BRAUGHING PLAYING FIELD ASSOCIATION TRUST
Registered Charity Number 302344
HISTORY
Mr Derek Bonner founded the Association on April 6th 1964 when he promoted and chaired an open meeting attended by some 50 persons.
The desire for a village playing field stemmed from three emerging difficulties.
Firstly, the Football Club, who played on a field at the top of Hull Lane, were asked by the owners of the land to play elsewhere as football interfered too much with their own requirements for animal grazing.
Secondly, cricketers, who played on the Old Vicarage meadow, had long found difficulties with the barbed wire fence surrounding the wicket that had to be taken down and replaced for each match, and the presence of cattle and geese made the outfield rather unsuitable.
Finally, contrary to local opinion, Herts County Council (not the village children) proved to be the legal owners of the Recreation Ground, which, in 1923, had been bequeathed to Herts County Council ‘for use as a playground in connection with Braughing County Council School’ (now Jenyns) by Mr Longman of Upp Hall.
In 1965 Herts County Council exchanged this plot of some 0.82 acres for a somewhat smaller piece of some 0.53 acres belonging to Braughing Rural District Council and adjacent to the school playing field, having the effect of making the latter much larger. This was clearly advantageous to the school but left children without a play area other than the school field, which was, and remains, closed outside school hours.
The covenant restricting the use of the old recreation ground was released by Mr W Longman in 1962 and became the site of Longmans bungalows. With the construction of the new school in 2004 on the exchanged site the Longman bequest faded into history. The loss of this recreation ground probably more than anything else motivated local desire for a sports field. It may be put on record that things might have turned out quite differently had the Parish Council not refused the free (?) offer from Herts County Council of the recreation ground some time in the late 1950’s because of the perceived burden of maintenance!
Several sites for a playing field were considered but the only really suitable place was the twin meadow behind the Axe & Compasses which Whitbread Brewery were initially unwilling to sell. The newly formed Association shrewdly applied for planning permission for this piece of land and, as was anticipated, was refused. Armed with this information it successfully persuaded the brewery to sell to it most of the plot, some 2.8 acres, for £1,600. The brewery retained the remainder, approximately 1-acre along the eastern boundary with the Axe & Compasses, but licensed it to the Association for the nominal sum of 1/- per annum. This deal took effect on 18th August 1969.
In November 1969 approximately 0.2 acres of land, originally part of the Recreation Ground, together with access rights, was purchased for £1,900 from Braughing Rural District Council to provide building and car-parking space. The relatively high price exacted by the Council was because the land had by then been reclassified as building land. In the circumstances this may be regarded as less than generous but it has to be remembered that Councils are legally obliged to maximise their assets.
In December 1969 approximately 0.4 acres of land at the eastern edge of the newly acquired land was generously given to the Association by William Pimblett (and his family) of Upp Hall. This squared up the site and provided space for a tennis court.
During all this time ideas were being explored and grant applications made for a hall with changing rooms, for which there was, perhaps surprisingly, opposition from a few who saw no need for it. Nevertheless, at well-attended open meeting, the vote went overwhelmingly in favour of the proposal.
Fund raising took place all this time. It was during these years that the well-known annual Wheelbarrow Race through the village began. In July 1972 a grant of £3,432 was obtained from Hertfordshire County Council, being conditional upon the facilities created being made available to everyone without discrimination. Thus, whilst the facilities were intended principally for the benefit of residents of Braughing others cannot be excluded. Another grant of £9,110 was obtained from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in 1970. Total project costs were at that time estimated to be £21,010 made up from land purchase, £3,500, building of pavilion, £13,900, layout of cricket square and hard tennis court, £1,740, seeding and levelling of field, £861, provision of car-park, £900, architect fees, £79, and legal fees, £50.
The Association was registered with the Charity Commission as ‘Braughing Playing Field Association Trust’ and given the Charity Number 302344. The ‘governing instrument’ was effectively the Conveyance between the Association and Whitbread dated August 18th 1969. Playing Field signatories on this document are Charles Webb, Kenneth Kemp, Roger Boa and Leslie Mason. For obscure reasons the Association was reregistered with the same Charity Number but under the title ‘Braughing Playing Field Association’ (omitting the word ‘Trust’) and with a similar but not identical ‘governing instrument’ dated November 19th 1969. This has since created the anomaly that the Charity Commission have not formally accepted the revised Constitution based on the November 1969 ‘governing instrument’, signed by the Chairman Clive Besley and adopted by the Association on February 22nd 1996. Charity Commission objection was to the inclusion of the word sport’, which was deemed not to be a charitable objective even though it was included in the November 19th 1969 document.
At the AGM of the ‘Trust’ held on February 20th 1975 the ‘Association’ was formally wound up and it’s assets transferred to the ‘Trust’. Unquestionably therefore the correct title is now Braughing Playing Field Association Trust.
To meet budget limitations the hall had to be made smaller than hoped but even so, at the last moment, the original contractor increased his tender of £14,552 to a then unaffordable level. In the event a renegotiated contract for £14,470 was signed with the local building firm of Burgess & Cook Ltd. In May 1974 Lord Luke, Chairman of the National Playing Fields Association, formally opened the building.
In November 1986 a 20 year lease was granted at a peppercorn rent by The Wydgee Pastoral Company Pty Ltd for the use of land at the eastern boundary as an additional sports field and for temporary car-parking. East Hertfordshire District Council granted, at 5p per annum, an annually renewable vehicle-access license to this land via the private road to the Council garages. There was a condition that the Association did not permit vehicles to block the road or access to the garages and would accept ‘equitable’ charges for road repairs.
In addition to a tennis court, a cricket pitch and a football pitch the field initially accommodated a children’s play area. In the course of time the play equipment became derelict and in 1991 the Parish Council negotiated permission to provide a new children’s play area on the land leased from the Wydgee Pastoral Co. Since then the Parish Council has assumed total responsibility for the play area. The lease on this land expired in March 2005 since when it’s future remains uncertain.
In August 1998 Whitbread transferred the freehold of the bulk of the licensed portion of the playing field to the Association as part of a planning deal allowing the construction of a beer garden on the remainder. This generous gesture adequately compensated the Association for the permanent loss of use of a negligible portion of the field.
In 1998 the tennis court was resurfaced and enlarged, funding being provided by the Tennis Club with some financial help from the Association. A second tennis court, financed entirely through the efforts of the Tennis club, was constructed and formally opened on September 19th 2004.
Minor improvements have been made to the building over the years, notably tiling in the toilets, the fitting of a suspended ceiling, double-glazing in the hall and the installation of gas heating. Since 1999 major building improvements have been undertaken with the aid of grants from various sources, most notably the Big Lottery Fund. These improvements included refurbishment of the kitchen together with the provision of a serving hatch; a new floor in the hall and a modern high-level gas heating system. The construction of a storeroom, a new access, and a toilet suitable for use by the disabled was completed in March 2006.
Under Constitution rules the Association is managed by a Committee, elected annually and comprising 8 elected Members plus one Representative from each Affiliated Body.
Affiliated Bodies are those clubs or public organisations that, by virtue of being regular users of the premises, have been granted Affiliation status by the Committee. Representatives are expected to act in the interests of the Association as a whole, they are not there simply to act in the interests of their own Club.
Currently the property is used on a regular basis by a number of organisations. Tennis, Cricket and Football Clubs use the field. The Carpet Bowls Clubs, Guides and a Yoga group use the hall. Provided it retains public support the future of the Association seems to be assured.
Produced by Roy Glazebrook, sometime treasurer and secretary July 2006
Registered Charity Number 302344
HISTORY
Mr Derek Bonner founded the Association on April 6th 1964 when he promoted and chaired an open meeting attended by some 50 persons.
The desire for a village playing field stemmed from three emerging difficulties.
Firstly, the Football Club, who played on a field at the top of Hull Lane, were asked by the owners of the land to play elsewhere as football interfered too much with their own requirements for animal grazing.
Secondly, cricketers, who played on the Old Vicarage meadow, had long found difficulties with the barbed wire fence surrounding the wicket that had to be taken down and replaced for each match, and the presence of cattle and geese made the outfield rather unsuitable.
Finally, contrary to local opinion, Herts County Council (not the village children) proved to be the legal owners of the Recreation Ground, which, in 1923, had been bequeathed to Herts County Council ‘for use as a playground in connection with Braughing County Council School’ (now Jenyns) by Mr Longman of Upp Hall.
In 1965 Herts County Council exchanged this plot of some 0.82 acres for a somewhat smaller piece of some 0.53 acres belonging to Braughing Rural District Council and adjacent to the school playing field, having the effect of making the latter much larger. This was clearly advantageous to the school but left children without a play area other than the school field, which was, and remains, closed outside school hours.
The covenant restricting the use of the old recreation ground was released by Mr W Longman in 1962 and became the site of Longmans bungalows. With the construction of the new school in 2004 on the exchanged site the Longman bequest faded into history. The loss of this recreation ground probably more than anything else motivated local desire for a sports field. It may be put on record that things might have turned out quite differently had the Parish Council not refused the free (?) offer from Herts County Council of the recreation ground some time in the late 1950’s because of the perceived burden of maintenance!
Several sites for a playing field were considered but the only really suitable place was the twin meadow behind the Axe & Compasses which Whitbread Brewery were initially unwilling to sell. The newly formed Association shrewdly applied for planning permission for this piece of land and, as was anticipated, was refused. Armed with this information it successfully persuaded the brewery to sell to it most of the plot, some 2.8 acres, for £1,600. The brewery retained the remainder, approximately 1-acre along the eastern boundary with the Axe & Compasses, but licensed it to the Association for the nominal sum of 1/- per annum. This deal took effect on 18th August 1969.
In November 1969 approximately 0.2 acres of land, originally part of the Recreation Ground, together with access rights, was purchased for £1,900 from Braughing Rural District Council to provide building and car-parking space. The relatively high price exacted by the Council was because the land had by then been reclassified as building land. In the circumstances this may be regarded as less than generous but it has to be remembered that Councils are legally obliged to maximise their assets.
In December 1969 approximately 0.4 acres of land at the eastern edge of the newly acquired land was generously given to the Association by William Pimblett (and his family) of Upp Hall. This squared up the site and provided space for a tennis court.
During all this time ideas were being explored and grant applications made for a hall with changing rooms, for which there was, perhaps surprisingly, opposition from a few who saw no need for it. Nevertheless, at well-attended open meeting, the vote went overwhelmingly in favour of the proposal.
Fund raising took place all this time. It was during these years that the well-known annual Wheelbarrow Race through the village began. In July 1972 a grant of £3,432 was obtained from Hertfordshire County Council, being conditional upon the facilities created being made available to everyone without discrimination. Thus, whilst the facilities were intended principally for the benefit of residents of Braughing others cannot be excluded. Another grant of £9,110 was obtained from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in 1970. Total project costs were at that time estimated to be £21,010 made up from land purchase, £3,500, building of pavilion, £13,900, layout of cricket square and hard tennis court, £1,740, seeding and levelling of field, £861, provision of car-park, £900, architect fees, £79, and legal fees, £50.
The Association was registered with the Charity Commission as ‘Braughing Playing Field Association Trust’ and given the Charity Number 302344. The ‘governing instrument’ was effectively the Conveyance between the Association and Whitbread dated August 18th 1969. Playing Field signatories on this document are Charles Webb, Kenneth Kemp, Roger Boa and Leslie Mason. For obscure reasons the Association was reregistered with the same Charity Number but under the title ‘Braughing Playing Field Association’ (omitting the word ‘Trust’) and with a similar but not identical ‘governing instrument’ dated November 19th 1969. This has since created the anomaly that the Charity Commission have not formally accepted the revised Constitution based on the November 1969 ‘governing instrument’, signed by the Chairman Clive Besley and adopted by the Association on February 22nd 1996. Charity Commission objection was to the inclusion of the word sport’, which was deemed not to be a charitable objective even though it was included in the November 19th 1969 document.
At the AGM of the ‘Trust’ held on February 20th 1975 the ‘Association’ was formally wound up and it’s assets transferred to the ‘Trust’. Unquestionably therefore the correct title is now Braughing Playing Field Association Trust.
To meet budget limitations the hall had to be made smaller than hoped but even so, at the last moment, the original contractor increased his tender of £14,552 to a then unaffordable level. In the event a renegotiated contract for £14,470 was signed with the local building firm of Burgess & Cook Ltd. In May 1974 Lord Luke, Chairman of the National Playing Fields Association, formally opened the building.
In November 1986 a 20 year lease was granted at a peppercorn rent by The Wydgee Pastoral Company Pty Ltd for the use of land at the eastern boundary as an additional sports field and for temporary car-parking. East Hertfordshire District Council granted, at 5p per annum, an annually renewable vehicle-access license to this land via the private road to the Council garages. There was a condition that the Association did not permit vehicles to block the road or access to the garages and would accept ‘equitable’ charges for road repairs.
In addition to a tennis court, a cricket pitch and a football pitch the field initially accommodated a children’s play area. In the course of time the play equipment became derelict and in 1991 the Parish Council negotiated permission to provide a new children’s play area on the land leased from the Wydgee Pastoral Co. Since then the Parish Council has assumed total responsibility for the play area. The lease on this land expired in March 2005 since when it’s future remains uncertain.
In August 1998 Whitbread transferred the freehold of the bulk of the licensed portion of the playing field to the Association as part of a planning deal allowing the construction of a beer garden on the remainder. This generous gesture adequately compensated the Association for the permanent loss of use of a negligible portion of the field.
In 1998 the tennis court was resurfaced and enlarged, funding being provided by the Tennis Club with some financial help from the Association. A second tennis court, financed entirely through the efforts of the Tennis club, was constructed and formally opened on September 19th 2004.
Minor improvements have been made to the building over the years, notably tiling in the toilets, the fitting of a suspended ceiling, double-glazing in the hall and the installation of gas heating. Since 1999 major building improvements have been undertaken with the aid of grants from various sources, most notably the Big Lottery Fund. These improvements included refurbishment of the kitchen together with the provision of a serving hatch; a new floor in the hall and a modern high-level gas heating system. The construction of a storeroom, a new access, and a toilet suitable for use by the disabled was completed in March 2006.
Under Constitution rules the Association is managed by a Committee, elected annually and comprising 8 elected Members plus one Representative from each Affiliated Body.
Affiliated Bodies are those clubs or public organisations that, by virtue of being regular users of the premises, have been granted Affiliation status by the Committee. Representatives are expected to act in the interests of the Association as a whole, they are not there simply to act in the interests of their own Club.
Currently the property is used on a regular basis by a number of organisations. Tennis, Cricket and Football Clubs use the field. The Carpet Bowls Clubs, Guides and a Yoga group use the hall. Provided it retains public support the future of the Association seems to be assured.
Produced by Roy Glazebrook, sometime treasurer and secretary July 2006