As part of the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations, a nationwide ‘Clean for the Queen’ campaign has been launched to clean up public spaces such as parks, waterways and beaches by removing litter and other debris.

The Friends of Westminster Park with support from Cheshire West and Chester Council will be holding a litter picking and clean-up session in Westminster Park on Saturday 5 March starting at 10.00am at the cafe in the centre of the park. The Council will provide gloves, black plastic sacks and litter pickers.

Please come with family and friends to do your part in sprucing up Westminster Park. Litter tends to congregate at the bottoms of hedges and in long grass so do wear working clothes and boots or stout shoes.

We plan to split into small groups to tackle the boundaries, working inwards to the car park/ central area.

The new operators of the golf course and café, Golfstorehouse, are continuing to work hard to improve the facilities they took over in April 2015. Repairs to leaks in the roof have enabled the walls and ceiling of the café to be redecorated and new kitchen equipment has been installed ready for the new season. Plans to refurbish the changing room area for use by local sporting groups and a new Golf Academy and to re-instate a putting green are being developed and applications are being made for grant funding by Sport England and other organisations. New junior, public coaching and corporate golf sessions are planned for 2016, all with the aim of raising the level of interest and activity in golf and restoring the golf course to a prime facility in Westminster Park. Golfstorehouse have also taken over management of the public toilets on behalf of the Council and regular daily opening and cleaning are much improved.

Continuing discussions are taking place with Cheshire West and Chester Council about park maintenance and catching up with a backlog of repairs. The overall quality of the park and its enjoyment by a wide cross-section of the local community remain very high and continuing attention to outstanding issues will help the park to retain its position as a premier sporting and recreation location. Meanwhile all the clubs that meet in the park are continuing to thrive and are offering a wide range of activities for all ages and abilities. There is something for everyone – make the most of it during the coming spring and summer!

David Guyton