A session to come up with ideas for the future development of all the parks in Keswick that are the responsibility of the town council has yielded a raft of suggestions.
They were due to be brought before a recent meeting of the parks trust with a suggestion that the proposals are further debated as a single agenda item at the next meeting of the trust on January 11 with two hours set aside for deliberations, to allow trustees to start to formulate a future plan.
The session involving Jean Murray, Chris Houghton, council clerk Vivien Little, responsible finance officer Catherine Parker and administration and finance assistant Anna Mylnczak along with members of the parks team, was described as being lively and productive resulting in a good deal of creative thinking.
With Upper Fitz Park the general feeling was not to get rid of anything and to keep it family orientated with further attractions such as boules, giant chess and draughts sets and skittles being added.
There was a proposal that a gift shop be added or merchandise such as postcards, pens, keyrings, badges and rubbers be sold at the museum, cafe and tourist information centre or through the town council website.
It was mooted that the fences on Station and Brundholme Roads be painted and the Keswick coat-of-arms on the railings be fixed. The introduction of a proper booking system for the tennis courts was also suggested, ensuring more even play in the season.
An upgrade of the play area at Lower Fitz Park was called for with the removal of the sand in the toddler area and its wooden edging replaced with recycled plastic. It was proposed that a miniature train could be franchised out to take visitors on rides around the park.
There was a call for trails and orienteering through the parks along with guided talks. Those present indicated that a big noticeboard could be placed adjacent to the entrance gates highlighting sports fixtures and park events.
Another suggestion was to extend Station Road past the swimming pool to the roundabout to create a “boulevard approach” to the park and at Hospital Field one idea was to form a “nicely landscaped” events car park accessed off Crosthwaite Road for income generation. Among the other propositions was the inclusion of bug hotels and bird feeders as well as a viewing platform.
At Hope Park there was a call for the crazy golf course to be upgraded and that it be promoted as a wedding venue and woodland walk area.
Another idea was to have a monthly photographic competition to encourage people to submit images, for a small fee, and create a calendar of the winning pictures.
