Meeting with PCC

We held a useful site meeting with PCC officers Caroline Rowntree (Natural Infrastructure) and Colin Johnson (Parks and Street Services). We discussed some of the most obvious future improvements that we hope to see. In the upper field, this includes improved access from the Community Centre path, replanting hedges and new specimen trees. Most of the hedge near the Community Centre have been destroyed. This field has an arboretum function, with considerable wildlife benefits in the hedges. We discussed the desire to keep the open aspect of the lower field; the revised mowing policy will be welcomed to provide benefits for wildlife alongside some close cut paths and areas. It would be good to begin work on maintenance of the orchard trees this winter. Tess Wilmot explained the sessions that she will be running in the new year to help develop ideas for this space, incorporating the proposed community garden. We will now be recognised as an official member of the network of Friends of Parks groups and will be allocated a liaison person who will help is to develop our plans.