A Noisy BusinessAs most people reading this will know, Brill has two play grounds on the edge of the playing fields; a fenced area for younger children and an open area for bigger kids. The equipment in both of these areas has been purchased (or built), maintained and replaced by several generations of Brill parents, and the parish council thanks all of them for their commitment and hard work over the years. It’s now time for another upgrade to make these facilities safe and appealing for the children of today, including children with special needs and different abilities. To this end, the Brill Playground Committee has worked incredibly hard in recent years raising money and applying for grants and, as with their predecessors, the parish council is incredibly grateful. Sensory play equipment The first phase of the project came to fruition in late March when several items of equipment were placed in the small children’s playground (pictured above). This included three items of “sensory equipment”; a large wooden xylophone, a set of drums, and a frame of tubular bells, each item equipped with a beater. Young children loved this equipment from the onset, playing with it enthusiastically during the fine weather in April. Unfortunately, some older children also discovered the fun of making music, late at night. Within a couple of weeks, a petition was presented to the parish council signed by a number of residents whoes properties backed onto the playground. One resident in particular, elderly and in poor health, found the noise nearly intolerable. None of the complainants begrudged the children their playground - all enjoyed the usual sounds of children having fun - but not the discordant, at times incessant, noise of the play instruments. Residents’ petition On receiving the petition, the parish council spoke to the Playground Committee and the residents involved but, as so often happens, the situation became more, rather than less, complicated. The Committee felt their herculean efforts to improve things for the children of Brill were being ignored in favour of the concerns of a few, pointing out the extensive public consultation conducted in the design stage of the project. Meanwhile, although poor weather meant playground use was reduced, the resident most affected still had her enjoyment of her home seriously curtailed by the noise (this being the statutory definition of a Noise Nuisance). Then, in the first week of June, something quite nasty happened; the thick wires attaching the beaters to the equipment were cut and the beaters stolen. This criminal act, involving several hundred pounds worth of damage, was reported to Thames Valley Police and we did not allow it to influence our subsequent decision-making. Parish council decision There were further discussions between the Playground Committee and the parish council, with the principal resident involved kept informed throughout. A suggestion was made that the sound of the equipment could be muffled by various means but no sound evidence on the efficacy of this was available. There was talk about moving the equipment to elsewhere on the playing field but this was countered by a strong feeling that to do so would be to segregate differently abled children. No conclusions had been reached by the time the matter was brought to the PC’s June meeting. At that meeting, councillors voted on a motion to remove the sensory play equipment, since there was no consensus on an alternative site. After considerable discussion, four councillors voted for the motion with one objecting. What next? This has been a very difficult matter to resolve - and we’re still not there yet. There are very strong feelings on both sides with the rights of various members of the community apparently set against those of another group. The plan now is to remove the three sensory pieces when the contractors are on site to install the rest of the new equipment later this year. It is hoped that by then we will have agreed an alternative site where the muffled equipment can be reinstalled and enjoyed, in different ways, by all residents.
|
