Community Amenities
The Reading Room (Registered Charity No. 300882)
The Reading Room was 'founded by Conveyance on 10 February 1912'. It was converted from almshouses to pro
vide facilities for the education of parishioners. Later it was extended to provide a kitchen, WCs and downstairs rooms and facilities and became the focus for community activity generally. It now acts as the village hall and a centre for community groups, as well as providing rehearsal rooms for village bands and a venue for a range of social activities, including hire by parishioners and others. There is ramp access, a disabled toilet and a hearing loop, full details are given in this summary Access Statement.
On Saturday February 11, 2012, 2-5pm, the village will celebrate the 100th birthday of the Reading Room Charter with a tea party, displays, DVDs of village events and children's activities. See here for details.
The Reading Room is a village facility for all to use.
|
I’m waiting to be booked! |
| The Bookings for this month can be found under the 'What's On' tab. |
| Very competitive and preferential hire rates for village residents as follows: |
| £25 per 4 hour session in main hall |
Any type of event or occasion considered, just contact our Bookings Secretary. |
| £6 per 4 hour session in the main hall |
For regular meetings of village clubs & societies |
| £5 per session in the downstairs meeting room |
For regular meetings of village clubs & societies |
Subject To Booking Conditions Being Met
So come on you Kingstonians, make use of your Reading Room for your special event or occasion and help safeguard its existence in the future.
All Enquiries To: Sandy Thompson, Bookings Secretary Tel: 01548 810945 or Email: sandy@homecroftcollies.plus.com
The Reading Room was registered as a Charity on 30 January 1940. The building is owned by the Parish Council, who act as corporate trustees. Its day to day management is carried out by the Management Committee, which meets on the first Thursday of each month (except January) and which comprises representatives of all the village user groups (see Clubs/Societies page). As well as overseeing the general maintenance of the building, the Committee raises funds. The main fundraising event is the Grand Draw which is drawn at Kingston Fun Day in August.
A full access statement and the evacuation plan can be downloaded here.
The Recreation Ground
Contact: Parish Clerk: Paul Williams Email: kingstonclerk@gmail.com
Kingston Parish Council owns a 2.5 acre field given to the parish in 1953 by the Honourable Helen W. Mildmay White for recreational purposes. At one end there are children's play areas, see below and a solid multi purpose surface area known as Ted's Tarmac, with nets and marked up for various games. At the other end of the field is another part of Ted's Tarmac, containing skateboarding ramps, completed in 2006. Ted's Tarmac is named in memory of Ted Curtis, a much loved past Parish Council Chairman and community activist, with a particular interest in the wellbeing of young people. Money collected in Ted's memory and a grant from the government's Living Spaces programme to Kingston Young People's Association, enabled the area to be surfaced and equipment to be bought.
Modbury Rovers Junior Football Club (link to details) use the football pitch under an annually reviewed agreement. The Parish Council and Kingston Young Peoples' Association are grateful for funding from Devon County Council locality budget, which provided new goals in 2009.
Cllr Christine Marsh, Chair of Devon County Council opened a variety of new play equipment on the field on October 23, 2010, thanks to Active Kingston, a village based community group, which succeeded in implementing an exciting project to replace and extend the old playground. This project includes:an aerial runway; a fenced play area for younger children; a picnic area with seats, tables and a log cabin and finally an adventure trail for older children. The project was financed through several grants and by money raised within the village. Both Active Kingston and Kingston Parish Council gratefully acknowledge the generous funding contributions provided by: the Big Lottery; the Co operative Community Fund; Devon County Council; South Devon Coastal Local Action Group; South Hams District Council and last but by no means least, the residents of Kingston itself. See under 'Active Kingston' for more information on this fantastic project.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE RECREATION GROUND IS NOT SUPERVISED.
A further thank you to the Big Lottery for funding to provide good access to and on the field. This work includes access paths, a safer entrance to the field, a small fenced car parking area.
The Parish Plan Advisory Group worked with the parish tree wardens to improve the overall environment of the field. A copse of trees planted in National Tree Week, 2010, at the end of the field next to the skate park and more trees are planted along the hedgerows. The tree wardens are working closely with KYPA. Young people in the parish each have responsibility for the planting and maintenance of a group of trees, working with their families. We are grateful to theTree Council for funding to support this initiative and to the Woodland Trust for hedgrow whips. The Parish Council has also agreed to allow the hedgrows around the field to grow up and thicken in order to increase the amount and diversity of wildlife present. Wild bulbs, such as English bluebells, snowdrops and wild daffodils are being planted around the edge of the field. If you are interested in helping with this work please let the Parish Tree Wardens know through the parish clerk.
A Parish Council Sub Committee was set up in March 2011 to carry out the day to day management of the Recreation Ground. The Recreation Ground Committee Terms of Reference are here.
Open Space
Contact: Alison and Adrian Lewis, owners.
During 2003-5 the parishioners were involved in laying a claim under new Open Spaces legislation to a privately-owned piece of land, known as Middle Townsend Park, over which they had walked and carried out other activities for many years. The land was owned by an absentee landlord who had not maintained it, but who decided to bar public access. Working with Devon County Council, and invoking the CROW (Countryside and Rights of Way Act), a portion of the land was finally handed to the village residents in late 2005. Shortly after this the land was sold to a village family, who have fenced off a part of it to graze their horses, whilst allowing access to the Open Space. The path is now there for all to enjoy and can form part of circular walks around the village, see under 'Walking in Kingston'.
Allotments
Contact: Parish Clerk: Paul Williams Email: kingstonclerk@gmail.com
Kingston Parish Council owns a field containing 11 main and two smaller allotment plots which it lets out to parishioners under the Allotments Act. This Act requires that the money received from rentals (currently £15 per plot) should be used for their maintenance. This funding is augmented by the Parish Council to enable the allotments to be maintained throughout the year. In 2005 a grant was obtained from 'Life into Landscapes', a government initiative to improve and maintain environments. This grant enabled the coppicing and laying of the boundary hedges. There are chickens on site and in August 2009 a beehive was installed. Sadly it was destroyed by wasps, but we will try again in spring 2010. Currently there is a short waiting list for allotments. A copy of the allotment tenancy contract can be seen below.
Allotment tenancy contract
The Family Play Bus
The Family Playbus is now run by the Seamoor Children's Centre in Ivybridge. It visits the Kingston Reading Room from 10.15- 11.45am two Mondays a month. There is a toy and book library and everyone is welcome. (On the other two Monday mornings Kingston runs its own Stay and Play group for the under 5's, see under 'What's On'.).
USE IT OR LOSE IT 