Friends of Poole Park
(a registered charity in England and Wales No 1101748)
Annual Report 2015
Heritage Lottery Fund Bid
We learned at the end of 2014 that the round 1 stage of a £2.7m Heritage Lottery Bid for Poole Park had been successful. The hard work began in 2014 continued to raise extra cash to boost the amount that the Borough of Poole and the community locally can offer as its contribution. The more money that can be raised increases the final amount that can be obtained from Heritage Lottery Funds. By the end of 2015 the Friends of Poole Park had achieved just under £20000 as its contribution having added £4547.39 during 2015. The aim is to continue raising money throughout 2016.
2015 was again a very eventful year for the Friends of Poole Park through the efforts of a small number of members and their friends.
Congratulations to both Martin Whitchurch and a new member to the team at the Borough of Poole, Toni Powell and all their colleagues for moving this important initiative forward.
Cygnet / Westfield Children’s Play Areas
Both the Children’s Play Areas in Poole Park continue to be popular with children and more and more are showing their age. Unfortunately we will have to wait to see the outcome of stage two of the Heritage Lottery Bid to see any real improvements to these areas. However, members are asked to be ever vigilant and when damage or graffiti is noticed in the Children’s Play Areas or anywhere in the Park. We ask you to immediately report it, on line or to the ‘Hotline’ 0800 506050.
Salt Water Lake/ Weed
Weed in the Salt Water Lake continued to appear in 2015 and there were efforts to mechanically cut and clear some of it during the summer months. Early funding provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund enabled Bournemouth University to continue with a year-long study of the Lake and hopefully this has been able to come up with some solutions to overcome problems in the future. The lake was drained on several occasions during the year to aid the Bournemouth University project and for maintenance of the lake walls.
Geese
There has been some improvement in the problems caused by these birds in Poole Park during 2015 with seemingly less geese using the Park for breeding and feeding. It is hoped that numbers will continue to decrease in 2016.
Traffic and Car Parking in the Poole Park
Although this is still a concern, the Friends have not noted or have been advised of any extra efforts to control the speed or number of cars using the Park roads during the year. The roads continue to be heavily used throughout the day and especially in the early evening.
Car parking still causes problems in the west of the Park with the car parking areas being largely used by visitors to the nearby Dolphin Centre. Suggestions have been made to try to get the charges in P & D areas near to the Park more attractive to drivers, hopefully leaving parking in the Park more available to Park visitors, but these seem to have fallen on deaf ears. There have been suggestions by the Council to introduce parking charges in Poole Park.
Projects
This still continues to be the most disappointing aspect of our work. However, it seems that many of our aspirations will now need to wait for money from the Heritage Lottery Bid.
Green Flag Award 2015/16
We are delighted that Poole Park has again been awarded with the prestigious Green Flag this year, 2015/16, we feel that the Council could do more to advertise this achievement.
The Kiosk
The opening of the Kiosk for information can only be achieved when volunteers come forward to help. We try to keep the Kiosk open during the summer months and when special events are held in the Park. Special thanks to Pat and her small band of volunteers, who have kept the Kiosk open more often in the past year. Please contact Pat on 07854 210341 if you would like to help in the Kiosk.
Membership
The membership increase during 2014 has been maintained, new members are always very welcome. If you haven’t done so already, please renew your membership for 2016.
Meetings
Three public meetings were held during the past year in April, July and November. The 2015 AGM was delayed until the end of April and this was followed by a public meeting. The AGM for 2016 will be held on Monday 7 March, again followed by a public meeting and further public meetings are planned in July and November. Please come along to hear what is happening in Poole Park, especially about the HL Bid. Meetings are normally held in the Council Offices at the Civic Centre, Poole (enter by the door opposite the East Park Gates). All meetings start at 19 00 hours (7pm) and finish by 21 00 (9 pm).
Friends of Poole Park Committee
We still need your support. The Committee does its best but cannot be expected to do everything. In 2015 Myrna Chave stepped down as Chairman and Douglas Biggar kindly put his name forward as Chairman and was elected. We also welcomed Rachael Pountney, AJ Windsor and Michael Collins onto the Committee.
Continental Landscapes
The Borough of Poole contract with Continental Landscapes came to an end as 2015 closed and all work in Poole Park went back in house; also many of the staff of Continental Landscapes transferred at the same time to being employed by the Borough of Poole. May we place on record our grateful thanks to Nigel and his team for all their efforts to make Poole Park an attractive place to visit over many years. It is hoped that the standards achieved will not be allowed to drop in the future.
John Marter
John retired during 2015, a stalwart of Poole Park for many years. We thank him for all his efforts and wish him a very long and healthy retirement.
Conclusion and Thanks.
In conclusion the Friends of Poole Park Committee would like to thank everyone who has continued to support the Friends by joining or renewing their membership for 2015. It is hoped that you will continue to support us in 2016, please spread the word.
We thank all the staff at Poole Council, especially Lucy Giles-Townsend, Kate Mitchell, Martin Whitchurch and Toni Powell for their help and support during the past year.
To all who provide facilities and services in the Park, we thank you all for your help in making Poole’s wonderful Park a more attractive and interesting place to visit.
MWH March 2016