Little Eaton Parish Council

04/06/2026

Litter pick this Sunday. All welcome. All equipment provided. Sunday 7th, 10-11am. Start and finish at Croft Corner (opposite the Co-op). Pick your own route

The next Parish Litter Pick is scheduled for Sunday 7 June. Please meet at Croft Corner at 10am. All welcome

31/05/2026

Don't forget tomorrow is the Defibrillator Awareness Session - Monday 1 June, Little Eaton Village Hall (upper hall), 7-9pm.

20/05/2026

🚨 Defibrillator Awareness Session 🚨

Learn how to use a defibrillator and perform life-saving CPR with Belper District Community First Responders.

A fun and informative session covering skills that could help save a life.

📅 1st June 2026
🕖 7pm - 9pm
📍 Little Eaton Village Hall

Everyone welcome
Come along and learn something invaluable.

20/05/2026

***Help Needed***

We are looking for any builders who can help provide quotes to:
▪️Reconfigure public toilets in a public building
▪️Install a public accessible disabled toilet in a public building

If you can help please contact the Parish Clerk ([email protected])

19/05/2026

The roundabout is back. Freshly renovated and with the bearings cleaned and greased it’s spinning beautifully.

Originally bought by the parish council in October 1933 for £34, 8 shillings and 9 pence (referred to then as a merry-go-round). We have found the original parish council minutes that show it was bought from Messrs Wicksteed & Co of Kettering and assembled on the park by a Mr Bates.

Interestingly it was agreed that the roundabout would be padlocked on Sundays and ash paths would be laid for access.

Wicksteed are still making playground equipment today, they opened Wicksteed Park in 1921 which is recognised as the birthplace of modern playgrounds. In fact our slide and main swings are also Wicksteed’s although we believe they are not quite as old as the roundabout.

Ironically history is repeating itself as in these same 1933 minutes the council move from discussing the new merry-go-round to the dangerous state of the swings (wooden back then). This mirrors our current predicament where we have a newly renovated roundabout but a corroding slide.

The earliest photo that the Little Eaton History Society has of the playground is from the 1950’s and the roundabout can be seen in its current location with the huge oak tree in the background.
The parish council are delighted to be able to give this roundabout a new lease of life and you’ll be pleased to know we have no intention of locking it up on Sundays! It would however be great if H&S rules would let us get away with laying ash paths, that would save us a fortune!

We will continue to renovate the playground through 2026 but we are doing as much of the work as we can ourselves, so that our limited funds can be directed towards new equipment and facilities. We appreciate your patience.

18/05/2026

The Annual Parish meeting takes place this Wednesday 20th May at 7pm. All are welcome to attend and hear about what we have achieved as a Parish Council this year and our plans for next year.

18/05/2026

The next Parish Litter Pick is scheduled for Sunday 7 June. Please meet at Croft Corner at 10am. All welcome

17/05/2026

Your local Safer Neighbourhood Team will be hosting a ‘Street Meet’ at the Co OP, Alfreton Road, Little Eaton on Thursday 21st May at 4pm.

Please take this opportunity to raise any concerns you may have and to find out what we are doing to tackle the issues that matter to you.

Everyone is welcome and it would be great to see you there.

15/05/2026

Playground - Good News and Bad News

We’ll start with the bad news. Unfortunately today we’ve noticed corrosion on our slide that makes it unsafe to use. As a result we have had to close this piece of equipment while we assess the issues and have repairs carried out if feasible. This vintage slide has served many generations of Little Eaton residents and has an appeal that modern play equipment often fails to deliver. Steven Oldknow, our village blacksmith, came straight out to look at the corrosion and he believes it may be possible to save this incredibly popular slide. In the mean time please respect the barriers that are in place and explain to your young people that we are doing our best to get it operational again.

The good news is that after many hours of hard work, sweat and very nearly tears the refurbished roundabout is finally ready to be re-installed. Many of you will know Simon Downing, and if you don’t you’ll know his tractors from the carnival parade. Simon has kindly offered to help us lift the roundabout back into position, hopefully next week if work commitments and the weather permits. So look out for it making its way towards the park any day now!

24/04/2026

Users of the playground will have noticed the new self closing access gate. This upgrade follows resident feedback that the original side gate was difficult to use for those with mobility issues due to the slope, angle of approach and width. The side gate has been permanently closed.

The Parish Council are now actively seeking grant opportunities to install a basket swing on the playground. This will be an additional piece of equipment in the bottom corner close to the new entrance. Basket swings are accessible for all and always popular with children and their adults!

The roundabout refurbishment by volunteers is ongoing and the new surface has been installed in anticipation.

All playgrounds must display appropriate signage at each entrance in case of emergencies/damage reporting. In order to save funds the Parish Council have constructed and installed these ourselves.
Now the grass has dried out we plan to undertake some jet washing when councillors get the opportunity.

Hopefully you can see that the Parish Council is committed to keeping our popular playground maintained and safe for the next generation to love as much as previous ones have.