ASHRA field shortlisted for national award

Our fingers are crossed for the Ashton Hayes Sports and Recreation Association (ASHRA) team which has been shortlisted in the final 3 for the "Most Improved QEII Site, Supported by SITA Trust". Andrew Garman and Mike Powers are going to the awards ceremony this Thursday (29th November) at Lord's Cricket Ground in London and we wish them all the best. Here are the before (2011) and after (today) photos of the field - a magnificient achievement.

This is the text submitted by the ASHRA team. 

Until the summer of 2011, our village had no recreation ground or play area worthy of the name.  Our village football team played their “home” matches 5 miles away.  Kids were bored and some were being a nuisance.  Our association was founded in 2007 (becoming a charity in 2010) to put in place a first-class recreation ground facility, with land purchase being its first goal.  In 2009/10 we raised enough money (£67,5000) to buy a 4.7 acre field near the village centre.  Our involvement with the QEII scheme started in early 2010 and the signing of the Trust Deed with FiT and the Parish Council was a key step forwards, giving confidence to partners and funders. When we purchased the field in 2010, it was just a fallow farmer’s field last used for growing potatoes.   Its only community value was for dog walkers. Now it is a first-class recreation ground with a play area, football pitch, outdoor gym, carbon-neutral pavilion with car park, a perimeter path,  nature area and picnic areas. The facility is well-used and valued by local residents of all ages; the play area, featuring a much-loved zipwire and a cantilever swing, also attracts visitors  from miles around.  On any sunny day when children are not at school, one is likely to see many children using the play area.  Teenage children meet at the field after school to chat and kick a football around.  The perimeter path is used for running and walking; the gym provides an opportunity for adults to get fit.

The football pitch is used by three teams on a regular basis.  The fully-accesible pavilion provides excellent facilities for changing, with showers, toilets and a spectator room with kitchen facilities.  The building was built to a high environmental standard and features a 10kW bank of solar panels and heating via an air-source heat pump.  Income from the solar panels makes a big contribution towards the  running costs of the field.  The pavilion also features a garage for a community electric car and an open-access car charging point.  The building was provided by our partners, the Ashton Hayes Going Carbon Neutral Project.

The nature area, planted last winter, comprises coppice woodland, a small community orchard, a picnic table and a piece of woodland sculpture.

The football pitch occupies less than half of the grassed open area of the field, leaving plenty of space for other activities, formal and informal.  The scouts use the field on summer evenings and football training for younger children is provided in school holidays.  The field was used for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration in June this year.

As an indication of quality, the costs incurred in the improvements comprise approximately: a) play equipment £60K, b) landscaping, paths, entrances £50K, c) pavilion with car park £224K, d) outdoor gym £10K, e) amenity items and planting £20K (total £364K).  Funds came from local authority sources, DECC, WREN, Lottery Fund, SITA, local fund-raising and individual and institutional donors.

Update on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 11:16AM by Garry Charnock

Congratulations to the AHSRA team on coming first out of 200 entries and winning the award. Full details on the Parish Council website and an exclusive video here.