1.               INTRODUCTION

 

Crofton Children’s Play Area Association has now been in existence for two years.  The group has used some of its time looking at the different routes available to them for funding.  We knew it would be difficult to obtain funding and when we were advised of the Fair Share initiative from the National Lottery Funding Body we looked at this as a serious option.  The Fair Share representatives spoke with delegates of the group and everything looked promising for us to receive the funding from them, not only for the Skate Park but also for the whole project.  We needed to meet their criteria and this turned out to be the major stumbling block of the year.  As we needed to lease the land from Wakefield MDC for at least 25 years we would need to manage the site for this amount of time.  This meant we needed to have our own Public Liability Insurance and this was an impossible task.  After spending six months pursuing this line we had to leave it.  This means we lost a lot of time during this year and exhausted a lot of energy on this.

 

Although a lot of time and energy went on looking into the Fair Share funding, we kept ourselves busy with other fundraising activities.  I will talk more on these later under the fundraising section.

 

We have achieved a great deal this year and seem to be very close to our target for the skate park.  Fingers crossed!

 

 

 

 

 

2.               MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

 

The Management Committee has seen a number of changes over the last year.  Crofton Children’s Play Area Association has consisted of the following members over the last year:

 

Robert Baker – Chairperson

Helen Tate – Secretary

Paula Baker – Treasurer

Sharon Gallagher

Joan Helme – (Crofton Health Centre)

Arthur Ripley – (Crofton Parish Council)

Duncan Thompson

Sean Skidmore

Cllr Maureen Cummings

Cllr Albert Manifield

Julian Ellis – (WMDC)

 

 

In April 2003, at the first Annual General Meeting, I was elected as the new chairperson of the group. Sharon Gallagher had given so much to the group, but needed to take ‘a back seat’.  I would like to thank Sharon for all the input and help she has given to the group.  Without her the first year would, I am sure, have been a lot harder.  Many important decisions were made throughout the first year and have made my time as chairperson easier.

 

In April 2003 Andrea Martin informed the Management Committee that she was moving out of the area and so would be leaving the group.  The group was sad to see her go, but thanked her for the comments and concerns she raised as a resident who lived close to the play area site.  She gave an insight that the rest of the group didn’t have, and I would like to thank her on behalf of everyone for that.

 

Similarly in March 2003 we lost Marie Binns from the management committee, although she agreed to remain as a trustee for the group.  A big thank you goes to Marie for this and all the help she gave during her time with us.

 

In December 2003, Christine Sinclair bid a fond farewell as she and her family have moved to Scotland to start a new life.  We wish her well in this new start, and thank her for her time and efforts over the last 18 months.

 

A welcome goes to the new member who joined the group during this year.  This is namely Sean Skidmore in September 2003.  Sean has brought a lot of expert advice with him as a user of skate parks himself.  He has been able to advise on the materials and layout best suited for a skate park that will be well used.

 

Cllr Paul Beckett has not been attending as many meetings as last year due to other commitments, and as his post is up for re-election in May 2004, Cllr Maureen Cummins and Cllr Albert Manifield have been attending in his absence.  Paul has proved irrepressible during our negotiations with Wakefield MDC and I would like to thank him for the help and support he has offered the group throughout this year.

 

A sub-committee of Helen Tate, Paula Baker and Rob Baker was formed to create policies for Child Protection and Equal Opportunities.  Copies of the policies are included at the end of this report.

 

 

3.               MEETINGS

 

The management committee has been meeting on a regular basis.  We met on the following dates:

 

28th April 2003,

19th May 2003,

16th June 2003,

21st July 2003,

8th September 2003,

6th October 2003,

3rd November 2003,

15th December 2003,

12th January 2004,

23rd February 2004,

22nd March 2004.

 

All of these meetings have been minuted and copies are available on request.

 

 

4.               CROFTON COMMUNITY

 

The group once again had a stall at the gala and this year we took part in the procession through the village.  We wore T-shirts bearing play area designs from the children of Crofton. We were awarded third prize for the fancy dress competition, and hope to do well during next year’s event, which we will be organising very shortly.

 

At Halloween wanted to do something to involve the whole community and raise the profile of the group.  W decided to hold a raffle and we organised a party around the raffle draw at Crofton Community Centre.  The party and draw took place on the 31st October 2003 where we had a fancy dress competition and family disco.  This was a really big hit with the community and the people of the village learned more about the project.  Because of the success of this we intend to organise another one in the near future.  I would like to thank the pubs and clubs of the village for allowing us to sell our raffle tickets on their premises in the run-up to the draw.  These are namely:

 

                        Crofton Working Men’s Club

                        Crofton Arms

                        Cock and Crown

                        Weaver’s Green

                        Royal Oak

                        Lord of the Manor

                        Slipper

                        Crofton Community Centre

 

I would also like to thank Crofton Infants School who allowed Helen Tate to sell tickets from there, and Crofton Millenimums for allowing Paula Baker to sell to their members.  A huge thank you must also go to everyone in the village who bought a ticket and supported us.

 

As always, we are continually looking for new members to join in with our project.

 

 

 

 

 

5.               PUBLICITY

 

We have continued to keep the community informed about the project with the regular articles in the Crofton Smoke Signal and in Barbara Holden’s weekly columns in the Wakefield Express.

 

Posters have been put up through the village before every meeting and we are on the Crofton website at www.crofton.org.uk.

 

We have had two articles published in the Wakefield Express detailing the skate park and what we hope to achieve.

 

 

 

 

6.               FUNDING

 

Thanks to Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd, we got a massive boost this year with a £25,000 grant.  This makes our plans for the skate park project more secure.  We have looked forward to this moment so much.  We also received £5,000 from the National Regeneration Fund (the Scarman Trust) and £100 from the Pinders and Constables Fund.  They are small charitable organisation within the Crofton village and have been operating for 100 years, although they have been dormant until very recently.  I am proud to say we were the first group to receive a donation from them since they have reactivated their funding.

 

Crofton Millenimums has kept the weekly ‘Bonus Ball’ going.  Thanks to their help it has been a continual and regular source of income.

 

We have also had so many prizes donated for the gala and for the Halloween draw from various companies all over the Yorkshire area which as helped us so much to organise the activities we have held.

 

Also the Crofton Smoke Signal has once again provided their printing services and time.

 

 

 

 

 

7.               FINANCES

 

The Treasurer will make a separate report, but in general the majority of spending has been on running costs and the Halloween party and raffle.

 

 

 

 

 

8.               SUMMARY

So all in all it has been a very busy year for all in the group and hopefully it will be just as busy next year. I would like to thank every one involved in what has been achieved.  I think so much has, and look forward to seeing the skate-park being started later this year and of course to seeing the whole project completed in the not too distant future.  Once again, I would like to say a big thank you to every one who has been involved and helped to make the last year a success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dated the 25th April 2004

 

 

Signed…………………

 

 

Robert Baker (Chairperson)

 

 

Crofton Children’s Play Area Association.