Reigate & Banstead Borough Council is asking for the community’s views on Memorial Park in Redhill to help create a long term vision to improve the park.
So that people can have their say on what they like about the park and what changes they would like to see, the Council has organised a number of ways for local residents to have their say:
- An exhibition showing design ideas for the park and information about the project will be on display at the Belfry Shopping Centre from Thursday 4 March to Saturday 6 March. Officers will be on hand to answer questions between 10.00am and 4.00pm.
- A public meeting has also been arranged for Tuesday 9 March 2010 at the Harlequin Theatre, Redhill. The meeting, which starts at 7.00pm and runs until 9.00 pm, will be an opportunity to hear about some of the design concepts currently being considered and discuss your views with members of the design team. No pre-booking is required.
- For those that are unable to attend the exhibition or public meeting, further information and design ideas for the park are available on the Council’s website, along with an online consultation for people to have their say.
Cllr Rois Miah, local councillor for Redhill East which includes the park, said:
“The park is an important local recreation areas but many of its facilities are in need of improvement. Alongside redevelopment of sites within the town centre there should come opportunities to improve the park, therefore the Council is keen to hear local residents’ views on the park and what changes they would like to see.”
If you work for a local organisation and you and your colleagues are interested in the Council’s plans for the Park, it may be possible to provide a presentation to your organisation. Please contact project manager, Nina Porter, for details on 01737 276210 or email nina.porter@reigate-banstead.gov.uk.
Following the consultation, the Council will work with local partners to develop detailed plans and secure funding. The improvements will be funded from a variety of sources and the Council will be seeking sponsorship and grant funding where possible.
The timescale for delivering any changes will be dependent on the availability of funding and the time scale of other regeneration activity in Redhill. It is also likely that the improvements would be delivered in phases over several years.
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We have both studied the proposals and talked to Council representatives recently in the Belfry. Development of an area specifically for young people is an excellent initiative and will help to reduce their tendency to congregate aimlessly around the Harlequin area. However my wife and I offer a few words of caution over the idea of opening up the underground stream. Again, while excellent in principal it could prove expensive and needs careful thinking through, especially in terms of flow and level patterns to evaluate possibilities of winter flooding and summer drying out. Also, to placate the over zealous in the health and safety camp, risk assessments are needed to find a reasonable balance between aesthetics and chances of children falling in and drowning.
Andrew – good points as ever. I think the key thing which will determine whether the stream should be opened up is the outcome of the flooding study – it might be that this is the only feasible option for improving the flooding situation and so we have little choice. As well as health and safety issues there are aesthetics to think of – issues of littering etc and the cost of keeping a stream clean.
Thanks for taking part in the consultation – it is very important that the Council receives the views of lots of local residents.
I understand that the park will not be locked at night and if this is the case I feel that any money spent on it is wasted. The trees at present in the park have got too big and out of control and so it is more like a forest but all the different plans suggested at the last meeting are not necessary.
Mr Kempshall – thank you – no decision has been taken yet but the proposal would indeed be for the park not to be locked. This is partly because of the practicality of locking it (and since locking it was not fully effective anyway), and also because one of the consultation outcomes was a preference for the park to be “opened up”, in part by removing some of the railings, as the perception of many was that this gave it a very remote feel, especially coming from the town centre.
Ultimately any works are dependent on the degree of flood mitigation works required and availability of funding. I will represent your comments at the next discussion of the matter and welcome any further thoughts.