Will Others Want The Same? - 23rd March 1967

£8000 To Be Spent On Playing Field At Fremington

When Barnstaple Rural District Council decided to spend over £8,000 on the provision of a playing field at Fremington, several members expressed the view that this might lead to other parish councils expecting the Rural Council to provide playing fields for their locality.
After a lengthy discussion in committee the Council decided by 20 votes to five to purchase the two acres of land at Woodville for a playing field.
The Clark (Mr E Harwood) had told the Councl that there were 1,700 or 1,800 people living in this area with no provision for children. He said that field had been offered to the local authority, but it had to be accepted before the end of the financial year.
In order to loan money a parish council must call a parish meeting but the parish meeting at Fremington decided against the purchase.
He said the Finance Committee had come to the conclusion that the offer should be accepted and recommended that the Council should apply for a loan and complete the transaction before the end of the month.
Mr F J Ridd-Jones, chairman of the Finance Committee, said there was a vast number of children and it was quite apparent that they needed somewhere to get off the roads.