January 2026 Minutes
Minutes of the recreation & opens spaces committee meeting held at 7.00pm on Tuesday 06 January 2026 in the meeting room at the Institute 38 Church Street Deeping St James PE6 8HD.
Present: Councillors Neville, Rose and Shinkins-Hoppe.
26.26 To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
Apologies had been received and were accepted from Councillors Smith and Stevens.
26.27 To receive declarations of interest.
None declared.
26.28 To agree the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 11 November 2025.
Agreed and signed.
26.29 To receive the Clerk’s report.
- A budget of £1500 has been added to the draft budget papers to be considered at the finance policy and personnel committee meeting at 8pm on Tuesday 6 January 2026.
- A Marmax bench and memorial plaques to the late Nancy Titman has been purchased and will be installed in the Hereward Way play area by the Parish Council’s maintenance team.
- SKDC have contacted DSJPC with the suggestion that a water bottle refill station could be installed in the parish. The Clerk has asked for further information which when received will be shared with Council.
- The second community orchard grant application was forwarded to SKDC on 17 December 2025.
- Evidence of vandalism (uprooted/damaged saplings and setting of a fire under the bug house) in the biodiversity area at Jubilee Park has been reported.
26.30 To receive an update from the Jubilee Park improvements working party
Councillor Smith had shared a report which was circulated in his absence. The report included an update about play area design and costing, grants applications and evidence of need, and details of the park usage data collected between July and September 2025.
26.31 To consider organising an educational activity to promote biodiversity linking with the Big Green Week (08-16 June 2026).
Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe mentioned pursuing the idea of an animal focussed activity trail on and around Jubilee Park with a view to encouraging people to visit the park and get involved in improvements.
ACTION: The Jubilee Park working party (Councillors Neville, Rose, Shinkins-Hoppe and Stevens) would progress this idea.
Councillor Neville confirmed that the Rotary have 8 bird boxes that they would like to donate to be installed at Jubilee Park. Help from a local wildlife enthusiast will provide advice on locations and the maintenance team will be needed to install.
23.32 To receive information about the Green Flag Award and consider pursuing accreditation.
Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe advised that following lots of research Deeping St James Parish council are not ready to apply for accreditation.
ACTION: The Jubilee Park working party to continue working towards completing requirements so that an application can be made at some point in the future
26.33 Following confirmation that the Deepings School conference centre is not available on the preferred dates (22 April 2026, 27 April 2026 and 11 May 2026) to agree the date, venue and schedule for the Annual Parish Meeting and Making a Difference Awards Presentation 2026.
The Clerk advised that the Methodist Church had been approached and had welcomed the idea of hiring the hall to the Parish Council.
ACTION: The Clerk to continue to pursue this idea and if a suitable date cannot be agreed then the Priory Hall will be contacted .
26.34 To receive the operational play inspection reports completed by an independent Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in August 2025 from which some of the low-risk items are being corrected by the Parish Council’s maintenance team and agree action on the remainder
The Clerk advised that the maintenance team were working through the issues raised on the report and completing those that they were able to and monitoring others.
Concern was raised at the number of issues raised at the Skate park following work being completed by Gravity skateparks to correct issues raised in the 2024 report. It was noted that concrete would be prone to cracks and would not remain perfect.
ACTION: To continue to monitor and repair where possible and then reassess when the next annual inspection reports are obtained in August 2026. The Clerk to contact SKDC to see who they use for installation and repairs to play equipment
26.35 Following the receipt of costings for the planter with electricity so that a Christmas Tree could be erected an illuminated at Jubilee Park in December 2026 to consider an alternative option.
It was noted that the quotation obtained by Councillor Burdock for a metal planter with electricity was prohibitive so had been shelved and acknowledged that other installation methods had been investigated previously and not been approved by the electricity provider. The committee were still focussed on getting a Christmas tree erected on Jubilee Park of Christmas 2026 but not that a simpler solution was needed and the best way forward may be to plant a 10ft real tree and use solar lights.
ACTION: the Clerk to contact neighbouring local councils to see what they do
26.36 To note the date of the next meeting – 8pm on Tuesday 10 March 2026.