Playing Field Under New Management.
The playing field and public toilets at Lanner Moor have been taken over by the parish council from Cornwall Council. The council will look for advice on how the area and equipment are managed from a committee of both councillors and users. Anyone wishing to join this committee should contact the parish Clerk.
The story behind the parish council’s new responsibilities is in itself quite interesting.
The provision of public toilets has long been regarded as important, both for the general convenience of people in the area and for public health concerns: particularly in the larger villages. The old Kerrier District Council had been keen to shut these down where possible on grounds of cost, and Lanner parish council had been equally keen to keep the local one open.
European funds were made available to the parish council to improve the village when the Mineral Tramways were being upgraded, and one of the projects put forward was the complete modernisation of the toilets which would then be handed over to the parish by the district. It was only after the work was completed that Kerrier realised that they didn’t own the toilets, but leased them as part of the playing field from the National Playing Fields Association.
The nature of the funding was such that Kerrier could not properly be the recipient of the money and there were potential audit issues on the horizon. At the same time, we were in the throes of Kerrier being abolished with the creation of Cornwall Council as a unitary authority for the county. This in itself generated strong concerns regarding how future financial constraints might impact on these community assets. So it was that the parish council decided to take over the whole lease to ensure that both the playing field and the toilets are run in the best interests of us all. The council is hoping that everyone with an interest in the playing field – from neighbouring property owners to the children who use the play equipment – will come forward with any ideas to make it as useful and enjoyable as possible.
October 2010.