FLEET PARISH COUNCIL: Working group set up for skatepark project

A team of six people are starting the process of trying to raise at least £25,000 to build a skate park in Fleet.

Parish councillors have their eyes on an area of Fleet Playing Field for the skate park after villagers were asked for their views on how best to develop it.

As a result of the village survey, a picnic area is being installed in April and so the next step will be to move onto the skatepark

Of those who responded to the survey last year, the skate park was the second most popular idea, with a request for a new picnic area being the most popular suggestion.

Coun Peter Coupland, parish council vice chairman, said: “A working party has now been established to seek funding for a modest skate park on Fleet playing field.

“The cost is estimated to be around £25,000, including ground works, and the working party will be investigating avenues of funding going forward.”

In September 2016, two youngsters attended a parish council meeting and asked if a skate park could be provided for Fleet.

Coun Coupland said: “As a result of the village survey, a picnic area is being installed in April and so the next step will be to move onto the skatepark.”

• Parish councillors are waiting for a decision on creating more 30mph areas in Fleet and a launch date for its new Commmunity Speed Watch scheme.

Villagers have asked for the same speed limit currently in force along Old Main Road, Fleet Hargate, to be brought into Fleet itself along Lowgate, Eastgate and Hall Gate.

The use of all three roads by HGVs and agricultural vehicles has led to the calls at the same time as results from a speed indicator device on Old Main Road itself showed that 85 per cent of drivers were obeying the 30mph limit.

Coun Peter Coupland, parish council vice chairman, said: “Speeding information collated over a 19-day period in February and March of this year showed that of nearly 14,700 vehicles recorded travelling westwards (towards Fleet and Holbeach), 85 per cent were within the 30mph limit.

“Nearly 2,200 vehicles were recorded travelling between 30 and 70 mph, with about three per cent recorded as travelling at speeds of more than 40mph, all recordings taken over continuous 24-hour periods.”

• Developers behind plans to build nine new homes in Fleet Hargate have provided details of how they aim to prevent flooding in the area.

Seagate Homes, of Long Sutton, has applied to build the homes on land off Old Main Road but parish councillors raised concerns that existing drainage could become blocked in the event of rainfall and water from the new homes.

A statement from Seagate Homes said: “The proposals for the planning application include improvement works to the drain on the west of the site, with a new piped sewer system in the new estate road.”

• Council tax payers in Fleet will be paying about £2 more towards services, such as the village playing field, bus shelters and Fleet Hargate War Memorial, this year.

A five per cent precept rise from £18,786 in 2016-17 to £19,275 for 2018-19 was agreed by parish councillors, meaning that the average Band D charge will rise from £28.55 to £29.26, with effect from April 1.

A parish council spokesman said: “An increase of five per cent would allow for normal running costs to be covered, as well as providing a contingency for any projects and/or emergencies.”

• A new system for dealing with grant applications from community groups in Fleet and Fleet Hargate is under consideration.

Parish councillors are set to discuss the terms of a new grants policy at their next meeting in May after agreeing a £500 donation to Fleet Baptist Church.

If adopted, Fleet will follow Holbeach Parish Council who set up its grant making policy last December.

• New signposts could be arriving in Fleet as the village makes its bid to be the best in Lincolnshire.

Plans to improve the amount of information available to visitors in time for this year’s Best Kept Villages and Small Towns competition, run by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, were discussed on Monday as part of efforts to win the Medium Villages category.

A budget of £500 was set aside for the competition by parish councillors in January and a further grant of £1,400 from the Fleet Preservation Trust has been offered to fund a lectern-style noticeboard showing places on interest in Fleet.