9 June 2026 – Parish Estates Committee (minutes)

GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Parish Estates Committee

Wednesday 9th June 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Chair: Cllr Lynas
Present: Cllr Simpson
Cllr Muqeem
Cllr Catlow
Cllr M Hussain
Cllr Pennington

In Attendance: K. Carter (Clerk)

1. To receive apologies for unavoidable absence.
None.

2. To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 19th November 2025.
PEC/2026/06-01: To approve minutes of the Parish Estates Committee meeting
held on 19th November 2025 as a true record.

3. Childs Wood Field
3.1 to receive survey reports from WBC
A summation of the reports had been provided; there are no significant concerns
for the field, but there are some recommendations that may need to be followed
up as plans for the field develop. These would be specific ground surveys &
sampling, particularly around the former earthworks and boundary adjacent to the
substation, and bat activity and roosting surveys to inform any necessary
mitigation measures. Whether these are required will depend upon the design for
the field.

3.2 to decide next steps and whether to progress with the office project
The committee decided not to progress the office/grounds depot element at this
time as the council’s grounds team is currently in a unit at Penketh Business Park
and it was thought that the cost of such a build would be prohibitive. It was
suggested that any landscaping plan for the field could retain an area for possible
future inclusion of a depot through minimal landscaping.

PEC/2026/06-02: To postpone plans for building a depot on Childs Wood Field
until such time as this becomes a necessity and/or funding allows.

The Head Gardener will be tasked to draft the design for the field. The committee is
keen to see an element of community involvement through gardening and short
courses which could be run by organisations such as Myerscough College and
Green Angels.

PEC/2026/06-03: To request the Head Gardener drafts a landscape plan for
Childs Wood Field to include community garden and education elements.

PEC/2026/1 24.9.26
Chair’s signature:
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Parish Estates Committee

Tuesday 9th June 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

A community consultation should be undertaken for residents’ views and ideas for
the field, possibly through an independent organisation such as Mersey Forest
who are experienced in doing these. The council previously engaged Mersey Forest
for a community consultation to provide initial ideas for Vicarage Community Park
and the final design was developed following the results of this.

PEC/2026/06-04: To engage an organisation such as Mersey Forest to undertake a
community consultation on Childs Wood Field to obtain residents views and
suggestions for the field.

4. Parish Playing Field:
4.1 to be updated on drainage installation
Awaiting confirmation of start date from the contractors.

4.2 to review the draft agreement with WHJFC and plan next steps
A draft Licence to Occupy was considered and various decisions/amendments
made including the length of the agreement, licence fee, seasonal restrictions on
use to allow pitch renovations, and weekly pitch assessments. The amended
agreement will be included with papers for the July Parish Council meeting for
further discussion and decision. The committee felt that it was not necessary to
consult a solicitor on the agreement.

PEC/2026/06-05: PPF: to accept the draft agreement (Licence to Occupy) for
Whittle Hall JFC including amendments discussed at the meeting. To accept
without reference to a solicitor.

PEC/2026/06-06: PPF: To resolve that the GSPC Grounds Team will take on the
responsibility for assessing that the pitches are suitable for play on a weekly basis
and informing clubs if they are not.

PEC/2026/06-07: PPF: To restrict use on the pitches during June and July (no
competitive games permitted) to allow for end of season pitch renovation works.

4.3 to consider the ongoing maintenance of the field and actions required
The Head Gardener is due to attend a Level 1 Grounds Maintenance Course which
should cover the basic elements of pitch maintenance and help inform
requirements for regular maintenance and seasonal maintenance to keep the
pitches to a good standard as required by the Football Foundation. Further
discussion of this was deferred pending feedback and information from the Head
Gardener following the course.

PEC/2025/2 draft
Chair’s signature:
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Parish Estates Committee

Tuesday 9th June 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

4.4 to consider ongoing management of the pitches including bookings,
access and monitoring.
Whittle Hall JFC will be the anchor club on the field but will not have exclusive use.
The council will refer to the Whittle Hall JFC’s Fixtures Secretary when one-off use
is requested to see if there is pitch availability. It was accepted that the pitches
and wider field will be used by other teams or members of the public as the field is
open use and this cannot be monitored by council staff.

5. To receive reports on GSPC’s Open Spaces and confirmation of work to be
undertaken within the 2026-27 budget.
a. Tim Parry Recreation Ground
Green Flag judging took place on 20 May. The result will be known by the end
of July. If successful, GSPC will be required to install a flagpole to recognise
the sites status.

b. Lingley Green
Improvements to the raised beds have been completed; some sleepers on the
other beds will need replacing next year. The beech hedging, adjacent to the
bus stop, needs reducing in height from around 8-9’ to 6’. This will not impact
the effectiveness of the traffic calming potential of the hedge and will allow
later cuts to be achieved with a platform rather than having to hire scaffolding.
c. Vicarage Community Park
The planned work for this year to redesign and improve the borders along
Parsonage Way and the corner path will take place during autumn/winter
(budget agreed in January 2026, £8k).

d. Community Centre gardens
Planned additional work for these is:
• Bewsey Barn Community Centre: to include natural features in keeping
with the location such as bug hotels, woodland bulbs, bird baths & boxes
etc. Budget agreed in January 2026, £3k.

• Whittle Hall Community Centre: to remove damaged play surface and
replace with multi-purpose hard-landscaping. Budget agreed in January
2026, £5k.

6. To consider the Terms of Reference for the committee
6.1 To review the aims of the committee
The current remit for the committee is to provide overview of the council’s green
spaces; additional responsibilities would require an amendment to the Terms of
Reference to be agreed by full Council.

PEC/2025/3 draft
Chair’s signature:
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Parish Estates Committee

Tuesday 9th June 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

6.2 To consider whether to include overview of the community centres as an
area of responsibility
It was proposed that Councillors could assess the community centres and provide
reports on any maintenance required in addition to the checks completed by the
Maintenance Officer. It was recognised that councillors and customers of the
centres are already encouraged to report any issues that they notice to the Parish
Office but was suggested that by doing this, councillors may engage with the
centres more. The committee decided that it didn’t wish to formalise this as an
additional responsibility or change the Terms of Reference.

7. To agree the date of next meeting
Date of next meeting to be Tuesday 28th July.

PEC/2025/4 draft
Chair’s signature: