Clubs & Groups
Millenium Green Trust
Chair's Report 2005
The Trustees have continued to run the Green, and attempt to improve the facility and maintain it to a high standard in the past year.
Sadly, vandalism has been bad this year. Gangs of young people gathering on the viewpoint caused a great deal of nuisance, litter and graffiti, in the summer of 2004. The memorial seats had to be removed and will be cleaned, mended and placed elsewhere on the Green. The fence surrounding the viewpoint was covered with such foul graffiti that contractors had to be brought in to take the surface off the wooden fence rails to obliterate it. The Millennium Arch also suffered damage at the hands of vandals, and is in the process of being refurbished. Both the notice boards were wrecked and have had to be repaired and partly rebuilt. Obviously work of this nature makes a large unwelcome hole in our maintenance budget.
Several meetings have been held with the police on and off site, to try to find solutions to this problem. Vigilance by those using the Green is obviously our best mode of defence, and the general public who use the Green are a great help on deterring vandalism by their presence, ‘phoning me with evidence, calling the police etc.
The trail and marker posts, to show which paths are suitable for the disabled, have still not been installed this year, but they are in hand. A map showing which paths are suitable for the disabled is being prepared and will be displayed on the notice boards.
The small railway sleeper bridge has been widened to allow contractors vehicles to get up the track to aid maintenance and also as a precaution should an emergency vehicle have to use the track. For the same reason, a turning point is being constructed at the far end of the Green.
Overhanging trees have been cut back and the wood stored to make chippings to re-surface the wood-chip paths. A great deal of work has been done on drainage in various places on the Green.
The Trustees (Ken and Bob) do most of the clearing up work now. We thank them for all their efforts, clearing away brambles, picking up litter and clearing dog mess from the paths. The dog bins are still very well used by responsible dog owners but sadly this does not include those owners who let their dogs run free on the site and fail to clear up after them.
Some donations have been received from various companies, organisations and individuals within the town this year, in particular the Parish Council, who continue to support the Green by donating an invaluable maintenance grant, that forms part of our maintenance budget. We are also very grateful for a very useful donation from the estate agents Countrywide. Having commissioned a full report on the current state of the big bridge at the North end of the Green, we are now fully aware of what needs to be done and how much it will cost in the future to ensure its safety. If the bridge becomes unsafe, we may have to close all, or part of the Green, so new sources of funding are vital, as the Parish Council have not been willing to increase their grant. Insurance costs have also risen.
We are constantly seeking more new sources of funding so that we can do work such as this and improve the facility. If any members can help with funding by way of donations (from companies or individuals) or bequests, we would be eternally grateful for your support for a facility that has become widely used at the heart of Heathfield.
The Heathfield and Waldron Millennium Green Trust is a registered charity set up to run the Green. Its Trustees are unpaid volunteers, who serve for a period of 3 or 4 years initially. None of this would have been possible without the support and hard work of the Trustees particularly Ken Brewster, who, as site manager, has the ‘lions share' of the work as usual. New volunteers to be Trustees would be very welcome.
hank you all for providing the people of Heathfield with such an enduring and worthwhile facility.
Gill Roles, Chair