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Save Hepple Playground Please help save our playground!

09/11/2021

SAVE HEPPLE PLAYGROUND
ACT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!

A planning application has been lodged to build an extension to Hepple Village Hall for accessible toilets, storage and baby changing facilities. Why not? This sounds like an admirable idea! Unfortunately, the new toilet block will be built smack bang in the centre of the children’s playground, cutting it in two. To add insult to injury, the basketball hoop will have to go as well.

Why anyone would want to build toilets in the middle of a playground, when plenty of space is available elsewhere, is a mystery; but there it is.

Hepple has absolutely no amenities for children except for this playground. No tennis courts. No playing fields. Not even a car park or a level stretch of road to kick a ball around. Ok, not that many children live in Hepple but lots come to visit their friends and lots more would come - if they had somewhere to play. If the playground disappears under a toilet block, there will be nothing for children to do in Hepple and nothing to attract new families to the village.

09/11/2021

SHOULD I OBJECT?
Questions and Answers…………

Q: Why do children need a playground anyway?
A: Play is an essential part of children’s development. Play is a human right as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 31 and in Play England’s Charter for Children’s Play.
Playgrounds allow children to develop social skills which stand them in good stead later in life and benefit society as a whole.

Q: I’m not impressed. Children can be a lot of trouble. I’ll take the toilets.
A: Many people feel like that at times. However, we need children to grow into confident, independent, tolerant and above all considerate adults. Otherwise, we will all risk being plonked in front of blank TV screens in our old age.

Q: I’m still not convinced. Anything else?
A: Hepple Village Hall is an elegant well - proportioned building and a fine example of late Victorian Architecture. The new extension to house the toilets, storage and baby change facilities looks …well… like a toilet block.

Q: I’m not bothered about architecture, toilets are useful. Is that all?
A: In the new COVID-19 era, outdoor spaces are beneficial for adults, as well as children. If the playground is retained as it is, the space could be used for all sorts of activities: line dancing, Tai Chi, Farmer’s Markets, Country Dancing, Village Fetes, Craft Fairs, Real Ale Festivals (subject to license restrictions), Christmas Markets - the Sky is the Limit!

Q: Now you’re talking. I’ll go for that. How do I object?
A: Skip THE FINE PRINT and click on HOW DO I OBJECT?

THE FINE PRINTThe Design and Access Statement for the planned extension to Hepple Village Hall omits to say that the ext...
09/11/2021

THE FINE PRINT

The Design and Access Statement for the planned extension to Hepple Village Hall omits to say that the extension will be built on the former playground for the old Village School. This playground has been used by children from Hepple and neighbouring villages for over 100 years from the opening of the Village School in 1893 to the present day. The playground is a valuable resource for local children of all ages and provides a safe environment where pre-teen and teenage children can meet and play with their friends on their own without adult supervision.

The proposed toilet block will effectively cut the playground in two and make it unusable for football or basketball, or for kids learning to roller-skate, skateboard, ride bikes, or run around and hangout with their friends. The basketball hoop on the gable end of the school, which is currently used by local children, will also have to go to make way for the new toilet block.

There is no need to build new toilet facilities on the children's playground; other alternatives exist. There is plenty of space to the north of the hall near the existing toilets, where they would be hidden from view and would not spoil the appearance of the Village Hall, which is an elegant and well-proportioned building. There is also space within the hall itself either side of the main door which could be used for additional toilets, as shown in the sketch below.

Full details of the proposed extension to Hepple Village Hall for accessible toilets, storage and baby changing facilities can be found on the Northumberland Council’s website:
https://publicaccess.northumberland.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=R0K9V1QSJQV00

The full reference for the planning application is:
Planning Application 21/03948/FUL - Extension to Village Hall Hepple Morpeth Northumberland NE65 7LH

HOW TO OBJECTWe have NINE objections so far but need lots more objections to get the proposal referred to the Planning C...
08/11/2021

HOW TO OBJECT

We have NINE objections so far but need lots more objections to get the proposal referred to the Planning Committee, where hopefully it will sink like a stone. We realise that not everyone lives in Hepple, but anyone can object. And the more objections the better!!

Comments can be made online (but you have to register and login to comment):
https://publicaccess.northumberland.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=R0K9V1QSJQV00&activeTab=summary

Or by email, send comments by email to:
[email protected]

Or comments can be posted to:
Planning Comments,
Central Registry Team,
Development Management,
County Hall,
Morpeth,
Northumberland, NE61 2EF

PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WITH YOUR OBJECTION:

1. PLANNING REFERENCE:
Planning Application 21/03948/FUL - Extension to Village Hall Hepple Morpeth Northumberland NE65 7LH

2. YOUR FULL NAME & ADDRESS

3. YOUR OBJECTION:
No need to go into great detail. A few words along the lines should do the trick:
‘I/we object to the new toilets because they will be being built on the children’s playground and will completely ruin it’
Maybe add a connection with Hepple:
‘I/ We have friends with children in Hepple……..’, or ‘I/we live in Hepple’ or something like that.

4. Include the word ‘OBJECT’
Please also make clear you are objecting by writing ‘OBJECT’ in your email or letter - otherwise City Hall may classify it as ‘NEUTRAL’ or persish the thought ‘Approve’!

08/11/2021

AND FINALLY…..

Thanks so much for getting this far. We hope you will join us in objecting to the new toilet block and save the playground. This really is important to children in Hepple and nearby communities in the Coquet Valley and makes a huge difference to children living in the countryside.

The Council has agreed to extend the deadline for comments by two weeks to November 19th - so please don’t delay. PLEASE PUT YOU OBJECTION IN NOW!

Also please pass the message on: we need as many objections as possible!

To find out more email: [email protected]

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