year working with young people and residents to design exactly what they wanted - to make sure we use the money effectively".

The play area is owned by Yate Town Council. The new scheme will add to the current equipment at this well used play area. It will include new fencing between the play area and nearby housing, an entry level skateboard circuit, new equipment for toddlers, a sandpit and teen shelter.

"The biggest call from young people was for skateboarding - for younger users, Peg Hill is too far away for beginners to travel so we've worked with users to design a local entry level scheme."

The development of the plans for both the skate park and the refreshed play area were developed in conjunction with local residents and park users across a total of six informal consultation events.

After public consultations, the plans will include a small entry level skate circuit, new toddler equipment set into a sand pit, a teen shelter and a fence around the park which can be locked at night.

In early 2004, the Witches Hat Play Area was refurbished with new equipment, and access routes were improved. Some of the equipment caters for wheelchair users. In addition, a kickabout/basketball area is located adjacent to the play equipment.

Weather permitting, the development is planned to be completed by Easter.

Tyndale Avenue Play Area now updated!

Yate Town Council has announced that the Tyndale Avenue Play Area refurbishment works are now complete. The park will be open for use from 12 noon today (11/07/14), why not go along to see the new play equipment?

New play equipment for Lilliput Park

Dodington Parish Council is about to replace the wooden play equipment at Lilliput Park with something much more modern. The final choice of equipment was made by local children who answered the Parish Council’s survey. The equipment has been paid for by developers through the New Homes Bonus scheme. It is anticipated that the installation will take place 17-18 July.

New play equipment for Lilliput Park

The old play equipment for 8 to 13 year olds at Lilliput Park is falling apart due to the wood rotting. It's been there for many years, and now Dodington Parish Council is planning to replace it with modern equipment.

The Parish Council has just been awarded £20,000 for this project by the Frome Vale Area Forum, financed by the New Homes Bonus. A big thank you is due to all our local councillors who supported this!

The Parish Council is consulting local children and residents near the Park about the exact equipment to put there. There are two designs, both modern and imaginative, and the Council would like the children to have the main say. The consultation closes on 19 March.

If you want to know more about the project please contact Cllr Paul Hulbert on paul.hulbert@gmail.com or telephone 01454 315851.

Witches Hat Play Area

Yate Town Council is considering making improvements to the play area to provide more for very young children and for teenagers. There are no firm plans at the moment, but local young people have been asking for a mini skateboarding area. Other ideas include a sandpit, play equipment for a wider age range and landscaping to increase the opportunity for nature play.

Woodchester Play Area Grand Reopening 17 July - fun for all

Steve Webb will be opening the newly rebuilt play area on Saturday 17 July. There's lots of new equipment, and local children have already been making good use of most of it.

The event runs from 11 am until 1pm, and there will be face painting, fun multi-sports activities, balloons and refreshments.

This is a joint South Glos and Dodington Parish Council project.

Who's got it in for our kids?

Over the weekend two swing seats in Lilliput Park were stolen for the third time in a year - they were only replaced in April. This follows just a few days after a brand new toddler springy horse ride, costing nearly a thousand pounds, was ripped off its foundations and thrown into the stream.

There's also been serious vandalism recently at Woodchester Park, which has delayed the revamp.

It's not just young children doing all this - this is adults trashing play equipment. Not to mention the posh wooden gate that's just been stolen from the Shire Way entrance to Wapley Bushes.

Has someone got it in for our local kids? Please contact the police if you see anything suspicious.

All fun and games at Woodchester Park

Work is about to start on a major rebuild of Woodchester Play Area, which after twenty years or so has been looking a bit tired.

After consulting with local residents and particularly with local children, Dodington Parish Council and South Glos are going to instal some very exciting new features, like this "Supernova" rotating ring.

But there will be some old favourites too - this joint project will also keep and renovate the most popular existing pieces of equipment.