November 9th, 2011 Eastbourne residents are being asked to share any photos they may have showing the original entrance to Princes Park, as the Council looks to fully reinstate it to its former glory as part of a series of ongoing improvements to the award-winning green space.
Eastbourne Borough Council would like to replace the side panels at the entrance on the corner of Channel View Road and Royal Parade. A new archway was erected in 2007 following joint work between the Council and the Friends of Princes Park.
Princes Park has been an important recreation area in Eastbourne since the early 1900s and earlier this year was awarded the Green Flag; a recognition that the Park is one of the best green spaces in the country and more recently, it has been nominated as a Queen Elizabeth II Field.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for the Environment, Cllr Steve Wallis said “We were absolutely delighted that Princes Park received the Green Flag Award earlier this year and are committed to investing in the Park to continue making improvements and enhancing the facilities available. One of the improvements we’re really interested in making is to the entrance. We’d love to install brand new side panels to complement the archway based on the Park’s original features and would be very keen to hear from anybody who has photographs showing the entrance as it was prior to the loss of the old archway and panels.”
Anyone who has old photographs of the entrance to Princes Park should contact Gareth Williams on 01323 415281, email them to parks@eastbourne.gov.uk or pop them in the post to Parks & Gardens, 1 Grove Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4TW. All photographs will be returned.
Eastbourne Borough Council are also encouraging the local community to get voting this month for their favourite green spaces in the town to be included in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee legacy. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge is a campaign being run by Fields in Trust to protect 2012 outdoor recreational spaces in communities across the country as a permanent living legacy of the Jubilee year.
Six outdoor spaces in Eastbourne have already been nominated, including Princes Park, Hampden Park, Tugwell Park, Holly Park, Westlords Playing Field, and Old Town Recreation Ground, and supporters have until 18 November to vote for the green spaces that they would like to see protected. Further green spaces including Seaside Recreation Ground, Sovereign Park, Five Acres recreation Ground, Manor Gardens, Gildredge Park, Hartfield Square Gardens, Upperton Gardens, College Green, Elm Grove Field, Motcombe Gardens and Helen Gardens, have also been put forward for inclusion in the QEII scheme next year.
For more information and to vote go to ge2fields website.
