Future plans for a York green space could see the area host a range of community events, plus the potential addition of a dog park.
‘Friends of Hull Road Park’ was launched over the weekend, with plans now firmly in place to begin its transformation.
The group had been in the pipeline for a number of years, but last Saturday (8 February) saw the first official meeting at the Tang Hall WM Club.
Chair of the group Andrew Mortimer told YorkMix the meeting went even better than he’d hoped.
There were more than 20 attendees, which included a mixture of residents, ward councillors and group officers.
Once the constitution was agreed, the group held a general discussion about what they’d like to see happen in the park.
Initially, an audit of the space will be complete to assess any issues and areas in need of improving.
Phase two will consist of gathering residential opinion from park users on what changes they’d like to see.
Andrew said: “We will work with the other groups, the council and the ward councillors to try and get some money spent on the area.
“The council are proposing to have a half a million pound fund for investment in parks and open spaces next year, so clearly, we want to try and attract as much of that as we can to Hull Road Park.”
Residents’ input
Andrew reiterated the importance of liaising with the community, so locals are on board with any changes introduced.
Suggestions that came up from residents included the addition of a dog park.
That would be a fenced area within the park, where dogs could be let off the lead to run freely.
“This would mean it’d also be less likely for dogs to be running loose in the park,” Andrew said.
Further ideas from locals included utilising the park as a space to host future community events.
Events have been run previously in the park by Tang Hall Big Local, and Andrew hopes to draw from this for upcoming celebrations.
He also envisions the park getting involved with national initiatives.
“One of the things that was suggested was to do something as part of the Big Spring Clean, it encourages people to go litter picking and tidying up the community, that kind of thing,” Andrew told YorkMix.
“I think the challenges for us is, there’s an awful lot we would like to do, but you’ve got to be realistic too” he added.
Anti-social behaviour
Hull Road Park was subject to ‘mindless vandalism’ earlier this month, just days before the initial meeting was planned.
Hooligans ransacked the space, ripping up allotments, destroying flower beds, and throwing plant pots around the area.
Over the last couple of years, the anti-social behaviour taking pace within the park had been a cause for residential concern.
Some locals suggested increasing deterrents, such as CCTV, to try and limit the troublemaking.
Andrew told YorkMix that although this was discussed at the meeting, if it were to be introduced, it would be way down the line.
“There’s also an ongoing on and off debate about whether the park should be locked at night, so when we do our survey of park users that will be one of the questions we will ask. It may also be something that we need to go and talk to the wider community about,” Andrew said.
Councillor support
Labour councillors for Hull Road, Cllr Michael Pavlovic and Cllr John Moroney, were both in attendance on Saturday.
Cllr Pavlovic spoke on a couple of issues the park has faced at the meeting, but is keen to see what the future holds.
He told YorkMix: “There’s a huge amount we can achieve working together. The ward has recently funded four new benches, and new notice boards which will arrive soon.
“The council is also set to agree new investment in the city’s parks later this month, something we’re confident will benefit the park too.”
Cllr Pavlovic was pleased with the local involvement in the groups meeting, “It’s great to have a team of local residents keen to contribute to making their local park a fantastic green space at the heart of their community”.
Cllr John Moroney told YorkMix how he felt the meeting was a great opportunity for him to meet and support local people with a keen interest in improving the area.
He said, “As the new Councillor for Hull Road Ward, I have been delighted to help in setting up this important local group.
“We (all three Councillors) look forward to a positive and constructive relationship with the Friends of Hull Road Park.
“It’s clear that there are differing ideas amongst local residents about what they want for the park, and we look forward to working with them to identify some shared priorities.”
A positive outlook
Overall, Andrew feels the meeting was extremely positive.
He hopes for even more community involvement for the following arrangement, particularly from local young families.
“We’d like to hear from those who use the play areas because one of the areas we want to talk to the council about is the is the main play area,” he said.
Some of the equipment become difficult to use this time of year due to the flooding, and the underneath gets muddy and messy.
“You obviously don’t want to send your kids into a muddy area, so there’s a scope for some improvements there, and that might be something we can work with the council to try and do as well,” Andrew added.
The next meeting will be advertised on their social media, and everyone is encouraged to come along and share their thoughts.