26th February 2024
Parish Council’s Trenode field available for rent
PARISH councils never have a bottom-less pocket of money to spend on pet projects so, with the prospect of a children’s play area at Farriers Way, Widegates, hopefully coming to fruition soon, there is probably not too much spare cash for Morval councillors to splash on the many other things on their ‘wish list’, including Trenode Field.
But that’s not to say that the views of residents have been consigned to the waste bin. Far from it, in fact.
While the Parish Council ponders what to do in the long-term with the field it owns at the back of Trenode Church of England Primary school, it is also keen to bring in additional money in the short term, not only so that the council’s bank account remains healthy but also so that the need to raise the precept for Council Tax-payers is eased.
The monthly meeting of the Parish Council heard that Liskeard estate agents Kivells had advised that a rent of between £100 and £150 an acre might be obtainable.
Kivells had also quoted £350, plus VAT, to actively market the land and arrange a tenancy, as well as giving a full valuation on the field.
However, a proposal from Cllrs John Kitson and John Collings to accept that offer found little favour among the rest of the parish councillors at this time.
Instead, they voted to advertise the field in Outlook magazine to see if anyone locally were interested in renting the land before going back to Kivells.
In the longer term, the Parish Council could still explore one of the many suggestions put forward by parishioners but any uses of the land involving members of the public would, of necessity, have to involve insurance liabilities and, no doubt, additional maintenance costs.
An open parish meeting in July last year yielded a number of possible uses for the steep-sided field, including allotments, a mini-football pitch for youngsters, a nature reserve, dog-walking area, walkways with benches, a hide for bird watchers, a parish picnic field, school car park and even as a site for a future community hall.
The council bought the field for about £8,000 several years ago with the intention, inter alia, of providing car parking and a safer pick-up/drop-off area for parents visiting the school.
Sadly, on that occasion, those ideas found little favour with Cornwall Council’s highways department.
A dedicated play area had also been mooted but, once again, that was not universally popular because of its location away from any built-up residential area.
The council has since been receiving an annual income of a little over £1,000 a year for letting out the field.
Like land everywhere, its value has probably increased year-on-year and one un-tested estimate has put its current value at around £140,000.