Exploding the Myth of the £20,000 per Year Maintenance Cost for the Village Green.
- The New Heads of Terms
Condition G of the new Draft Heads of Terms proposes that the Parish Council will pay the Charity (Club) an annual sum of £20,000 with the sum index linked each year to a median of the RPI and CPI indexes.
It also states that the sum is (sic) to be linked to the 5-year average of PC VG spend.
This is somewhat misleading. It is either a sum of £20k per year or it is a sum linked to the 5-year average spend on the village green. It cannot be both.
The Heads of Terms propose that the sub-lease term will be 1 day less than the term for the head lease, which is 18th January 2110.
If the £20,000 was paid for the full term of the sub-lease, this would amount to £1.7 million. However, because the annual sum is index linked it will be considerably higher. At say, 3% per annum, that sum would rise to over £7.8 million. At 5% per annum the full sum would be over £26 million.
Does the Parish Council seriously think that making this kind of commitment would benefit the residents of Hatfield Broad Oak?
- The Business Plan
The HBO Sports and Community Club have issued a business plan proposal for the maintenance of the HBO village green.
Firstly, we see that the Plan shows the Parish Council’s initial contribution of £20,000 reducing by £500 per year for years 2, 3 and 4 and by £1000 in year 5. Again, this is contrary to condition G of the proposed Heads of Terms.
Para 5 on page 19 states “No additional running costs to (sic) the Parish Council than they are already paying towards the village green”. Please note that it states running costs, not capital expenditure.
Para 6 on page 19 states “The £20,000 proposed maintenance from the Parish Council is based on figures from the last 5 years spending”.
The whole point of issuing a sub-lease is for the Club to be able to be self-financing by raising their own funds through grants and sponsorship. So, the only costs that the Parish Council should be liable for would be for areas of the village green which are not sports related.
- The Actual Maintenance Costs
So, let us look at the costs of maintaining the village green over the past 5 years. Note: all costs are shown without the addition of VAT. The Parish Council are able to claim back VAT payments.
The following costs have been provided by the Parish Council.
Year 2019/2020
Overall cost 14079.06
Omit – One-off anomalies:
Works to youth shelter 1157.05
Container purchase 1600.00 2757.05
Balance for maintenance works £11322.01
Note: The biggest single cost was for grass cutting to the pitches, which, according to data supplied by the Parish Clerk, amounted to approx. £3357.00
Year 2020/2021
Overall cost 22827.43
Omit – One-off anomalies:
Tree maintenance and survey 1975.00
Signs 587.00
New bins (not on VG) 342.90
6m green gate 499.00
Oak benches and tables 4441.67
Extra bark around new bench 90.00
Paint and thinners 143.68
Roller ramps for containers 400.00
Luxury Toilet Hire 840.00
Pétanque Works, less grants 2800.00 12119.25
Balance for maintenance works £10708.18
Note: The biggest single cost was for grass cutting to the pitches, which, according to data supplied by the Parish Clerk amounted to approx. £4555.00
Year 2021/2022
Overall cost 15712.53
Omit – One-off anomalies:
Tree survey and maintenance 8825.00
Aerator and hose 461.00 9286.00
Balance for maintenance works £6426.53
Year 2022/2023
Overall cost 20282.90
Omit – One-off anomalies:
Tree survey and maintenance 7725.00
Electricity works 1456.00
Youth shelter 2677.98
Container painting 449.00
Laser level hire 57.13
Village map for NP 61.05
Commemorative Tree 209.58 12635.74
Balance for maintenance works £7647.16
Year 2023/2024
Overall cost 10619.82
Omit – One-off anomalies:
Manhole repairs 250.00
Tree survey and maintenance 1607.67
Equipment purchases 2359.62
Seating 516.58 4733.87
Balance for maintenance works £5885.95
The average cost for maintaining the village green including grass cutting and maintenance to the pitches, fence maintenance, water charges, insurances and bin emptying, amounts to £8379.97
Note: It is our contention that all tree works for all areas of the village with Parish Council liability, including surveys, should be carried out directly by the Parish Council.
- The Actual Cost of Maintaining the Areas of the Village Green which are not Sport Related
Considering the maintenance costs over the last 5 years and data supplied by the Parish Council, we contend that the cost for maintaining the non-sports areas of the village green should be:
Grass cutting to the outer green areas
24 cuts @ 3 hours per cut @£20.00 per hour 1440.00
Cutting and strimming to wildlife areas
3 cuts @ 1 hour per cut @ £20.00 per hour 60.00
Bin emptying, 50% of the 2023/24 total 702.00
Path clearance works.
Note: only £910.00 spent over the past 5 years and the
Parish Council have agreed to carry out the path
clearance works and hand over the paths in a good
condition.
Further allowance per year for maintaining the paths, say 500.00
Fencing and Gates
Based on a total cost over the last 5 years
Average cost per year 888.00
Insurance based on 2024 cost 308.00
Other costs, taken from the Business Plan:
Bin repairs, allowed at 50% 100.00
Pétanque court maintenance (£400.00 allowed in the Plan is
Way too high 200.00
ROSPA checks based on 2024 cost 75.00
Allowance for sundry, unforeseen items, say 500.00
Total for non-sports related maintenance costs £4773.00
Note: There are other costs allowed in the Business Plan which are purely speculative and not relevant to this exercise.
- Conclusion
It must be recognised that the Club/Charity will not raise sufficient funds in the short term to be a viable entity and will need short-term subsidising by the Parish Council. However, the Business Plan must provide a credible forecast of when the subsidy will end.
Many of the non-maintenance costs detailed in the Business Plan are purely speculative and must be removed. All works which are not considered to be maintenance related should only be allowed following approval by the Parish Council for both content and value.
The estimate of the non-sports related maintenance costs is extremely variable, and the sub-lease should provide a mechanism for paying the actual costs year on year.