Seaton council to proceed with new outdoor gym equipment

Seaton Town Council has agreed to proceed with the replacement of the town's outdoor gym equipment if funding is available.

Deputy chairman Jack Rowland confirmed at the July meeting of the full council that he had been in discussion with officers at East Devon District Council who would seek quotations as they had specialist experience in this regard.

EDDC had also agreed in principle to enter into an agreement to maintain any equipment purchased.

Cllr Marcus Hartnell said he completely echoed what Cllr Rowland had said and local residents were quite rightly upset that the equipment had been removed. Ward members were frustrated that it had been removed without them being given notice, as they had not had the opportunity to assess the condition to see if it could be kept going longer.

Whilst Cllr Hartnell supported the use of CIL (Community Infrastructire Levy) funding in principle, he questioned whether such funds held should be utilised towards replacement equipment and added that he felt that a consultation with residents should be carried out.

Furthermore, the type of equipment needed should be considered.

Cllr Eric Bowman asked who determined what type of equipment would be installed – like-for- like or different - and stated that he felt further discussion with residents was needed.

Cllr Rowland stated that the original equipment had been funded by 106 planning gain money and public consultation had been carried out at that stage.

The chairman, Cllr Ken Beer, said the council had no idea of the costs at the moment.

Cllr Derek Haggerty added his support in principle and said clearly any equipment would have to be such that it did not require supervision so he would have thought like-for-like would be appropriate.

Cllr Hartnell proposed that agreement on the replacement of equipment using CIL monies be given in principle, and quotations could then be obtained to see what could be afforded and at what costs and perhaps a decision could be made to replace the more popular equipment.

Cllr Martin Shaw proposed that once costings were available, the amount of CIL funds to be allocated could be decided.

It was agreed that CIL funding should be used to provide replacement outdoor gym equipment at Seafield Gardens and EDDC should be asked to proceed with obtaining costings for the replacement of individual pieces of equipment.

Once available a decision would be made as to the equipment to be purchased and level of CIL funds to be allocated and any purchase would be subject to East Devon District Council entering into an agreement to carry out all necessary checks and maintenance of the equipment, in line with the manufacturer's requirements for the duration of its lifetime

Footnote: The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge that local authorities can set on new development in order to raise money to help fund the infrastructure, facilities and services - such as schools or transport improvements - needed to support new homes and businesses.

(Information for this story was sourced from the council's official minutes which have not yet been adopted).