Berwick Town Council voted to spend around £7,000 of Berwick residents’ cash on a replacement trampoline for Flagstaff Park. The decision to replace with new, rather than repair or investigate the warranty cover, was approved at 22 April Council meeting. At the same meeting a working group was formed to consult on the purchase of further outdoor equipment for elsewhere in the town.
The full cost of the replacement trampoline was not given in the Minutes which state the item will be paid from Reserves. The cost can be estimated based on a similar item installed as part of the Spittal Play Park (SPP) refurbishment in 2022.
That project saw a complete overhaul of SPP at a cost to Berwick residents of £242,848 paid out of cash reserves. The work followed an inspection by an independent specialist stating that 84% of the existing equipment was deemed ‘Low Risk’. The report stated the swings installed in 2014 had ‘indicative end of operating life of 2029’.
During the procurement discussions one councillor, the late Alex Gibson, queried why Playdale, the original supplier of much of the equipment, was not to be contracted for the remedial work rather than replace with new. The response he was given was there would be a competition process.
In a newspaper article on 19 January 2022, the Council announced it would borrow money for the SPP work on the basis that ‘much of the equipment in the play park has come to the end of its working life’; The Council proposed spending ‘up to £250,000…borrowing up to £200,000 from the government. If we don’t raise the money, the alternative is closing the site and no play park,’ said the Council’s spokesperson.
In March 2022 councillors met at Northern View to review three tenders. Members of the public were excluded from the meeting which was neither minuted in detail nor audio recorded.
Elsewhere in England parish councils, for example Witheridge and Bishop Middleham, publish their entire procurement process, including the specs for works.
At least four councillors present at the tenders review discussion recall being shown a new Northumberland County Council inspection report and being told that the all the existing equipment was dangerous and had to be replaced. The Councillors recall that they were informed that at least one council officer knew the Kompan Scotland representative who was a neighbour. And that this sort of connection was bound to happen in small towns.
Kompan Scotland was ultimately awarded the contract to dismantle and dispose of existing equipment and install new apparatus. Installation work was completed by September 2022 at which point Councillors were told that there would be no borrowing because interest rates were too high. The works were instead paid out of reserves in late 2022.
None of the four councillors consulted wishes to be named. Questions have been put to Berwick Town Council by The Bridge in an attempt to scrutinise their spending decisions in the light of proposed new expenditure on leisure equipment. The Town Clerk, the Council’s appointed spokesperson, refuses to provide comprehensive answers.
The original Flagstaff trampoline was installed just over seven years ago in December 2016. Item price = just under £5,000, installation for the same piece at SPP cost £850, delivery c £150, VAT on this total = c £2,000. Total spend = c £7,200.