Park Piece and the Fields in Trust plaque - Photos Tony Foster

An area of 5.02 acres of pasture, being part of a field known as Park Piece, bordered to the north by Westgate and to the east by Peddars Way with some properties along the east margin, became available for sale in 2008 and Holme-next-the-Sea Parish Council, after consultation with the parishioners, decided to purchase it with the intention of maintaining an open space within the centre of the village.

After consultation with several ecologists and others, the Parish Council have adopted and largely implemented the following scheme:

•    To allow access to the public at all times.

•    To identifiy and protect areas of special interest by a regime of mowing, maintenance,
      and information boards.

•    To excavate and landscape a “scrape” in the area of a silted pond near the southern
     boundary, thus encouraging wildlife and plant diversity.

•    To provide pathways enabling disabled access around this area from the main entrance
     and seating in suitable locations.

•    To create a second access to the field on the northern boundary from Westgate.
     (Where there is a dog poo bin already conveniently located!)

•    To plant fruit and nut trees as local resources to be freely available to parishioners.

•    To plant, in commemoration of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, an oak sapling which
     was a gift from the Royal Estate at Sandringham.


Location of Park Piece FIT The Parish Council subsequently voted to nominate the greater part of the land to be protected through the Queen Elizabeth II Fields in Trust challenge. The nomination was accepted, and the resulting Deed of Dedication was signed in December, 2012. The very smart plaque shown above will be placed on Park Piece (here coloured green on the map) to commemorate the fact.
Logo for Fields in Trust with link The Fields in Trust's mission is to ensure that everyone – young or old, able or disabled and wherever they live – should have access to free, local outdoor space for sport, play and recreation. These spaces are vital to building happy and healthy communities.

Diamond Jubilee logo Fields in Trust has permanently safeguarded outdoor recreational spaces, in perpetuity, in many ways since 1925. The present preferred method is by a Deed of Dedication. This legal instrument was specifically designed for FIT and approved by The Charity Commission. It ensures that before there is any opportunity for disposal of the land for development the owner, who in this case is Holme-next-the-Sea Parish Council, requires the permission of Fields in Trust.

This paticular initiative by the Holme-next-the-Sea Parish Council was undertaken as part of The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, the flagship UK-wide programme to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and London Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the 2014 Commonwealth Games, by permanently protecting as many outdoor recreational spaces as possible by the end of 2012.

Please browse through these photos of Park Piece.
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