The Jim Jarvis Memorial Playing Field

A full-sized football pitch, children’s play park and adult exercise equipment

Amenities.

The Shops.

The Bell.

The Shropshire.

Playing Field.

Parish Magazine.

Gnosall Surgery.

Library.

Recycling.

Buses.

The Jim Jarvis Memorial Playing Field consists of a full-sized football pitch and a recreation area.  The children’s play area was upgraded with new and challenging equipment in 2011.  Exercise equipment for adults was added in 2012.

This shows the children’s play area as it was on a bleak day in April 2008

The Progression of Work

 

 

August 2011 - September 12th  - clearance and ground preparation

 

September 13th - 16th - new equipment under construction

 

September 19th - 28th - equipment in place and fences down

New Playground Equipment

 

It has been very gratifying to see the positive reaction to the newly upgraded equipment at the Jim Jarvis Memorial Playing Field in Haughton.  After a lengthy process of consultation with residents of Haughton Village, including the local school children, and following several designs and competitive quotations, Haughton Parish Council gave the go-ahead to SMP (Playgrounds) Ltd. and they, with their installation contractor Route One, assembled the new equipment starting on the 12th September 2011.  Two weeks later the end product is a first class Playing Area comprising some eight items of equipment accommodating age ranges from toddlers through to teenagers.  Now that the facilities are in use, the reaction from the children has been excellent, with large numbers of all ages visiting almost every day.

 

Vice Chairman of Haughton Parish Council, Cllr. Derek Warbrick, managed the project from initial concept through to completion, with substantial assistance from Cllr. Mike Little, parents’ representative Julie Sleight and parish clerk Julie Hill.  Funding and grants for the project were from County Cllr. Mark Winnington through the Staffordshire County Council Local Community Fund, Cllr. Barry Stamp on behalf of Stafford Borough Council, Haughton Parish Council, and the Landfill Communities Fund through the Staffordshire Environmental Fund - a huge thank you to these donors.

 

The end result is a Playing Area to be proud of – and very much in keeping with Haughton as the current Best Kept Village in Staffordshire.

The Opening Ceremony

 

The Haughton Play Equipment Opening Ceremony was held on Saturday 26th November at 11.00am.  Representatives from SMP, the manufacturer of the equipment, Stafford Borough Council, Staffordshire Environmental Fund and Staffordshire County Council Local Community Fund were invited to attend.  The occasion was well-attended by residents and councillors of the parish and by local children who demonstrated the enjoyable features of the equipment by playing on it and performed the cutting of the ribbon.

Councillor Mike Allen, Chairman of Haughton Parish Council, Mrs Julie Hill, Clerk to the Council, Mr Keith Williams, Staffordshire Environmental Fund and Councillor Derek Warbrick, Vice-Chairman of Haughton Parish Council and Project Co-ordinator

The Adult Exercise Equipment

The adult exercise equipment was put in place on the playing field on 29th September 2012.  

 

How to use the equipment

Designed for adults, but irresistible to inquisitive and intrepid toddlers, our fitness equipment became a popular hit across the age range from 3¾  to 94 even before the opening ceremony.

The adult fitness equipment was officially opened on

Saturday 27th October 2012.  

 

Event report, images and credits

Tesco Bags of Help Scheme

 

In Autumn 2016 Haughton was awarded a substantial amount of money for the purpose of making improvements to the Jim Jarvis Memorial Playing Field from Tesco’s Bags of Help Scheme, which uses the 5p plastic bag charges to aid community projects.  

 

Two projects at the playing field will benefit from this award:

 

1.  The quality of the football pitch will be improved over a ten-month period.  The Football Association surveyed the pitch and recommended a treatment called “Earthshaking” which will slit and aerate the grass, which will then be mown, treated and re-seeded.

 

2.  A new fence will be constructed around the children’s play area, to demarcate it and to increase the safety of users.  Three new benches will also be installed in the field.     

Shown below:  The first day of treatment.  A specialist machine is used to slit and aerate the pitch.

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The Tesco Bags of Help Scheme provided funding for a new fence around the children’s play area, to increase the safety of its users.  Three new benches were also installed, one in the children’s play area and two overlooking the football pitch.  This work was completed in early March 2017.