STRATFORD DOMAIN BOARD

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 7, 11 December 1915, Page 3

STRATFORD DOMAIN BOARD

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Strat-

ford Domain Board was held yesterday afternoon, when Mr G. N. Curtis (chairman), occupied tho chair, and there were present; Messrs T. H. Penn, P. Thomson and 11. McK. M orison.

Th.e Stratford Borough Council wrote informing the Board that the Fire Brigade had asked and obtained permission for the use of a piece of the Domain for practice purposes, and the Council had laid on the necessary water to the ground at a cost of £4O. The expenditure had been rendered useless by the granting of the Croquet Club of the piece of land previously reserved for the Brigade. This necessitated a further expenditure of over £4O by the Council to extend the water main further south in order to give the Brigade the amount of ground necessary for practice purpose. It now transpires that one of the Tennis Club’s was making application for a piece of the ground reserved for the Brigade, and if this

application were acceded to, it would nullify the effect of the Council’s expenditure of over £BO. The Council therefore requested that the ground now occupied by the Brigade be reserved for their use, and trusted the Board’ will recognise the justice of the request. A letter was received from the secretary of the Park Tennis Club, in which it was stated: Some months ago your Board granted permission to the Park Croquet Club and Tennis Club to enclose 100 feet from the plantation fence on the eastern side of Victoria Park extending along the end of the hockey ground as far as required by the club. This permission was obtained to enable the tennis section of the club to form courts, and portion of the ground was fenced in. The tenuis members of the above-mentioned club have

since formed a club apart from the Croquet Club, and as they are at present using a portion of the Croquet Club’s lawn, and their membership has greatly increased, they desire to fence in the rest of the ground in respect to which, the Board Save permission to the Croquet Club, in order to form at least one new court. It is proposed to make this a “chip court, and this could be prepared and made tit for play in a lew weeks. ! am, therefore, desired to write to the Board asking for its formal consent to the enclosure of the strip 100 feet wide lying between the present courts and tire hank of the creek, permission to enclose which was given to the Croquet and Tennis Club, whose members are aware of this application, and approve of it. Members of my committee will he glad to wait on the Board at next meeting if desired. The chairman said the hire Brigade wanted the whole new strip from the east to west, as owing to the granting the Croquet Club an additional stip 18 months ago, it prevented the Fire Brigade using the ground which it formerly used on the hockej ground, Mr Penn said it was a point whether tiiey had given the Tennis Club land that was promised to the Brigade. . ; ; Mr M orison said that according to the i Board’s letter they had given .thfe Tennis Club permission to take .wMtjever land, they required, and because they had 1 not fenced in all they required at the time it did not follow that the Board could say now that the Tennis Club could not take what they wanted. 1 The chairman said ■ the domains wore.; for ;public recreation purposes,

and the Tennis Club only , a portion of the public, while,'the -Fire Brigade represented the whole of , the ratepayers. When the Board, granted the Fire Brigade the new. strip along the hike they did not | think the Croquet and Tennis Club would require more land. It seemed, that' the Board had cpmniitted' themselves to the Fire Brigade. Mr Morison said surely it did not mean that they.would have to stop v beautifying and planting, and extending the tennis and croquet, grounds because they had granted fthq Fire Brigade land. He did ' not 5 want to reflect on the good-work of the brigade. A deputation consisting of Messrs HE. Laurence,and H Arthur waited outhe!; Boaid,s repfe'sc9),ting , the--'Paj'k; Tenhisf'and Croquet IClub, and^said• according to a'letter Trom the Board it appeared they had a right to enclose the land right down to the lake. At present .they wanted another 30

feet, and as tiie club was growing, they wished permission to do down to the lake. Captain Grubb, representing the Brigade, said that by granting the ground applied for to the Tennis Club tbe Fire Brigade would not be able to use the new part granted to them to advantage, as the ground would he made too short and the money spent by the Council would be wasted. It seemed that permission had been given to a church to enclose a piece of land for tennis, but this was three years ago, and nothing had been done by them. Mr Thomson asked would it inconvenience the Croquet Club if permission was refused. Mr Laurence said the club was cramped for room on Thursday, when over twenty-live players were on the courts, and they had to restrict the players to a time limit in order to give all a game. " The Board then visited the ground and it was decided to adjourn the application until the Methodist Church had been communicated with, and informed that a ground application had been made for the grant originally granted them in November, 1912, and unless a fresh application

was made and £2O deposited as a matter of good faith, to ensure they would make tennis courts, their application would lapse.