Many thanks to the dozen volunteers who turned up today in very blustery conditions to shift tree and hedge cuttings to various sites around the park. We didn’t quite finish the job but pretty close and it all looks much better.

Many thanks to all the helpers who turned up for our FoWP Volunteer Day on 13 January and put in a tremendous amount of effort. There were 40+ volunteers in attendance during the 3 hour period and a lot was achieved including the clean-up of the Lache Lane and Cliveden Road entrances, removal of the nettles within the young children’s play area, clearing of the pathways next to the play area and the fence which protects the young children’s football pitches, and planting of a large number of daffodil bulbs. As a result of this tremendous response we shall be planning a further Volunteer Day later in the spring.

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Hi All,

Just received this:

Good afternoon everyone

Work is due to begin to upgrade the pavement on Grosvenor Bridge Grosvenor Road), Chester on Monday 15 January from 7pm under an overnight working arrangement (until 6am). The current paving slabs will be replaced with a more accessible, smooth tarmac surface.

These works, are due to be carried out in two separate schemes.

Phase 1 is the west side of the bridge (the Chester Racecourse side):

Where:
From the pedestrian walkway connection to Curzon Park, over the bridge and up to Nuns Road

When:
This scheme is due to start on Monday 15 January for five or six nights, weather dependent, during night time working hours of 7pm to 6am only.

Traffic disruption:
· No exit to traffic from Chester city centre.
· In bound traffic will NOT be affected.
· Pedestrian routes will be maintained both in/out of Chester.
· During the daytime there will be no disruption with the road open as usual.
· Both the Grosvenor roundabout and the Overleigh roundabout will be unaffected.
· Right turn only out of Castle Drive at the junction with the A483 – no left turn will be available – during the works time only and reopened during the day.

Diversion:
Diversion route to exit Chester will be from Grosvenor roundabout via the Inner Ring Road to Fountains Roundabout and back to the Bars roundabout, follow the A51 Boughton to the A55, take the slip road off at the A483 Post House Roundabout back to Overleigh roundabout.

Phase 2 will be on the east side of the Bridge (Little Roodee side):

Where:
Roughly opposite the start location on Phase 1, across the bridge up to Castle Drive.

What and when:
A similar set up and timescale as Phase 1, however, dates are yet to be confirmed and more information will follow next week.

Best regards

Victoria Chowdhury DipRSA, DipM, MCIM
Communications and Marketing Co-ordinator – Place Operations
Cheshire West and Chester Council

Despite rather mixed weather, Westminster Park has been a hive of activity during the summer months. Local residents and visitors have been making good use of the wide range of sporting and recreation facilities. Clubs and sports groups that meet in the park have all had full programmes of games, league matches, training and coaching, and the children’s play area and BMX track have been busy throughout the holiday period. Even on grey, damp days, there are always hardy dog walkers and exercise enthusiasts to be seen. And everyone has welcomed the improved range of food and beverages at the café.

In July there was a national Love Parks Week to celebrate public open spaces and recreation areas. As its contribution to the event, the Council sent out members of its Green Space team to local parks with special heart-shaped notice boards for park users to write their own personal message “I love my park because … ” The team happened to visit Westminster Park when a weekly croquet session was in full swing. Mustering all their literary skills, the players gladly obliged and were duly photographed displaying their completed heart-shaped notice boards.

Following unauthorised incursions by travellers last year and again earlier this year, a height barrier and other preventative measures are being considered by the Council and we are waiting to hear the outcome. The Council has also initiated a project to renovate the changing room area in the central café block but as yet there is no information as to when completion is expected and how it will operate.

In response to incidents of vandalism and anti-social behaviour, park users will have noticed increased patrols by our local police, PCSO and community safety wardens.

Looking ahead, the main challenge is how the attractiveness and standards of the park can be maintained in a context of ever tightening constraints on Council spending. There has been an increasing number of comments and complaints about falling standards of upkeep: grassed areas being cut less frequently, nettles and other weeds spreading across paths, the children’s play area and the BMX track, and maintenance and repairs taking a long time or not being done. Greater community involvement by volunteers may be a way forward but volunteers will undoubtedly want a say in how the park is managed.

David Guyton
Friends of Westminster Park

There have been recurring requests for more public seating in Westminster Park.  Shorter gaps between seats to help people with mobility difficulties, more seats to enable visitors to watch the various sporting activities taking place in the park, and a replacement seat next to the open air gym are just some of the examples. In response to these requests, the Friends of Westminster Park funded two picnic benches from members’ subscriptions and donations which have been well used since they were installed next to the public tennis courts at the beginning of the summer. With the support of our local councillors, more funds are being raised to contribute further seats or benches. People have also asked about the possibility of donating seats in remembrance of past residents and users of Westminster Park and the Friends would be very pleased to provide whatever support or assistance is needed.

Local residents and users were concerned at the disruption caused by unauthorised incursion of about twenty travellers’ caravans and vehicles in early July. We are grateful to the Council and police for dealing with the matter promptly and efficiently and the encampment moved on after just four days. Arrangements are being made to review learning from the event and possbile means of reducing the risk of future incursions.

Golfstorehouse, who took over management of the golf course and cafe last year, are continuing their programme of improvements and were delighted to receive a five star hygiene award for their refurbishment of the kitchen. This was achieved just in time for the school summer holidays and is enabling a wider range of food to be served.

David Guyton

Westminster Park has enjoyed another good year. A fine spring followed by an unusually warm and sunny summer and then a very mild autumn has resulted in the park being a hive of activity. There was one sunny weekend in September when all the football pitches were in use with lots of spectators, cricket was being played, there were croquet and bowls matches in progress, the Glan Aber and the newly refurbished public tennis courts were fully occupied, there were people exercising in the outdoor gym and in the multi-use games area, a bevy of energetic cyclists on the BMX track and lots of children, parents and grandparents in the children’s play area. The grassed areas and the fine turf lawns and pitches have been well maintained, the annual plantings at the Hough Green entrance and in the café area have looked very attractive, and the foliage on the park’s wide variety of trees has looked particularly splendid in the spring and autumn sunshine.

In addition to ensuring that standards are maintained at a time when council finances continue to be squeezed, the main challenge facing the park is the future of the café and the nine hole golf course. Both have been managed by Brio but have not lived up to earlier expectations. Our understanding is that the Council is currently reviewing other options for future management of these core assets. There is a high level of local voluntary participation in the various sports clubs that meet in the park and it would be nice to see the formation of a similarly active and enterprising community golf club as well as a café offering a much more attractive range of food and beverages. The door is wide open for local initiatives but, unless new ideas and proposals are forthcoming, there is a real risk these facilities will wither on the vine. To repeat the message in the last newsletter, if anyone has an interest or knows of anyone else with an interest in developing these facilities, the Friends of Westminster Park would be delighted to hear and to discuss possibilities. Keep in touch and feedback is welcome though the FOWP’s website at www.westminsterpark.org.uk/ .

David Guyton – Chairman