By Rochelle Owusu-Antwi: Stoke-on-Trent residents are teaming up to renovate Hanley Park through a new community committee.
A public meeting was held at the weekend to recruit members for the Friends of Hanley Park - a group who will contribute and oversee redeveloping the park.
Residents posed questions to senior members of staff involved in the project from different sectors including Stoke-on-Trent City Council, a senior lecturer from Staffordshire University and rangers from two local parks.
The project will depend largely on funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Pauline Withington, urban ranger at Hanley Park said that there "are great things to come" for the park next year in the form of a carnival, sporting facilities and temporary art structures.
"We're treading on the first step to get more visitors and people using the park more," Pauline added. "It does get busy in the summer with activites and events but there are very few and that's what we're trying to improve."
A need for more car parking was among the issues raised as there are only 18 spaces at the bottom of the park by the Cauldon Road entrance.
Click below to hear residents' views on redeveloping the park:
Councillor Amjid Wazir spoke of how residents regularly tell him they are not satisfied with the park being opened for 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"I can remember the park since I was five years old and have been watching it deteriorate, but it takes people like yourselves to make it better," he said.
Mike Watson, urban ranger from Burslem Park - which has been restored due to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund - added: "We need to create a multi-faceted, balanced park that works.
"We need to use children and encourage youth involvement in our community."
Hanley Park is an important part of UniQ’s plans to transform the area around south Shelton.
Malcolm Newman, director of the UniQ programme, said: “It is important that we now build on the current restoration developments by encouraging local people to become a Friend of Hanley Park.
“It is a great opportunity for the local community to contribute to the developments and create greater investment opportunities in the park.”
The next Friends of Hanley Park meeting is scheduled for January 21, 2012, in Stoke-on-Trent College's Lifestyle Building on Cauldon Road.
Click below to see a slideshow of pictures from the event:
