Bentley Archers Cricket Club

https://bentleyarcherssports.com/f/bentley-recreation-ground-update---work-started-13-april Bentley Parish Council Bentley Village, Hampshire Hampshire Cricket Board Football Foundation

BENTLEY RECREATION GROUND UPDATE - WORK STARTED 13 APRIL I'm very pleased to be able to bring good news about the Bentley recreation ground.

Dear All I am pleased to announce after a protracted period of negotiation and legal wrangling with insurers and the main contractor the glass issue with the recreation ground will be resolved on the week commencing 13.4.26. We can assure the whole community that this has been planned and agreed to ensure everyone’s safety moving forward. Bentley Archers Cricket and Sports club from this moment promises to continue its long term efforts to provide a facility the village can and will be proud of. The works will take approximately 1 week to complete with a period of recovery to be 6 weeks should the weather be kind. I am sure you , like I are relieved to finally have some clarity and we appreciate your continued support. Many thanks for your time. Jim Hannon Chairman BACSC

30.1.26
Public Notice
I know many of you have been asking about the status of the recreation ground following
the discovery of glass fragments in the summer and the consequent restriction on use of the
ground. I am sorry it has taken a while to provide further clarity but it has been a deeply
frustrating and uncertain six months which I hope will shortly reach a resolution. I want to
share the full story and current situation so everyone in Bentley understands where things
stand.
You will recall that after scarification and re-seeding in April to create the new cricket and
sports ground, fragments of glass were discovered on the surface of the ground. The lead
contractor, Kestrel Contracts Limited, subsequently confirmed that its soil supplier had
provided topsoil for the project that included a quantity of crushed glass. As lead
contractor, Kestrel accepted responsibility, apologised in writing and committed to early
rectification without cost to Bentley Archers.
However, rather than focusing on rectifying the problem, Kestrel chose to pursue the topsoil
supplier, kicking off an insurance process which, to our knowledge, is still not resolved.
Inexplicably, Kestrel then ceased communication with us, despite multiple efforts from our
side to reach them, and failed to carry out the work in late September, which was their
proposed timing. Kestrel wanted to sort the insurance before committing to the work.
Out of desire to move things forward, in November we commissioned a survey of the
ground to see if, after several months of growth and rain, the glass was already being
consumed in to the earth and the ground could be considered fit for use. The survey, carried
out by the Grounds Management Association, took 36 soil samples from across the
recreation ground, from which it found just one small rounded glass fragment which posed
no risk of injury. The study found nothing that posed a safety risk and concluded that 'the
risk would appear to be low and any contamination of the topsoil with glass is likely to be
limited'. However, the GMA could not formally declare the ground safe for use simply
because the sample size was not exhaustive and the presence of glass is known. We
contacted our insurers, to see if they would still provide third party liability cover in the case
of injury, and they told us in December that if an injury could be linked to the glass on the
field then the club would most likely be held liable. As you can imagine, as a small club we
cannot shoulder that responsibility.
With this knowledge, earlier this month we re-focused on the aggressive pursuit of Kestrel
to get the work done. In addition to the parish council we now have the support of East
Hampshire District Council, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Football
Association (FA), for all of whom the Bentley sports club vision is seen as an important grass-
roots project. Thankfully, Kestrel have re-engaged under this pressure. We are now
pressing them to confirm that they will carry out work in the spring so that the recreation
ground is available for all the usual summer activities carried out by the school and the
wider community. We do not yet have that confirmation, but we are going in hard and I am
optimistic that we will be successful.
This has all taken a lot of time and has been massively frustrating time for the club, as we
want to make the new sports ground available for use as soon as possible. It is also
intensely frustrating for you, the Bentley community, who have had very limited access to
the village's largest recreation space for several months. We completely understand this
frustration and deeply regret the inconvenience it has caused to so many people. As a
Bentley school parent I know first hand just how inconvenient this is for everyone and am
grateful to fellow parents who have encouraged me to press on during this challenging
period.
The club's leadership still strongly believe that the return of community sport to Bentley is a
vision worth pursuing and that ultimately we will have a community facility that everyone
can use and be proud of. One silver lining is that the new cricket square does not contain
the contaminated topsoil, so as we resolve the outfield issue it remains on track to be
playable in 2027.
In the meantime I ask you for patience and understanding while we do everything in our
power to get things on track. We will keep you posted as soon as we have more. Thank
you, your support is massively appreciated.
GO ARCHERS!
Thankyou on behalf of the Commi ee.
Jim Hannon (Chairman BACSC)

https://bentleyarcherssports.com/news. Bentley Village EventsBentley Village, HampshireBentley Parish CouncilHampshire Cricket BoardFarnham HeraldBentley Archers Sports ClubFootball Foundation

Bentley Archers Sports Club The planning team for Bentley Archers Sports gathered on 7th March 2023 to discuss next steps and our plans for the rest of the year {more info coming soon}.

Public Notice Bentley Parish Council Bentley Village, Hampshire Bentley Village Events

To Everyone in Bentley: GLASS ON THE RECREATION GROUND

As many of you know, following the re-opening of the recreation ground last week, small fragments of crushed glass were discovered by members of the community visiting the ground. On closer inspection, we were shocked to find that such fragments could be found right across the regenerated areas of the recreation ground, with the exception of the new cricket square. After alerting the community, we spent Sunday morningsearching for and removing what glass we could find, particularly in the area between the scout hut and the new cricket square which is the area most used by local residents.

Over the weekend we contacted the contractor that managed the project for an urgent explanation. Investigations this week have determined that, extraordinarily, material provided by the topsoil supplier for dressing the surface was contaminated with a quantity of crushed glass. This resulted in it being present as the soil was distributed over the surface. The contractor and the soil supplier have recognised the issue, accepted responsibility, are investigating how the contamination happened and are committed to fully rectifying the situation at their own cost.

I and my fellow members of the Bentley Archers committee are devastated that this has happened. We are also deeply embarrassed that having asked you to be so patient in avoiding using the ground, a situation has arisen that will only cause more disruption as we work to sort this highly unfortunate situation. I have been asked why it took a member of the public to spot the problem. My only defence is that in checking the progress of grass growth, never in our wildest dreams would we expect a soil supplier to supply glass-contaminated soil to a new sports ground. The contractor has apologised unreservedly to us and in turn I can only offer our deepest apologies to you, who are both our neighbours and ultimately the intended beneficiaries of the recreation ground project.

Discussions are ongoing with the Parish Council and relevant local parties about the timing and nature of remedial action and the impact on events planned on the recreation ground. In the meantime the recreation ground remains open but we ask you to use due caution and particularly avoid barefoot use. More will be communicated when decisions are made, but I wanted to share this news with you now as many of you have questions.

I can assure you of our total commitment to resolving this issue fully and with public safety our priority. Please bear with us and we will keep you updated as the situation develops.

Important notice: Glass fragments on the Recreation Ground

Yesterday afternoon we were informed that small fragments of glass have been found on the surface of the recreation ground.

We are investigating this and on Sunday a team will be on-site to find and recover glass from the areas concerned.

The safety of everyone using the space is our top priority, so we ask that anyone visiting take extra care, particularly if you are walking with young children or pets.

We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Rec update

Some photos of the project

Hampshire Cricket Board
Surrey Cricket
Football Foundation

We are searching for equipment for the maintenance of our ground we require a compact tractor with cutting deck and roller (water ballast)
If anyone knows of these items for sale second hand please let me know. Thanks

Good afternoon folks !
We are pleased to let everyone know that the regeneration works to the recreation ground are well on track ! The square is in and the outfield prepared we just need a nice combination of rain and sun to get her up to the standard we expect. Thank you to the following:
contractors
www.dumptruckhire.co.uk

Matt Luard star
Flett
Farnham Herald
Bentley Parish Council
Hampshire Cricket Board
hants district council

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