A new group to look after Beech Road Park could be set up.
Local residents are being invited to an initial meeting next week to discuss the possibility of setting up a Friends of Beech Road Park group.
The idea is to establish a community group which will work in partnership with Cheshire East Council to make the most of Beech Road Park for local families.
PCSO Jim Newns, who has been involved in organising the meeting, explained "Residents will run the Friends of the Park group but the idea is that partner agencies will be there to offer support.
"Residents of Wood Gardens and the surrounding area have been invited to the meeting and it would be great to get some young people involved. It's really important to get a spokesperson for the youth and as long as we have five people we can run the group."
Friends of the Park groups can organise events to encourage use of the park and work on initiatives to improve it, such as maintaining equipment and helping to keep the park clean and safe for children.
Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting and bring along their own ideas about how they can help. The meeting will take place at the Festival Hall on Wednesday 12th October at 6.30pm.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Unfortunately, in spite of evident recent investment in it, it appears that local residents (or more specifically their children) are not appreciating the facilities. I walked through the park a few weeks ago and spent a good 5 minutes cleaning up refuse which had been discarded literally feet away from the bins.
It is baffling to me, why people who use a public space like this would chose to litter it when there are bins provided. My son (aged 12) might have been interested in getting involved, BUT it appears the park is designed for younger children (in which case, you should be recruiting parents of young children who might instill a sense of pride in the place), AND it appears that the first job would be 'policing' proper respect of a community environment. What 12 year old or any other youth, would be interested in that?
That is what our Police Community Support Officer is trying to generate - a place for all ages to use. Of course there is a space for the younger ones, but the pic show a set of goals plus one of those frustrating things I can never get the ball in. It seems to me that PCSO Jim is trying to bring people together to manage the facility - AND, no doubt, to come forward with ideas about what would be a useful addition. He deserves local support.
I agree PCSO Jim deserves local support. As you can see, it is the first thing I said in my opening remark. The issue, however, is that at the moment there are youths using the park who have no regard for keeping the space clean and pleasant for others to use. How do we address this? Who is going to approach them and ask them to be more considerate? I'd be very interested to learn what sort of a turnout the meeting on the 12th saw. I only noticed the article after the meeting had taken place, otherwise I might have attended.
That is the role (addressing the older youths) of Jim Newns, and he is keen to get everyone involved. The space can be versatile, at different times, as long as all the users leave the place as they find it. We will not move forward if people won't help Jim out; I understand there was an acorn turnout but we need to grow that base.
It would also be a good idea not to run these events on days when parents evening occurs at the local primary school.
Good points; I will see if Jim will have a second go with a bit more pre-publicity!
The page has recently been set up so there's not a lot of detail on there at the moment but it will become a great way to keep up to date with the improvements and events that the friends group is involved with. Dates of future meetings and minutes of previous meetings will also be listed on the page. There will also be flyers and posters to advertise events and inform non computer/facebook users to hear news about the group.
Please feel free to 'like' and share the page with your Facebook friends, input ideas, attend meetings or volunteer. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Beech-Road-Park-Alderley-Edge/301280273233817.
Thank you :)