What a year it's been!  Not just one, but two major projects completed: namely refurbishments of the pavilion and the playground.  The pavilion project began in July 2009 and finished in January 2010, although at the time of writing the final completion of the external paintwork is still outstanding.  This was significantly longer than the nine weeks originally quoted for the job; however we are extremely happy with the final result.  I am therefore pleased to report that we now have a fit for purpose facility capable of supporting a wide range of village activities on the recreation ground.  This includes a much more efficient use of the building footprint, with indoor space able to provide a bad weather option for smaller groups.

The playground project also took much longer to complete than was originally planned and involved much angst in the process.  The result however, is truly stunning and the village now has a fantastic facility.  Hardly a day now passes when it's not full of children at some stage.  This was a truly remarkable story of a group of people with vision and determination.  It began with small-scale fundraising, and then a large donation put wind in the sails and gave them the confidence to apply for and secure a significant Lottery grant.  This enabled the playground team to implement their vision in full; something that must have seemed a distant dream just a year before.

I wish to record particular thanks in my report this year.  Our thanks go firstly to Stephen Sampson, formerly of Bamford, for his significant personal donations that have gone to a number of village facilities, without whose generosity none of our Recreation Ground developments could have even left the starting blocks.  Because of Stephen Sampson we have both a refurbished pavilion and perhaps the best village playground in the Hope Valley.  Next our thanks go to the residents of Bamford including the Recreation Ground Committee, who put hands in pockets and donated over £10,000 to close the final gap in our funding for the pavilion project.  That just goes to show the sort of community cohesion we have here in Bamford.  In recognition of their financial help thanks also go to the Parish Council, Cllr Tracy Critchlow of Derbyshire County Council and the Hugh Sykes Trust.  I would also like to formally record our thanks to Denis Stephens for his multiple roles as design engineer, QA manager and no-nonsense negotiator; and not least for his extraordinary attention to detail that has delivered a quality facility.  Valley Services Limited also deserves formal mention because they did such a great job and treated us very generously as clients.

Regarding the playground team, the whole village should give a loud round of applause to Helen & Nigel Eyre, Karin and Mark Woods, Leslie Doyle, Carole Pill, Amanda Bacon and Neil Deakin for pulling off their remarkable hat-trick; and not least for their services to marathon baking (Nigel, Mark & Neil excepting!) for both the pavilion and playground opening events.  Particular thanks too to Paul Holden for his architectural input.

There has quite literally been a cast of thousands involved in these projects that deserve our thanks, and I offer my apology where I have omitted particular mention.

So what of the year to come?  Well, we need to consolidate what we have already put in place and look at what we can do to upgrade the immediate vicinity of the pavilion and playground, within what we can afford to do justice to the quality of facilities.  By this I am referring to the hard standing for car parking, track way and the site of the former warden's caravan.  First of all however, we will need to take stock of the running costs of the pavilion, with its new heating and shower facilities, plus cleaning costs.  I am not going to dwell on it but we also have to learn to live with the seemingly ever increasing risk of vandalism and the necessity - sadly - for enhanced security measures.

Despite that little low note, I think it is fantastic that we now have such great facilities on the Recreation Ground that warrant protection!  So here we are at the beginning of a new year of village life on the Recreation Ground, and we're definitely on the up.  As a final point, as Chairman I would like to separately thank the Management Committee and stakeholder groups for their personal commitment to what has been a really demanding but hugely fulfilling year.

May 2010