Clarence Park set for major improvements

Bury’s flagship recreational facility at Clarence Park is to receive a £350,000 funding boost to carry out major improvements including a £150,000 new skate park.

The move follows a recent community survey which gave park users the opportunity to feed back on how they use the park, how they rate the current facilities and what they’d like to see improved to help shape future plans.

More than 600 people responded during the six-week consultation and a masterplan is being drawn up taking into account community feedback.

During the course of the survey around 200 people expressed their interest in getting involved in a ‘friends’ group and more than 150 people said they may join a skate park working group. Some 97% of respondents confirmed they were regular users of the park.

Councillor Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment, said: “Clarence Park is a much-valued community asset. It’s achieved the coveted Green Flag award for 16 years running and we’re really keen to keep this standard for the benefit of the whole community.

“It’s fantastic that so many local people want to get involved in their local park and I’m pleased to confirm the friends group will be launching this month. Everyone who expressed an interest in getting involved will receive an invitation over the next few days.

“By working together we can ensure everyone has access to a clean, well maintained park that has great facilities for everyone.”

The first meeting of the Friends of Clarence Park will be held on Zoom at 7pm on Tuesday 23 March. Attendance can be registered online at http://bit.ly/focplaunch.

People with an interest in the park may also wish to join the Friends of Clarence Park Facebook group: http://bit.ly/clarencepark

Some of the key points arising from the community survey were:

• 87% said the park had been a welcome distraction during coronavirus
• 43% said they had used the park more often during the pandemic
• The main reasons for using the park are to exercise, take children to play and reduce stress.
• The top 3 facilities were said to be (1) the play area (2) the skate park and (3) The Green Café
• Rated as satisfactory or good were maintenance and cleanliness of the park and its facilities
• Rated poorly were the skate park (currently closed due to vandalism) and the tennis courts.
• 69% considered security and lighting of great importance.
• Tennis court refurbishment and other improvements to ensure the courts can be kept in good condition.
• Play area and ball zone improvements
• A replacement skate park
• Infrastructure and landscaping improvements

From April work will start to progress on improving the park as a whole based on the survey results, including:

ENDS

Press release issued: 16 March 2021.