NOTE: 
WORD DOC VERSION: FRIENDS OF NASEBY PARK 11 public meeting final
OPEN MEETING 14TH MARCH 2011, 7.30pm
BROOMHILL CHURCH SMALL HALL
MINUTES
Present: Committee members – Linda Tan, Colin Hamilton, Christine Lee, Andrew Gill, Stuart Walker, Stuart Killbourn, Bruce Walker
Local residents: Lori Ure, Julie Thomson, David Eynon, Fergus Duncan, Patricia Simpson, Norman Macleod, Sarah Miller, Kat Jones, Siobhan Higgins, Eunice Taylor, Gabriel Taylor, Jude Taylor, Soong Tan, Andrew Tan, Jonathan Tan, Cathy Norton, Daisy Norton, Paul Robertson, Sarah Miller
Glasgow City Council (Land and Environmental Services [LES]) representatives: Mr Adam Moffat, Mr Alex Craig
Apologies: Lindsay Dalton Hopwood, Anne Black
FORMAT
It was decided the format of this year’s meeting would be more informal then previous meetings. Committee members were present at tables to give information and seek ideas on play, accounts, the cherry blossom festival and any other suggested activities. Matters arising from the 2010 public meeting were summarised in Appendix 1 and a history of the Friends group was detailed in Appendix 2.
ACCOUNTS
In tax year 2010-2011 the Friends had an income of £5682.92. Main income was £502 and £5175 from the Partick West Local Area Committee for cherry blossom festival funding and safer surfacing. Thanks go to the Committee.
Income so far in 2010/11 has been £5882.10. Monies were acquired from Comic Relief (£1000 for the tree seat), £260 from Waitrose Community Matters and £3445 and £471 from the Local Area Committee to fund the toddler play unit and this year’s cherry blossom festival. Thanks to all.
In this tax year, we donated £1285 to the Council for the purchase and installation of the tree seat, and £8969 for the purchase and installation of the toddler play unit, and safer surfacing. The Dept of Land and Environmental Services kindly donated the hammock which is currently being installed.
PLAY
All attendees were happy with the progress and investment the Friends group has made in the park. The big hit still seemed to be the addition of the basket swing- children and their parents commented on its success.
There were comments made about other play equipment that people thought they wanted to see in the park, as well as a request for football goals. After discussion it was decided that we are lucky enough to have trees as “natural posts” and the school grounds for more formal games of football.
The majority of the comments asked for more tree seats, and natural elements such as tree trunks and secret dens. This led on to chats about the addition of a willow den to match in with our tunnels.
DOGS
The issue of dogs in the park was raised and there were arguments for both “no dogs at all” in the park or continuing with “dogs on leads” as per the current by-law. This is a very contentious issue which needs much consideration and education. Responsible dog owners will clean up after their dogs but there are still owners who let their dogs off their leads, do not know where their dogs have fouled, and thus do not pick up. Some children are frightened of dogs which are allowed to roam free. It was decided that at this stage we had to follow the Council’s guidelines for the park. Perhaps more obvious signage displayed on park gates would make people more aware of their responsibilities. The Friends group will contact the Council about this, although in the past year new ‘bag it and bin it’ notices have been placed at park entrances (these can be difficult to see when the gates are open).
CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
The Friends group are holding another cherry blossom festival on Saturday 7th May. Several people kindly volunteered to help.
OTHER ISSUES
There was a question raised about the “mud” or soft grass, but as there is no flooding in the park we believe the drainage is adequate and the area below the trees Is always going to be a little softer due to the tree canopy allowing less sunlight to dry off the ground underneath.
The meeting lasted 1 hour before being brought to a close.
APPENDIX 1
Friends of Naseby Park
Annual Public Meeting
26 April 2010 7.30pm
Broomhill Church Hall
Introduction and current issues
After introductions and discussion of general progress, there was a detailed discussion about how new play equipment is proving very exciting to all age groups, and its consequent potential for disrupting the area. Generally it was felt that there was no more exuberance than usual, that young people are always particularly active as the nights get lighter and warmer, and that the council and police have a number of measures they use to monitor and diffuse and situation that might get out of hand.
Whilst the Friends of Naseby Park recognise and understand the feelings of the complainant, the overall response at the public meeting was that this was not the general community feeling.
Matters arising from 2009 Public Meeting
- Following removal of one third of the park trees due to disease or death, and lobbying by the Friends group for replacements, new trees are now planted – this was at a cost of £10,000 to GCC
- Play equipment has been painted (though colours are not to everyone’s liking)
- Play equipment is subject to regular health and safety checks
- Two play logs are now in the play area following requests from the Friends group
- The Friends planted willow tunnels and turf seats in January
Current balance is £6315.66 (26/04/2010)
| 2009/2010 income | source | use |
|
£1,100 |
West Local Area Committee (March 2009) | Great Naseby Egg Hunt community event resources |
|
£660 |
Great Naseby Egg Hunt donations | Public contribution towards new equipment and willow tunnelling |
|
£4,310 |
Partick West Area Committee | swings |
|
£502 |
Partick West Area Committee | Cherry Blossom Festival |
|
£5,175 |
Partick West Local Area Committee | play area carpeting |
|
£260 |
Waitrose Community Matters Initiative | contribution towards new equipment |
|
£1,000 |
Comic Relief | contribution towards new equipment |
Accounts were audited in January 2010 by William Power BA (Hons), MSc, ACMA.
Friends group activities in past year
- The Great Naseby Egg Hunt in March 2009 was a big success
- Willow tunnel building (funded by Egg Hunt monies) – Jan 2010
- Tree planting ceremony marked the start of the new tree planting programme- Jan 2010
- Bird nesting boxes provided by Countryside Rangers to encourage biodiversity
- Cherry Blossom Festival to take place on 8 May 2010
- Partick West Local Area Committee – £5,175 in February for play area carpeting
- Funds were raised from Comic Relief and Waitrose community funding
Plans for the play area
There was general agreement that equipment should target the under 10s, although there was a question as to whether this excluded older kids. New equipment would include a hammock and that FoNP would work with GCC Play Design Team to look at toddler play, including the colour of equipment and safety carpet. The space for play equipment would remain that same as it has for the past 50 years.
Although one point was made as to whether there should be any equipment, it was made clear that the council would not fund the replacement of worn equipment once it had been removed.
FoNP will provide a tree seat by the play area; other ideas were suggested including planting and a water feature, however, these would require a greater degree of management and maintenance.
APPENDIX 2
Friends of Naseby Park
Preserving and enhancing our natural and recreational greenspace for the whole community
Concern for the state of the park: October 2007
Naseby Park was becoming increasingly shabby with frequent graffiti, broken glass, and ageing, rusted play equipment. These problems were discussed at a Community Council Public Meeting, and meetings in Naseby Park with City & Community Councillors, Community Safety Officers, Land Services Manager, & local residents. The decision was made to form a Friends Group with the aim of improving and maintaining the park.
This resulted in the formation of the Friends group in November 2007. The steering group was formed, constitution written and approved by Robert Booth, the Executive Director of Glasgow City Council.
Public consultation: January 2008
The group put together a questionnaire to help find out from locals what they thought about the park and how they would like to use it. Questions were both multiple choice and open ended, therefore both giving some prompts to remind people about the park’s resources and giving them the option to speak freely about how they felt about the park.
We delivered the questionnaire to all 2,700 Broomhill households, local societies, community groups, care homes, nurseries, shops and businesses and received a 10% response rate.
Public consultation results
- Concerns about litter and vandalism
- requests for maintenance of existing play equipment
- new equipment for younger and older children
- People wanted community events
- Fondness for the trees
- More diverse planting
First public meeting: February 2008
1st Public Meeting held, committee members & office bearers voted in, constitution adopted, public consultation results presented, playpark area to be designed – 3 year phased plan (taking funding into account), with focus groups to be held to fine tune ideas.
Further targeted consultation with user groups: April-June 2008
Focus groups, meetings with Broomhill Primary pupils, consultation with playpark designer and Glasgow City Council.
Pros of the park
- secure environment
- valuable community resource
- visually interesting
- good to hang out in
- fun play products
- grass & bushes great for ball & imaginary play
Cons of the park
- shabby play equipment
- poor facilities for teenagers
- play products not diverse enough
- infrequent grass cutting
- litter
- graffiti
- too many trees
- dog fouling
Suggestions
- natural themes / play products / seating
- more colour
- scent, texture
- recycling facilities
- signage
- shelter
- more swings, a hammock and a trampoline
Communications
Every 6 months, at Christmas and summer time, an update is posted, with contact details, on the outside of the Naseby Park fence at the three gates, allowing locals to view plans, and ideas, and facilitating feedback.
We have also regularly sent updates to Community Soup and other local papers, and have posted these articles on our website and Facebook pages and on the old Broomhill Community Council website.
Park maintenance and equipment purchased
Over the past few years we have both fundraised for new equipment and work with the local authority to ensure that equipment they remove is replaced. When the group started, some of the swings had been removed. So had the roundabout, leaving a large sand-filled hole that was being fouled by local cats. These were replaced, and swings and springys that are removed are now regularly replaced.
Grass was cut monthly till 2008 – holes and dog fouling were hidden. This is now more regular, but there are still tree stumps to be removed and we continue to press the council.
As a result of the consultation, we have worked with local park experts and the council to improve the park resources, including fundraising for new equipment – the roundabout, hammock, new toddler slide set, tree seat, willow tunnelling and bulb planting. Along with this we have persuaded the council to bring in some tree trunks to provide additional natural play and unique seating.
Community gathering
One of the results of the consultation was the high level of praise for the park as being our local village square, a place to meet friends and neighbours. Many people also requested that some sort of regular event be held. In 2009 we held our first event – a very successful Egg Hunt. In 2010 we held a Cherry Blossom Festival to celebrate the thing that we all love the most about the park – the magnificent display of colour in the spring. This now extremely popular local event brings hundreds of people to the park for games, local baking, face painting and tattoos. Children put in an incredible effort to decorate their bikes and scooters, and people from across Broomhill enjoy a great day out.
In 2011, the Cherry Blossom Festival takes place on Saturday 8 May from 2pm.
 |
FRIENDS OF NASEBY PARK
OPEN MEETING 14TH MARCH 2011, 7.30pm
BROOMHILL CHURCH SMALL HALL
MINUTES
Present: Committee members – Linda Tan, Colin Hamilton, Christine Lee, Andrew Gill, Stuart Walker, Stuart Killbourn, Bruce Walker
Local residents: Lori Ure, Julie Thomson, David Eynon, Fergus Duncan, Patricia Simpson, Norman Macleod, Sarah Miller, Kat Jones, Siobhan Higgins, Eunice Taylor, Gabriel Taylor, Jude Taylor, Soong Tan, Andrew Tan, Jonathan Tan, Cathy Norton, Daisy Norton, Paul Robertson, Sarah Miller
Glasgow City Council (Land and Environmental Services [LES]) representatives: Mr Adam Moffat, Mr Alex Craig
Apologies: Lindsay Dalton Hopwood, Anne Black
FORMAT
It was decided the format of this year’s meeting would be more informal then previous meetings. Committee members were present at tables to give information and seek ideas on play, accounts, the cherry blossom festival and any other suggested activities. Matters arising from the 2010 public meeting were summarised in Appendix 1 and a history of the Friends group was detailed in Appendix 2.
ACCOUNTS
In tax year 2010-2011 the Friends had an income of £5682.92. Main income was £502 and £5175 from the Partick West Local Area Committee for cherry blossom festival funding and safer surfacing. Thanks go to the Committee.
Income so far in 2010/11 has been £5882.10. Monies were acquired from Comic Relief (£1000 for the tree seat), £260 from Waitrose Community Matters and £3445 and £471 from the Local Area Committee to fund the toddler play unit and this year’s cherry blossom festival. Thanks to all.
In this tax year, we donated £1285 to the Council for the purchase and installation of the tree seat, and £8969 for the purchase and installation of the toddler play unit, and safer surfacing. The Dept of Land and Environmental Services kindly donated the hammock which is currently being installed.
PLAY
All attendees were happy with the progress and investment the Friends group has made in the park. The big hit still seemed to be the addition of the basket swing- children and their parents commented on its success.
There were comments made about other play equipment that people thought they wanted to see in the park, as well as a request for football goals. After discussion it was decided that we are lucky enough to have trees as “natural posts” and the school grounds for more formal games of football.
The majority of the comments asked for more tree seats, and natural elements such as tree trunks and secret dens. This led on to chats about the addition of a willow den to match in with our tunnels.
DOGS
The issue of dogs in the park was raised and there were arguments for both “no dogs at all” in the park or continuing with “dogs on leads” as per the current by-law. This is a very contentious issue which needs much consideration and education. Responsible dog owners will clean up after their dogs but there are still owners who let their dogs off their leads, do not know where their dogs have fouled, and thus do not pick up. Some children are frightened of dogs which are allowed to roam free. It was decided that at this stage we had to follow the Council’s guidelines for the park. Perhaps more obvious signage displayed on park gates would make people more aware of their responsibilities. The Friends group will contact the Council about this, although in the past year new ‘bag it and bin it’ notices have been placed at park entrances (these can be difficult to see when the gates are open).
CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
The Friends group are holding another cherry blossom festival on Saturday 7th May. Several people kindly volunteered to help.
OTHER ISSUES
There was a question raised about the “mud” or soft grass, but as there is no flooding in the park we believe the drainage is adequate and the area below the trees Is always going to be a little softer due to the tree canopy allowing less sunlight to dry off the ground underneath.
The meeting lasted 1 hour before being brought to a close.
APPENDIX 1
Friends of Naseby Park
Annual Public Meeting
26 April 2010 7.30pm
Broomhill Church Hall
Introduction and current issues
After introductions and discussion of general progress, there was a detailed discussion about how new play equipment is proving very exciting to all age groups, and its consequent potential for disrupting the area. Generally it was felt that there was no more exuberance than usual, that young people are always particularly active as the nights get lighter and warmer, and that the council and police have a number of measures they use to monitor and diffuse and situation that might get out of hand.
Whilst the Friends of Naseby Park recognise and understand the feelings of the complainant, the overall response at the public meeting was that this was not the general community feeling.
Matters arising from 2009 Public Meeting
- Following removal of one third of the park trees due to disease or death, and lobbying by the Friends group for replacements, new trees are now planted – this was at a cost of £10,000 to GCC
- Play equipment has been painted (though colours are not to everyone’s liking)
- Play equipment is subject to regular health and safety checks
- Two play logs are now in the play area following requests from the Friends group
- The Friends planted willow tunnels and turf seats in January
Current balance is £6315.66 (26/04/2010)
|
2009/2010 income |
source |
use |
|
£1,100 |
West Local Area Committee (March 2009) |
Great Naseby Egg Hunt community event resources |
|
£660 |
Great Naseby Egg Hunt donations |
Public contribution towards new equipment and willow tunnelling |
|
£4,310 |
Partick West Area Committee |
swings |
|
£502 |
Partick West Area Committee |
Cherry Blossom Festival |
|
£5,175 |
Partick West Local Area Committee |
play area carpeting |
|
£260 |
Waitrose Community Matters Initiative |
contribution towards new equipment |
|
£1,000 |
Comic Relief |
contribution towards new equipment |
Accounts were audited in January 2010 by William Power BA (Hons), MSc, ACMA.
Friends group activities in past year
The Great Naseby Egg Hunt in March 2009 was a big success- Willow tunnel building (funded by Egg Hunt monies) – Jan 2010
- Tree planting ceremony marked the start of the new tree planting programme- Jan 2010
- Bird nesting boxes provided by Countryside Rangers to encourage biodiversity
- Cherry Blossom Festival to take place on 8 May 2010
- Partick West Local Area Committee – £5,175 in February for play area carpeting
- Funds were raised from Comic Relief and Waitrose community funding
Plans for the play area
There was general agreement that equipment should target the under 10s, although there was a question as to whether this excluded older kids. New equipment would include a hammock and that FoNP would work with GCC Play Design Team to look at toddler play, including the colour of equipment and safety carpet. The space for play equipment would remain that same as it has for the past 50 years.
Although one point was made as to whether there should be any equipment, it was made clear that the council would not fund the replacement of worn equipment once it had been removed.
FoNP will provide a tree seat by the play area; other ideas were suggested including planting and a water feature, however, these would require a greater degree of management and maintenance.
APPENDIX 2
Friends of Naseby Park
Preserving and enhancing our natural and recreational greenspace for the whole community
Concern for the state of the park: October 2007
Naseby Park was becoming increasingly shabby with frequent graffiti, broken glass, and ageing, rusted play equipment. These problems were discussed at a Community Council Public Meeting, and meetings in Naseby Park with City & Community Councillors, Community Safety Officers, Land Services Manager, & local residents. The decision was made to form a Friends Group with the aim of improving and maintaining the park.
This resulted in the formation of the Friends group in November 2007. The steering group was formed, constitution written and approved by Robert Booth, the Executive Director of Glasgow City Council.
Public consultation: January 2008
The group put together a questionnaire to help find out from locals what they thought about the park and how they would like to use it. Questions were both multiple choice and open ended, therefore both giving some prompts to remind people about the park’s resources and giving them the option to speak freely about how they felt about the park.
We delivered the questionnaire to all 2,700 Broomhill households, local societies, community groups, care homes, nurseries, shops and businesses and received a 10% response rate.
Public consultation results
- Concerns about litter and vandalism
- requests for maintenance of existing play equipment
- new equipment for younger and older children
- People wanted community events
- Fondness for the trees
- More diverse planting
First public meeting: February 2008
1st Public Meeting held, committee members & office bearers voted in, constitution adopted, public consultation results presented, playpark area to be designed – 3 year phased plan (taking funding into account), with focus groups to be held to fine tune ideas.
Further targeted consultation with user groups: April-June 2008
Focus groups, meetings with Broomhill Primary pupils, consultation with playpark designer and Glasgow City Council.
Pros of the park
· secure environment
· valuable community resource
· visually interesting
· good to hang out in
· fun play products
· grass & bushes great for ball & imaginary play
Cons of the park
· shabby play equipment
· poor facilities for teenagers
· play products not diverse enough
· infrequent grass cutting
· litter
· graffiti
· too many trees
· dog fouling
Suggestions
· natural themes / play products / seating
· more colour
· scent, texture
· recycling facilities
· signage
· shelter
· more swings, a hammock and a trampoline
Communications
Every 6 months, at Christmas and summer time, an update is posted, with contact details, on the outside of the Naseby Park fence at the three gates, allowing locals to view plans, and ideas, and facilitating feedback.
We have also regularly sent updates to Community Soup and other local papers, and have posted these articles on our website and Facebook pages and on the old Broomhill Community Council website.
Park maintenance and equipment purchased
Over the past few years we have both fundraised for new equipment and work with the local authority to ensure that equipment they remove is replaced. When the group started, some of the swings had been removed. So had the roundabout, leaving a large sand-filled hole that was being fouled by local cats. These were replaced, and swings and springys that are removed are now regularly replaced.
Grass was cut monthly till 2008 – holes and dog fouling were hidden. This is now more regular, but there are still tree stumps to be removed and we continue to press the council.
As a result of the consultation, we have worked with local park experts and the council to improve the park resources, including fundraising for new equipment – the roundabout, hammock, new toddler slide set, tree seat, willow tunnelling and bulb planting. Along with this we have persuaded the council to bring in some tree trunks to provide additional natural play and unique seating.
Community gathering
One of the results of the consultation was the high level of praise for the park as being our local village square, a place to meet friends and neighbours. Many people also requested that some sort of regular event be held. In 2009 we held our first event – a very successful Egg Hunt. In 2010 we held a Cherry Blossom Festival to celebrate the thing that we all love the most about the park – the magnificent display of colour in the spring. This now extremely popular local event brings hundreds of people to the park for games, local baking, face painting and tattoos. Children put in an incredible effort to decorate their bikes and scooters, and people from across Broomhill enjoy a great day out.
In 2011, the Cherry Blossom Festival takes place on Saturday 8 May from 2pm.
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