The Thwing & Octon Playing Field

The Thwing & Octon Playing Field survey is complete, and the data has been compiled into this report.

Participation in the survey was low. Even with online prompting, to get the forms filled and sent back, only sixteen out of six hundred forms were completed and returned. This will present challenges for any future fund-raising efforts

Of these sixteen returned forms only seven were original copies taken from the newsletter, while the majority were photocopies, leading to multiple submissions from individual households. This has introduced bias into the results, but it also indicates that certain respondents have strong opinions.

Respondent’s Villages:

• · Thwing: 12

• · Wold Newton: 2

• · Foxholes: 1

• · No response 1

• One gave no village name

How often do you visit the playing field?

• · Daily 4

• · Weekly 6

• · Monthly 0

• · Rarely 3

• · Never 3

Satisfaction with the current Playing Field

• · Very satisfied 8

• · Satisfied 1

• · Neutral 3

• · Dissatisfied 1

• · Very dissatisfied 1

• · No response 2

Most popular equipment

• · Football 8

• · Swings 5

• · Slide 1

• · Fireman’s Pole 1

• · Climbing frame 1

• · Basketball 1

Improvement suggestions

• · Football pitch 4

• · More picnic tables 3

• · Table tennis 2

• · Cricket pitch 1

• · Rugby posts 1

• · Climbing equipment 1

• · Adult fitness equipment 1

• · Replace all equipment 1

• · Modernise equipment 1

• · Waste of money 1

Other Suggestions & Comments

1. Put swings and equipment for small children at the Mere

2. Find somewhere for cricket and football that could also be used by adults

3. The play park was one of the main draws for us when we moved to Thwing. To encourage more families to move to this lovely village, I think it's extremely important to maintain this feature. There is little else to do this, following the closure of the pub.

4. Change the use of the space to a community heritage orchard for social events or allotments if there was sufficient interest

5. There is a playground in Burton Fleming which is adequate for the number of children in the local villages. I would like to see it as a meadow or returned to its owner.

6. When it first opened 25 years ago, it was very well used by Thwing children and the surrounding area. There are now parks in Kilham, Rudston and Burton Fleming so in my opinion it is not viable

7. The constant bang bang of the ball against the wood drives you potty. The sound of children's voices on the other equipment is no problem,

Volunteers

To form a management and fund-raising committee a team of adults is needed. While 3 children offered to help, only 1 adult gave a positive yes to helping with the future upkeep and management of the playing field. There were, however 3 Maybe replies from the adults but only one person gave contact information.

1. Will enough people come forward to help with maintenance and future fundraising?

Sadly, the general lack of interest shown and the paucity of volunteers, means there are not enough volunteers to keep the playing field in operation.

With the current committee ready to stand down, it was essential that new committee members and volunteers were found to look after the playing field. The new committee and volunteers would be responsible for regular maintenance including grass cutting, safety checks and equipment repairs, as well as organising regular fundraising activities to cover recurring annual costs such as professional safety reports, insurance premiums, and future play equipment replacement and additions.

It was hoped the survey would provide answers
to three questions.

2. Do enough people use the area to make it worth saving?
It appears that around 12 use the playing field regularly. However, this figure is unreliable. (See below)

Because the survey form was photocopied by some of the children, the number of people using the play area is distorted by duplication. The duplication of numbers occurs when each member of a play group counts themselves and their friends, leading to an inflated total. For example, a group of four children each counting themselves and their three friends results in an erroneous count of sixteen, instead of the actual number of four. In addition, a parent may also add them again on their form.

3. Is it worth raising and spending tens of thousands of pounds on the project?
Based on the limited data, no. Although raising the money needed (£93,000) may be achievable, the lack of interest shown would make it hard to do.

A quote has been received from the company that originally constructed the play area. It is £93,000 to undertake a like-for-like refurbishment. 25% of respondents consider the playing field to be unimportant for the community, and 25% believe it should either be closed or repurposed.

Summary

The significant fund-raising effort needed to refurbish the playing field is challenging, but not insurmountable. However, it is made more difficult by the lack of interest shown in the survey results. This lack of interest will go against efforts to secure money from grant giving organisations which see surveys as proof of interest and need.

Aside from fund-raising, the project has hit a dead end due to a lack of new volunteers coming forward to manage the area. This has been an ongoing problem. Without a full management team, the project is dead in the water.

The current number of users does not warrant the significant expenditure needed. It is uncertain if refurbishing the playing field will attract more users since many neighbouring villages now have good play areas, as noted in the survey.