Historic News: 2008 | 2007 | Nov 06 | Aug 06 | Jun 06 | May 06 | Feb 06
Millennium Green - future projects, Summer 2009
At a meeting of the Leisure Committee of Euxton Parish Council in late July, it approved the creating of a flower bed.
The bed would be created around the old tree stump, where once the sculpture stood but has since had to be felled due to serious rot.
The Council is also attempting to secure some further picnic benches to create a second picnic area on the Green.
Millennium Green - Wildflower Meadow
A project was completed in late Spring/early Summer 2009 to creat a Wildflower Meadow.
Euxton Parish Council were awarded a Green Partnership Award grant of £500 towards the project which cost just over £1400.
The area, near the wooden bridge and the South side of the Green, was sprayed with weed killer, rotivated and picked and cleaned of any weed or plant which didn't need to be there. Then the wildflower plug plants were hand planted and a specific grass seed mixture sowed on top - a grass which is less intrusive so the wildflower plugs can take hold.
There probably won't be any results this summer from the planting but next summer should reveal how well the plants have taken and may produce flowers.
Notoriously, and quite unbelievably, wildflower areas are quite difficult to 'create'. They take time and the right conditions to be able to take hold and flourish then, at the end of the season, the area needs to be cut down and left so the seed sets in the ground for the following season.
It is hoped, that the area will soon become an attraction for butterflies, bees and insects.
We wish the area Good Luck and hope to see flowers next summer.
Click to enlarge
Millennium Green - Picnic Benches
Three picnic benches were placed on the Millennium Green in Spring 2009 and were an instant hit with visitors to the area.
The Green has just had installed three large picnic tables so people can have a seat and enjoy the Summer weather in its pleasant surroundings.
Click to enlarge
Millennium Green - Geoff Witts signage
The new signage for the Millennium Green was erected late in 2008 for the Geoff Witts Millennium Green.
The two signs read,
"Euxton Parish Council dedicates this Millennium Green to the memory of Councillor Geoff Witts who inaugurated the Green in 2000, served as a Councillor for 32 years and who sadly died July 2007"
The tree behind this sign, near to the Car Park double gates in the tree planted in 2000 dedicated to Geoff Witts for opening the Millennium Green. It is a Hornbeam.
This sign is at the entrance arch to the Millennium Green.
Millennium Green - bird boxes for Spring
A local resident, John Wilding of Yew Tree Avenue, kindly made 12 bird boxes for the Millennium Green after reading the appeal in the Euxton In Bloom page of the Newsletter. On a sunny weekend at the beginning of March, Councillor Alan Platt and John put the boxes up on the larger trees on the Millennium Green.
Millennium Green - sculpture report
An inspection on the tree sculpture has confirmed 'the obvious' that the tree is now rotten right through and needs to be chopped down.
the third photo is how it looked before it began to break up.
Millennium Green - spring photos
Left: Spring view of Euxton Hall (click to enlarge)
Right: Do you know where and what this is? (click to enlarge photo)
See movie clip of Autumn 2007 on the Millennium Green
For this you will need Windows Media Player
Millennium Green - historic reports
June 2007
The major path resurfacing works were carried out at the end of 2006, with the top coat materials being finished spring of 2007.
Following the laying of the top coat of a material called Top Trek, which is a recyclate composite, it was noticed that it contain contaminates of crushed glass and rusty nails. The supplier of the product agreed that the product was not acceptable but only agreed to replace the product, which left the clearing and relaying costs outstanding. Following long negotiations between the contractors and the suppliers an agreement was reached which enabled the surface to be replaced.
In the week of 18 June the top surface was scraped off and removed off site (scraping off on photo 1). Any broken edge boards were replaced (see photo 2).
On Monday 25 June a new top surface will be delivered and laid which will be the same material as the path was when it was originally created in 1999, sandstone.
November/December 2006
Work on the footpath has now started and here are some photos of the initial stages which is to lay edges to the path, to support the path surface but also to give a definite edge to the grass which will prevent the path reducing in width.
For the full history of works on the Millennium Green click here
November 2006
The landscaping work, which was left in an unacceptable state following United Utilities' contractors finished on sight, will now not now ahead until Spring 2007 because the grass growing season has passed and the weather turned too wet.
The Parish Council is extremely disappointed that this problem was not acknowledged earlier by UU and remedial work jumped on at the time as it could have been completed by now. This was not due to the lack of chasing or insistence from the Parish Council and residents.
Regarding the perimeter path though, the Parish Council had planned, before UU were coming on site, to have the path renewed and re-layed but whilst matters were unresolved the project was on hold.
The path work project has now been approved, ordered and was due to begin in late November. This project has received a contribution from United Utilities towards rectifying the sections which its contractors did not renew to a satisfactory standard.
The project will entail the widening, edging and resurfacing of the full length of the path, entrance sections and the remedial works needed around the car park entrance where subsidence has distorted the fence and gates.
The paths and car park will be surfaced with a product called Toptrek which is an environmentally friendly recyclate alternative which would reduce the requirement of 'sandstone' products.
August 2006
Following on from previous reports about the path and some of the areas of grass on the Green were not up to standard, following United Utilities major pipe works, there has been slow but positive progress been made.
The consultants have concurred that some areas of the land has not been reinstated to its original state - but worse, and that the path is not up to standard or even matches the materials originally used to form that path.
The remedial works cannot be done by United Utilities' contractors so a landscape gardening firm will rectify problems in September, which still leaves enough time for the grass seed to grow.
The Parish Council is now considering a quotation for the works needed to restore the quality and width of the rest of the circuit of pathway, repairs to the fencing and gates near the car park, which has suffered land subsidence and needs filling in. This work is planned to be done before the end of the year.
June 2006 - Following the supposed completion by United Utilities of the Millennium Green restoration work the Council has inspected it. The standard of the work to restore the Green to its previous condition is not good enough and has been reported. The pathway has been made from a completely different material, namely lime stone instead of sand stone and they are large stones and rocks instead of smaller crushed pieces which will settle to make a firm walk way. The ground near the entrance arch on the right appears to be much lower than before, this is where the plant entered the site, because of its lower position it is very flooded. All the areas which were once grass have been flattened but the soil quality is very poor with large rocks, stones and some pieces bigger than a fist just lying on the top - which will make it impossible to cut the grass if it grew. On top of all this, the marsh area at the back of the Green, where the wooden bridge is, has been filled in!!!! Not at all acceptable and the Council waits for UUs response to these complaints.
May 2006 - work has now started by United Utilities to restore the Green to its previous condition. Unfortunately, the area is being blighted by vandalism and the Parish Council has had a seat and bin torn out of the ground by vandals which will costs hundreds of pounds to repair - this does not help.
24 February 2006 - It was the unfortunate situation this Summer that the Millennium Green needed to be dug up to enable United Utilities to lay new pipes across it.
Originally it was indicated to the Parish Council that the works would begin Spring/Summer 2005 and be for a limited period, indicated to be about 6 to 8 weeks.
The work actually began in September on the Green. This late start caused a late finish on the edge of Winter and it was indicated to the Parish Council that any reinstatement works could now not be done until Spring.
The Parish Council was initially extremely concerned over the loss of use of the Millennium Green for residents and made representations to United Utilities through its agents. These stressed the importance of the Green, the amount of use residents made of it and the effect the closing of the a large area of it can have.
Again in November 2005 the Parish Council wrote to reiterate its concerns and point out the state the Green had been left in for the Winter. The pictures say it all but below are some of the observations:
It may not be very noticeable in the photos but, some of the fencing sections removed from the perimeter are bent and would not be fit to be re-installed until it they have been straightened or replaced.
The Parish Council is concerned about the extended length of time this work has taken, to that which was indicated, the state of disrepair the Green is in at present and the fact that it cannot be fully restored until Spring 2006. The Council has expended quite an amount of time on this issue through correspondence, site visits by the Clerk and dealing with resident complaint letters enquiring when the Green will be restored.
The Parish Council did write to yourselves on 1 December 2004 expressing its concerns over the closure of part of the Green and explaining the extent of the usage of the Green. It was not expected that the inconvenience of closure would stretch from a small number of weeks to many months before the Green could be fully opened again. The Parish Council again appeals for some kind of assistance to be granted ...
The Parish Council has from the start been compliant towards the needs of utility companies to fulfill their necessary works to supply services to the village but, it has also stressed the importance of the Millennium Green as a very well used recreation facility for residents and have attempted to negotiate with United Utilities, through its Agent for some sort of compensation for the time the green would be closed, the mess, upset and inconvenience of loosing this facility. To date, requests have not been acknowledged. The Council will keep trying.
At the beginning of February there was still no response from the Agents of United Utilities.
24 February 2006
Following the continuous correspondence from the Parish Council to the United Utilities agent and further weight added by an overlooking neighbour of the land, the agents have intimated that the situation will be reviewed within the next few weeks. The main emphasis of this review is to look at measure which can be completed in the remaining Winter weeks, such as re-manufacturing replacement fencing panels which will be needed when the fence it put back, following the removal of all the temporary protective fencing the contractors have erected. Also, it was suggested that the matter of recompence would be considered for the loss of the amenity. So, keep watching this space.