Groby projects update

Scroll down the page for this 2009 story - Groby's £1million medical centre is not going to happen

August 2015

Time limits on parking at Quarry Park?

The improved parking facilities at Quarry Park were provided for the benefit of residents visiting the facilities including the new Multi Use Games Area. It was perhaps inevitable that with Martinshaw School and GE Druck within easy walking distance the car park would attract the interest of those not visiting the park.

It has been estimated that at one point 50% of the spaces were taken by GE Druck employees. In order to discourage all day commuter parking a new 3 hour maximum parking period is being considered with the possibility of penalties for those who stay longer. The management of Druck are said to be be fully supportive of such a move and have confirmed they will be continuing to try and find solutions to keep more employees from parking in the village. The renovations following the 2014 fire have allowed the company to create a further 35 on-site parking spaces.

The issue of vehicular access to Martinshaw School is likely to be a growing problem. The County Council has plans to substantially increase the number of pupils at the school and this will inevitably lead to an increase in vehicle movements. The additional pupil places are largely needed to accommodate the anticipated growth in pupils travelling from outside the immediate catchment area, including Ratby.

An updated Travel Plan will need to be submitted and agreed by the County Council with the aim of reducing vehicle emissions, single occupancy vehicle use and reducing vehicular travel at peak times. Encouragement should be given to more car sharing, public transport use, cycling and walking. The use of IT substitutes for real travel is also suggested but not fully explained. There should be measurable outcome targets which are subject to regular review and monitoring. Whether this will reassure residents that the traffic situation will not deteriorate further remains to be seen.

Although the school site is relatively large the County Council plan appears to make no provision to take radical steps to deal with the congestion caused in the area, and it seems that they made no contribution to the substantial cost of improving, or the ongoing costs of maintaining, the parking facilities at Quarry Park.

August 2015

Radio Leicester visits the Quarry Park MUGA

After recent visits by the BBC Radio Leicester 'Clueless' programme to the Blacksmith's Cottage on Rookery Lane, and the monthly Sunday morning fry-up on the Ratby Road allotment site, it came as a surprise to hear presenter Julie Mayer back in Groby on July 5^th. Once the clues were decoded they led Julie to the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) recently opened on the Quarry Park recreation area. The clue to the next destination in this popular radio treasure hunt was found on one of the coloured balls on the Street Snooker in the MUGA shown in the photograph.

But what is Street Snooker? At first glance it looks a bit complicated, but in essence it involves kicking or throwing a ball and is a combination of snooker and football. The makers say it is suitable for anyone over 6 years of age. They claim numerous benefits including cardiovascular, personal goal setting, mathematics, hand-eye co-ordination, foot-eye co-ordination, target skill enhancement, team work, spacial awareness, shape recognition.

One of the fears of providing outdoor facilities is the risk of vandalism, and Quarry Park has had its share. The most recent was damage to the picnic tables. The Street Snooker makers claim there are very low lifetime maintenance costs. They say that there has been zero vandalism to scoreboard reported on 23 installations over a 36 month period and only three reported incidents of minor graffiti on main game wall over a 36 month period.

The MUGA is now in use and the Parish Council is currently considering what kind of official opening ceremony there should be. It's hoped that a well known figure from the sporting world can be found to 'do the honours'.

August 2014

Consultation on New MUGA closes September 5th

The proposals for the development at Quarry Park have gone through a number of changes. A swimming pool was mentioned, a community facility, and now a more modest but realizable proposal for a Multi Use Games Area. At one point the project seemed to be underway and the construction of the new car park was the first stage. But when the grant funding upon which the project depends was not forthcoming a reassessment and consultation before submitting a new grant application became essential. The result is the questionnaire included in this issue.

The under provision of recreational facilities in Groby was highlighted some years ago and since then the Parish Council has looked for opportunities to carry out improvements. The investment in the open air gym equipment and the BMX track are useful additions and encourage enable residents to exercise within the village. A MUGA would be another important addition, providing a range of recreational activities on a professional surface enclosed by a high fence so you don't have to run too far after your ball. Football, netball, basketball, tennis and cricket have been mentioned, but Council Members also need to know whether there are other activities which residents would like to be able to pursue locally.

You may, for example, want to form a Groby boules club or run cycling proficiency courses for children in a safe environment. This is your chance to tell the Council what you thing the MUGA could be used for, but of course they do ask for it to be achievable and viable. No-one wants to create a facility which is underused and a financial millstone. Whether or not they would be able to provide what you want may depend on the type of surface provided as some activities demand different surface characteristics. But air your ideas and start the discussion. Although you have until September 5^th this is one of those things that you'll remember the day after if you don't do it now.

December 2013

Planning permission granted

Groby Parish Council has now planning permission for the construction of new multi use games area(MUGA) with floodlights and additional car park on Quarry Park. The facility, which will be open from 9.00am to 10.30pm, will be enclosed by 3 metre high sports fencing. Although there will be four 8 metre high floodlights no dwellings will be affected by light pollution.

The application says that it has been designed to meet Sport England specifications and encourages a wide range of potential sports including soccer and handball. It will serve both the community, the scouts, local football clubs and Martinshaw Primary School. It includes a new car park so car parking provision will not be affected.

When proposals for a more ambitious leisure project were put forward local residents expressed concern about the traffic problems that might be created because of the narrow access roads from Ratby Road. Although some members of the Parish Council still have concerns about traffic others believe that additional volumes for this smaller facility will not create problems, particularly as it's use will not co-incide with the daily peaks caused by parents on the school run to Martinshaw Primary. Leicestershire County Council, the Highway Authority, has raised no objection to the proposal, though it considered there should be secure parking for cycles and/or buggies.

From time to time the issue of pollution on the site has cropped up but the Borough Council has raised no objections and not recommended any conditions. “The site began operation as a granite quarry in the 1830's/1840's and ceased operation in the 1920's,” a Borough Council explained in his comments on the application. “in the 1950's the site was used as an ex Ministry of Defence materials store. Tipping of household waste began in the early 1960's and much of the waste was domestic ash. Due to local objection the depositing stopped and totalled only roughly 2 metres deep as far as the neck of the quarry. The coal board filled the site with colliery spoil to the current gradient.”

He adds that after a land drainage system was installed the site was capped with a 200mm deep clay cap by the Parish Council who seeded and planted the site. Although landfill gas monitoring has detected no gas he concludes that it cannot be ruled out and the developer should be aware of the history of the site. It is not considered that the development will be affected by the historic use of the site. As a precaution burning should not be undertaken on site, digging depth should be kept to a minimum and should be undertaken carefully in case fill materials are disturbed.

You can view the planning application and supporting documents online by searching on the Borough Council website (the reference is 13/00798/FUL) or by following this link. You can also view the application at the Parish Council offices.

July 2013

Multi Use Games Area plan moves ahead

The plans for improvement to the facilities at Quarry Park have taken a step forward with the Parish Council agreeing to proceed in princple with a quote for £176,000 for the proposed work. The larger development has been dropped in favour of a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) similar to the one illustrated. The floodlit MUGA will be around 18m by 37m with a 3m high fence which will keep balls within the games area and provide security.

The project will include changes to the parking arrangements, an overflow car park and the relocation of the outdoor gym equipment. In addition to soccer and basketball the facility will probably enable users to play Street Snooker. “It's the latest idea that a lot of places in London have adopted as this can be played by either kicking the football at the snooker board, or throwing the ball at the board thus enabling disabled individuals, say in wheelchairs, to be able to participate alongside able bodied individuals,” explained Parish Clerk Beverley Greenwood.

The proposed changing rooms and showers have been dropped, reducing the project cost by about £125,000. The latest quotations are under £200,000 which it is hoped will be funded by grants in addition to funds already set aside by the council.

September 2012

Quotes in for Quarry Park development

Groby Parish Council has received two quotes for the development of Quarry Park. The figures have not been released but are believed to have only £3000 between them. The Working Party will have further discussions with the two contractors.

August 2012

Quarry Park funding bid unsuccessful

A bid by Groby Parish Council for £5000 of funding from the Markfield, Ratby and Groby Community Forum was unsuccessful when it came to the vote at the last forum meeting in June. Leicestershire County Council has made available £12,500 per year to the Forum for local communities to invest in local improvement of their choice. The Community Forum Budget is not a regular grants programme. Everyone has an opportunity to contribute, by submitting a project, making comments on proposals, volunteering to assist in the development or delivery of a project or just by voting for favourite projects.

The Decision Night is the key event in the process where project representatives, local residents and Councillors come together to prioritise the projects that have been submitted for the Forum area. In effect, they decide on the night which projects are to receive a share of the available Community Forum Budget, voting using electronic handsets. Delegates were asked to the 3 projects they wanted to see supported. The budget was then allocated to projects in priority order, on a provisional basis. The project that has attracted the most votes received the funding they requested, followed by the project with the second most votes and so on - until the budget has been fully allocated.

Groby bids for £5000

Groby Parish Council put in a bid for funding towards it's project to improve facilities at Quarry Park. The aim is are to provide something for everyone including a floodlit Multi-Use Games Area(MUGA) providing basketball, football, netball, cricket, tennis and street snooker. The MUGA is part of a larger project which includes the football ground, shower and changing rooms, outdoor gym and a children’s play area. The project is less ambitious than earlier proposals for Quarry park and part of the funding, including some grants and £100,000 from the Parish Precept, is already in place. The cost of the current project is around £350,000, of which the MUGA floodlighting and cabling is estimated as £21,495.

The application to the Community Forum was for cash towards this cost of floodlighting the MUGA area. “The MUGA will as in other areas be popular and the time available for use will be limited by hours of darkness in particular during the winter months,” explained the bid document. “It is for this reason that we intend to install floodlighting that will be operated by a timer and switched on by groups or persons using the facility. Young persons and sporting groups will benefit from this project. The Parish Council will monitor this project and the impact that it has on the problems that exist within the village. We shall work together with the police to ensure that the facility is not abused. The whole project at Quarry Park will be maintained by Groby Parish Council and we will be encouraging young persons to form groups or clubs as a means to combating anti social behaviour.” It is intended that, subject to forming an agreement, Martinshaw school will also benefit from using the MUGA.

Budget breakdown

Other costs included in the £350,000 budget include -

• • Children’s play area and fencing £32,000

  • Outdoor Gym equipment £18,000

  • Car Park (includes relocating landfill spoil) Total of 39 parking spaces. £75,000

  • Sports changing rooms & shower facilities £125,000

  • MUGA Fencing, Ground works, Gates, Installation £79,572

Results of the vote

The Parish Council project, which received 25% of the votes, was competing for the money with 6 other projects, though a bid for help with funds for the Groby BMX track was withdrawn because of lack of public support, leaving just 5 other contenders. All of the other 5 scored over 50% of the votes. Three were given the full amount of their bids with 2 receiving around 70%, so most of the £12,500 went to Markfield, Ratby, Thornton and Bagworth.

January 2012

Community facility – the search for a site continues

In January the Parish Council held it's long awaited meeting to discuss their plans with residents for a new community building on Quarry Park and to meet potential stakeholders in the project. On the night there were few stakeholders in attendance but plenty of residents, although it's fair to say they were not representative of the whole community as the meeting attracted those predominantly from the area around Quarry Park. They had a view to put forward about the plans, and that view was that they don't want it on Quarry Park if it means more traffic on already overloaded roads. Traffic problems

Residents highlighted the existing traffic problems of the area caused by the Forest Rise Community Centre, Martinshaw School and Quarry Park and the Scout Hut. The Quarry Park Working Party took the message back to the Parish Councillors, many of whom attended the meeting, that residents spoke overwhelmingly about the need to reduce traffic and parking and not to do anything to actually increase the problems in the area. Although any refurbishment of the Scout Hut which may be approved by the Parish Council in the future would not create the same volume of extra traffic as a community facility it was conceded that there would be some increase if the Scouts were to take overflow bookings from the Village Hall when it was full. The Working Party at their meeting on 3rd February concluded that they should take account of the strength of local public opposition and the original plans could not go ahead with access from Forest Rise.

Alternative access

The issue of an alternative access to Quarry Park from the A50 was discussed and, although the cost and the difficulty of overcoming possible objections from the Highways Authority means it is not an easy solution, the Working Party feels it should be investigated further. They also feel that an alternative scheme for shower and changing rooms should be considered alongside the A50 access option.

Alternative sites

Residents also asked about potential alternative sites, which the Working Party has also taken on board. A facility on Groby's Marina/Stamford park is not considered an option as it was scheduled to be included as part of the Green Wedge by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council at a meeting in December. However the working party feels that the football/sports field formerly leased by Lady Jane Grey School is large enough to accommodate a scheme and could be considered as a potential alternative site.

The North Muskham model

In order to minimise costs the proposed Groby community building has been based on a similar facility built in North Muskham, a small village of 360 properties (2001 census) about 6 miles from Newark in Nottinghamshire. Despite the small size of the village they managed to attract grant funding of £461,000, supplemented by £55,000 from their Parish Council and £75,000 raised from villagers over a long period. The financial squeeze has probably closed some of the grant opportunities to Groby residents but the Parish Council is hopeful that support could come from the Landfill Communities Fund. The snag is that this funding may only be available for a development on Quarry Park, but enlisting the services of a professional fundraiser may increase the likelihood of winning awards. February 2012

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Earlier reports on the Community Building story

September 2011

Business plan for Quarry Park?

The Groby Parish Council working party on the proposed community facility and scouts building at Quarry Park has agreed that there is a need to produce a business plan which would involve existing and anticipated stakeholders and at some time in the future to establish a management forum consisting of all stakeholders.

Although the report of the working party does not spell out how comprehensive the plan should be or it's scope there are a number of features a plan would normally cover, so it might include such things as -

• the aims and vision of the project

• the backgound to the proposal

• the timescales

• consideration of the location options available

• an assessment of the venues currently available in the village

• the current shortfall in facilities in the village

• as the project is for a community building the impact that a new facility might have on the viability of existing facilities might also be considered

• who might be expected to rent the new centre

• the projected turnover, and annual running costs

• the impact on Council Tax bills

• the development costs and funding sources

• how the centre will be marketed

• the management structure and how the day to day running may be organised

• benchmarks and performance measures to monitor the success of the project.

The working party, which will hold a further meeting on September 26th at the Scout building, feels that concerns about traffic problems on the narrow access road to Quarry Park can be mitigated.

It is hoped that overall costs can be reduced by using as a model for a more modest new building the successful community facility constructed at North Muskham near Newark. North Muskham project team was very successful at accessing grant funding of over £450,000, with a further £55,000 coming from the parish council and £75,000 from local fundraising and donations. Fund raising is more difficult now but Groby Parish Council hopes to be able to use professional fundraising expertise from the North Muskham project to improve their chances of success.

December 2009

Swimming Pool plan dropped

Groby Parish Council has dropped the idea of a swimming pool as part of the Quarry Park redevelopment and is now working on a more modest and affordable proposal.

Read the original story from November 2009 -

Quarry Park - swimming pool looks doubtful

When the Groby Parish Plan report was published four years ago nearly half of respondents said that they went swimming, but a plan to provide a swimming pool in the village in a major redevelopment of Quarry Park now looks unlikely to proceed unless a major funding issue is resolved.

In January 2008 the Chairman reported to members that an external organisation that wanted a site with good access to the A46 had intimated that it wished to proceed with Quarry Park in Groby as the preferred location for a swimming pool. The Council decided that a Liaison Committee should be formed to meet with the organisation and talk to other interested stakeholders with regard to the future development of quarry park. This would include stakeholders such as the Scouts and other parties that may wish to be involved in the project.

Now a source close to the organisation that made the pool proposal has indicated that that it is “very much on the back burner” and although it has been possible to raise small amounts of money for various projects the amount of money which would be needed to build a pool is not easily accessed. Although the Parish Council has some money available even a basic 4 lane training pool, which would not be ideal for public use, could cost £2million.

The Parish Council is still considering the options for redeveloping Quarry Park, which they hope would include the replacement of the Scout building, other leisure facilities and a new car park. But some are still concerned about the suitability of the site and the cost of the project. Members of the Council recently made a visit to similar facilities at Markfield to get pointers on the best way to proceed.

Funding in the current economic climate will continue to be a problem but if this is overcome and the long delayed public consultation produces a positive response this could be a major improvement in local facilities. At the November Parish Council meeting it was suggested that perhaps residents could also be consulted on whether they would support a one off Council tax levy to raise funds. Although at the time of the Parish Plan two thirds of respondents said they wouldn't be prepared to pay more to fund new facilities the answer may be different if they are presented with a definitive proposal and a fully costed scheme.

November 2009

Groby's £1million medical centre is not going to happen

November 2009 Earlier this year the Spotlight reported on the Borough Council's infrastructure wish list for Groby, put together as part of it's plans for the next 25 years. Working with outside agencies the Council had identified potential shortfalls in service provision across all aspects of village life and suggested what needed to be provided.The largest item was the provision of a ￡1million medical centre. The Primary Care Trust (PCT) had identified this could be the cost of a new medical centre to support existing and new patients. It was a response to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council which asked what the requirements would be to deal with a large increase in population in the area. Because of the timing the PCT had to respond before it had completed its own Implementation Plan which deals with the future development programme for the next few years, and so the inclusion of this item was neither a promise nor a proposal.

The plan has now been completed and does not include a new medical centre for Groby. However, if the PCT secures any 'S106 contributions' from housing developers towards key facilities required to support the new population the trust will be looking to direct this funding to the surgery most likely to provide services to that increased population.

“The Groby GP surgery is not one of the identified projects that the PCT will be supporting within this investment planning process,” said Amanda Anderson, Primary Care Premises Manager. “but could benefit if we secure any s106 contributions from housing developments directly impacting on Groby. The PCT is facing the infrastructure question all over the County and in Rutland because of the Government's agenda to increase housing.”

“Given the limited resources we could not support all infrastructure requirements. Experience has taught us that not every new dwelling in an area will result in a new patient as there will be some movements within a small area which will not necessitate a family to change GPs. Taking all of this into account there are many reasons why a new medical centre is not proposed for Groby within the foreseeable future.”

November 2009