January 2026 Minutes (EOM)
ALLINGTON PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the of the Parish Council Extraordinary Meeting held at Allington Village Hall
Thursday 29th January 2026
PRESENT
Cllr Reynolds Cllr Marvin
Cllr Baron Cllr Plummer
Cllr Storer Cllr Scott
Kate Griffin (Clerk & RFO)
No members of the public attended for the public forum.
18/26 Chairman’s Welcome
The Chair welcomed and thanked everyone for attending at short notice.
19/26 Apologies for absence
It was resolved to accept the apology from Cllr Carlyle for reasons previously given and accepted by the Parish Council.
20/26 TO RECEIVE DECLARATIONS OF PECUNIARY INTEREST IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOCALISM ACT 2011
To receive declarations of Members interests in relation to agenda items.
To consider request for dispensations from Members.
No declarations were made.
21/26 ALLINGTON PLAYING FIELDS PLAYPARK PROJECT
Discussions took place regarding the play park project. Work has already started with re-surfacing in January 2026 during which the contractor, Commercial Play Ltd, discovered more work than was first thought necessary, resulting in a review of their quote.
The contractor discovered that the original installation 20+ years ago was very poor with no base to the original sub-surface with no hard core beneath and was laid on mud, hence the sinking of the equipment. The train was found to be rusty and mounts in need of repair. The train has since been removed by a local business with sincere gratitude from the Parish Council for all the kind work involved, especially at short notice. Work is currently underway to treat and repaint the train which will be returned and re-installed.
Commercial Play have advised that to complete the project to a safe and satisfactory standard leaving the site good for many years to come would involve hardcore build up and membrane around the swing area, a concrete slab for the train, hardcore build up around the slab and reinstallation and bolting down of the train.
Options were discussed and considered including whether to remove the train entirely would be the only place any savings could be made.
It was agreed that the train was unique piece of play equipment which would be a shame to lose and therefore every effort should be made to retain it.
It was agreed that no one could foresee the problems occurring and that as the original surface had been down 20+ years it had lasted well and if after repairs the new surface lasts as long again then this would actually represent value for money in the long term. It was pointed out that rather than seeing an increase in costs, the benefit was an increase in work done and the lifespan of the park to ensure a safe secure playpark for the village. It was also considered that a huge amount has been saved by the generous offer of repairs to the train. It was also pointed out that one of the original 3 quotes was over £20K so even with the additional work the costs incurred would still be under this amount.
The increase in costs was discussed and how this would be met. The original quote approved was £13085+VAT which has been funded by a grant from SKDC and ringfenced PFFR funds.
The additional work required to bring the surface up to standard and complete the project is a further £5432 + Vat. It was agreed that the Parish Council could meet this additional cost with the amount still left in the budget for the year, plus a further amount to be used from the ringfenced PFFR account later in the year after future fund raising events. It was also considered that funds could be used from the savings account if needed.
It was therefore proposed by Cllr Plummer, seconded by Cllr Storer and resolved by all to accept the new quote and allow Commercial Play to complete the re-surfacing / train installation project. It was resolved to arrange with Commercial Play that the balance would be paid on completion with a 10% retainer payable after six months once the surface has settled and no further issues arise.
ACTIONS: For Cllr Carlyle to contact Commercial Play and instruct them to proceed with the project at the new costs and for Cllr Plummer to liaise with Andrew Black regarding timing the return of the train to coincide with the work in order that Commercial Play can re-instal the train. For Councillor Carlyle to discuss payment arrangements with Commercial Play.
22/26 Date of the next meeting:
18/03/2026
Items for the agenda for the next Parish Council meeting will be considered but were not on this agenda for discussion.
Close of Meeting
18:40