Recreation Field Project 

Background

The recreational field was sold to the Parish Council in 2003 for £1 by Shell Property.   The recreational field also included an orchard that was part of the Old Carrington Hall kitchen gardens.

In 2002 Manchester United installed a football pitch and arranged to maintain the grounds for a further three years, as the pitch was never used by the community and the local romany community began using the area for horse pasture.

Added to the site was a Pavilion that was used for community events, which has fallen into disrepair, then made unsafe for occupancy in 2016 after a fire. 

With very limited income the Parish council were unable to open this facility to the public and was permanently closed.

Landfill

In 2019 a planning application was granted to import inert material that would raise the ground level by two metres.  The community began to challenge this decision with the Parish Council, which effected a mass resignation of all the Parish Councillors.  With new Parish Councillor members in place by September 2019, they began a challenge on the legality of the heads of terms agreement with the former members of the Parish Council.  The last correspondence from the applicant or their solicitors was in October 2020, who are still waiting for further instructions from their client.

Community engagement

The Parish council have engaged with the community since 2020 to understand what they want to do with this area. A unanimous desire was to bring it back to life for the community.

Throughout the development of the Orchard regular updates will be completed using social media.

There have been a number of parishioners expressing an interest to help with this project.

Our ambition

It is the ambition of the Parish Council to restore the recreational field for community use. 

Phase 1- Grounds clearance

• Removal of the existing derelict cabins. Completed October 2024, cost £15,048

• Make the ground safe for play

• Cap the existing well 

Task 3- Arbology and horticulture

• Thorn tree removal, to open up a space for a group activity area

• Existing fruit trees to be grafted and protected, new fruit trees to be added to the Carrington Hall Orchard

Task 4 - Site access

The external public entrance is currently blocked and has  trench dug on the internal side; this was done to prevent unwanted access to the site.

The trench needs to be backfilled and the external part of the entrance to have the earth mound removed, once this has been done the safety and integrity of the existing galvanised metal gate can be evaluated.

To provide access for wheelchairs and buggies a trackway matting system needs to be installed.

Task 5 - Picnic areas

Areas with seating, benches and waste bins are to be installed and secured, the outline plan shows estimated location. This work is to be completed by the Parish Council.

Maintenance

Once phase 1 has been completed regular grounds maintenance will need to be completed.

The following will be on a contracted maintenance plan:

• Hedges cut back twice a year outside of the nesting season.

• Brambles and other overgrowth

• Group activity area on a scheduled/seasonal cutting plan (other grassed areas will developed as meadow lawns)