News from Our Park

October 2013

Dear Friend of Kings Norton Park

What a fantastic summer not very often we can say this!   We were hoping for a dryer Indian summer, but at least the warmer temperatures are saving on energy costs (or are they with recent hikes!).

Our park is increasing popularity so most days you walk through you will find all different sorts of people involved in all sorts of activities. I find it a very refreshing visit and escape from my fast paced, concrete, urban working life.

 

First thank you to all those involved, whether you come to meetings or not, I know many of you do your bit unnoticed by your neighbours, and thanks to our supportive professionals and representatives.  Our team working really has made a difference.  

Giggles in the play area once more

Super news the play area is reopened, sadly this was after our first real major incident of vandalism in the Park which temporarily closed the childrens play area for health and safety reasons.  Our eco safety matting was torn up.  It has now been replaced by a more robust but less attractive safety surface (cost has also been a consideration) has been be laid, but pleasingly it looks like the grass will grow through to soften the edges.  The whole affair from act to repair only took about 3-4 weeks which can only be attributed to our super supportive Parks Manager, Sue Amey and the willingness of BBC to finance and act quickly in order to resume play. 
An obvious future concern is that if BCC have to pay maintenance costs in our park to replace damaged items they will be less inclined to support any new facilities or projects which will leave our aspirations somewhat depleted.

 

 

 

Whilst we are on the gloomy subject

You may have noticed that we lost a couple of our new specialist standard trees earlier this year, which were probably planted too near the play area as well as the beautiful additional curved stone feature bench in upper civic garden.  The trees will not be replaced but we do have about seven of differing variety still surviving and dotted around the park.  The stone bench has been heroically collected in stages by our rangers at the Lickey hub with assisting machinery.  A huge thank you Lickey hub for swift action and a heavy job! for a The hope is it can be repaired and eventually put back at some point however this will be costly. 

If you witness any criminal damage or any threatening behaviour taking place please do call 101 or 999.  

 

A new noticeboard 

We are just pricing up lockable external metal noticeboards on posts – we can only afford one Park side at the moment (about £1,500!) This will provide space for displaying activity information and contact details as well as parks watch emergency numbers.  

 

On order are two new picnic benches (plus)

We have ordered and paid for two very smart looking metal two picnic benches which will be installed on site later this year or early next year – we have to wait to have them made and installed.   They probably sit near the canal feeder overlooking the informal football. One will have wheel access, the other seat four persons.  The skateboarders asked for a couple of benches and bins, and we have been one bench short in the lower civic area for a long time – provisions to provide these have been made too. 

A sunny success – our first Birmingham Play Care Day

We held our first successful Birmingham Play Care Day www.bpcn.org.uk on 9 August.  This included a variety of different types of play such as paper lanterns, rocket making, hammock swinging, flying kites, imaginative exploring and music. Around 60 children or various ages came along with their parents may with picnics.  The Birmingham Play Care Day staff were wonderful in encouraging expression of play and enhanced everyone’s play experience, including us older kids too.  Thank you to those who helped and took part.  What was wonderful too was within a few minutes at the end the debris which was sprawled over park was scooped up and packed away.  You just wouldn’t have known they were there.

 

A great commitment from Friends  

Several Friends have been popping down to the park either as part of a small groups or individually at other times, they have been litter picking, weeding, helping clean the canal feeder, surveying trees, helping with events, talking and meeting with departments or organisations which might help us to access whether a wetland in the park is achievable.  If you fancy joining please email me email me our mobilephone number with your request to be contacted 

 

Start, stop and rethink potential wetland

Our hopes were high and our community survey at Kings Norton Festival showed you were as excited about the idea of a wetland in the old lily pond (former marl pit) as we were.  Guys from the Nature Improvement Area Fund helped surveyed the wildlife and took soil samples and gave a thumbs-up and we got excited.  Then the estimates came in which because of the need to erect safety rails to prevent falls or slips into unearthed silt or water were very high.  Somewhat deflated we picked ourselves up and redesigned a little which resulted in a minor improvement.  Funding opportunities for this type of project seem to be drying up a little and section 106 monies are allocated across the whole of the constituency.  Following recent maintenance costs of the play area we will have to be realistic in our expectations.  All is not lost yet.    

 

If you have any ideas of local businesses who may wish to part fund a hand rail, broad walk or dipping platform please email us or contact one of the Friends.

 

Wildflower meadow and Woodland Walk 2014

 

The Friends group does feel it has the capacity to care for a wildflower meadow in the playing fields so hopefully costs and can be worked out.  The NIA natural corridor survey also suggested we could enhance the woodland area top walk way during 2014, this will mean extracting brambles, spraying back and then planting attractive undergrowth and thinning the canopy of trees.

 

Remaining workouts & meets 2013 

Friday 1 November at 11 am

We will be joined by Sue Amey Parks Manager who is joining us to split and plant in one of the flower beds, Lee Copplestone from Keep Britian Tidy is looking at helping us to start sampling water
and Hannah NIA apprentice will pop along to catch up.

 

Allow a bit longer for this session if you can it will be well worth it.  Please join us.  We have tools and gloves meet in the car park unless it is raining.

 

Saturday 9 November 11am meeting
Kings Norton Library you are welcome to join us for an hour before popping over to the farmers market

 

Friday 6 December at 11am
Winter tidy and sampling.

You can join and make things happen

If you have ideas you want to put in action in our Park and Playing Fields with some assistance contact us and we can offer you support.   You determine what happens in your green spaces. 

Thank you for reading this update.  We hope to meet up with you soon.

 

CONTACT US:

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Email   Info.foknp@gmail.com
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