Land, Buildings and Assets for which Council is responsible
The Council is responsible for various land within the Parish. It is also the sole trustee for the Parish Hall and Recreation Ground Charities, both of which are responsible for land and buildings within the Parish. Maps of this land are available below:
Rowlands Castle Village Green including Deerleap Verge
Amenity Land in King’s Meadow (Charles Church) Development
Rowlands Castle War Memorial Grounds
Rowlands Castle Recreation Ground
Rowlands Castle Parish Hall
The Council is also responsible for various assets within the Parish, including bins, benches and over 100 trees. We are currently working on a map-based system for identifying all these assets. In the meantime, please see below for the Asset Registers relating to the Council’s Annual Return each financial year. For audit purposes, parish councils are obliged to value their assets according to their original (or estimated value) rather than inflationary-based or deflation-based value.
Proposals for a 2nd Exit at the Recreation Ground
A second exit at the Recreation Ground is needed in order to comply with health and safety guidance. It would only be used by pedestrians and only in emergencies. It is also required by the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), convened by East Hants District Council (EHDC), for the Annual Fireworks Display organised by the Rowlands Castle Association (RCA) each November. Even if spectator numbers at this event were considerably restricted, such an exit would still be required. The 2018 Display was limited to 2000 spectators on a ticket-only basis. This was a one-off arrangement with the SAG which urged the creation of a second exit in future.
A Working Group was appointed, comprising representatives of the Parish Council (RCPC), the RCA and the Recreation Ground Management Committee, to investigate the feasibility of such an exit. The Group has made regular reports to RCPC on its progress and, having considered many aspects, it has come up with some proposals and continues to explore other options as well. Following claims of alleged surface water run-off, RCPC commissioned a Hydrological Survey of the relevant area at the Recreation Ground. RCPC has also been threatened with legal action by 2 residents who object to the proposals to date.
The proposed second exit has been the subject of much discussion at RCPC’s monthly open meetings, and at a meeting held immediately after the RCA’s AGM in February 2019 and at the Annual Parish Mtg in April 2019. There have been articles in the Spring 2019 edition of Village & Valley (delivered to all households in the Parish), Statements from the Working Group (published on both RCPC’s and RCA’s websites, see below) and various Grapevine messages. A dedicated email address has been set up and publicised for those wishing to comment on the proposals/discussions to date: feedback@rowlandscastle.com.
For more information see:
WRA’s Response to RCPC’s queries about previous draft of Hydrology Report
Hydrology Report by Water Resource Associates (WRA), dated April 2019
Working Group Statement March 2019
Working Group Statement Feb 2019
