Transfer of Open Space at The Limes to the Parish Council

Abels Homes is seeking to transfer ownership of the open space at The Limes to the Parish Council. The Parish Council will pay £1 to Abels for the land but Abels will then give £11,401 (see calculation below) to the PC in order to fund maintenance for the next 10 years, beyond that time the maintenance will be funded from the Parish Precept (about £1500/yr comes from The Limes). The reason for transferring ownership and liabilities to the PC is so that residents of The Limes can have some say in how the open space should be managed. There are some restrictions on how the space can be used - mainly to prevent large trees being from planted over the drainage pipes/tanks and not too close to houses. It is hoped that a wildlife area can be created around the drainage swale and that some fruit trees and bushes can be planted. Bulk grass cutting will be done by contractors at an estimated cost of £700/yr.

The main liability will be the requirement to maintain the swale in working order and the keep the exit catch pit free from debris. It is hoped that residents of The Limes will monitor this in order to prevent flooding.

A letter has been received (12/02/2019) from the solicitor acting for the PC, the letter refers to this draft agreement. Please email the PC with any comments. (Ignore point 1 in the letter, which refers to Box 9. The solicitor was not aware of the commuted sum, see below).

Commuted sum for maintenance is calculated using SNC’s meterage rate (0.378 per m²) and then multiplied up for 3% inflation over 10 years. This equates to a sum of £11,401 for the open space at Little Melton, which is 2,631 m² in total.

Surface water discharge on the site is controlled by way of a 2 stage system. The first restriction is the pumping station which has a maximum discharge rate into the swale of 3.8 l/s (this is a requirement set by Anglian Water). The second control is an orifice plate located within an inspection chamber between the swale and the ditch, this restricts flows to the pre-development green field rate of 1.7 l/s. The swale is designed to improve the quality of water entering the ditch and also to accommodate the additional volume of water arising as a result of the differing flow rates. The outlet pipe is also set approximately 100mm above the base of the swale to prevent silt build, which will result in the swale having a ‘permanent’ water level. There isn’t a grill installed, as there is a catch pit within the manhole between the swale and the ditch which catches any debris and can easily be cleaned.

Update 28/02/2019

Abels have sent out a letter to residents of The Limes which rather overstates the position of the PC! Yes, some people have expressed concern about what future costs might fall to the PC but the PC was still in the process of getting quotes for cutting the grass so had not reached a decision when the letter was sent! We have received three quotes that vary from £40 to over £100 per visit. The higher quotes would use all of the precept The Limes just to cut the grass and that is not affordable as The Limes should make at least some financial contribution to other village facilities. There will be some expenses in future for repairs to fences and the swale - this budget has been suggested, based on 17 visits per year between March and October. Provided residents of The Limes are prepared to help out with the tasks listed below then the scheme is affordable and still leaves 55% of the precept for other village expenses. It would be up to residents to decide if they want just plain grass or a wildlife area, fruit trees etc and they would have to manage those - a wildlife area should reduce the grass cutting costs by a small amount. The matter can be discussed at the Parish Meeting on 11th March and it would be good if one or more people from The Limes offer themselves to serve on the PC. Please note that we only have the bar area for the Parish Meeting so hopefully people at The Limes can meet before and send some representatives to the Parish Meeting as there is not room for everyone.

Tasks for residents -

keep the two pipe entrances clear of twigs and leaves - at least three people on The Limes are allotment holders and it is hoped to provide a lockable gate that would give them direct access from the open space. If they are going to the allotments with boots on then it should not be too much trouble to keep the pipes clear as they pass
occasional cutting back of plants in the swale
pick up any litter
keep an eye on how fast the grass is growing and liaise with the contractor so that it is cut when needed - in 2018 the grass did not grow for weeks due to lack of rain. Hopefully there will be savings in dry years to pay for wet ones.
prune the small trees - the draft agreement puts limits on the size of any trees as there are underground pipes and tanks.