4 October 2011
Eastbourne Borough Council is urging residents to show their support and help protect their favourite open space.
Last year The Queen Elizabeth II Fields initiative was launched to create a network of permanently protected outdoor spaces in communities across the UK by 2012. Councillors were asked to nominate parks and open spaces and those put forward include Princes Park, Hampden Park, Old Town Recreation Ground, Westlords, Tugwell Park and Holly Park.
These six sites are already in the process of being permanently protected to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, but they will benefit further from the support of the local community. The scheme is administered by Fields in Trust, the organisation formerly known as the National Playing Fields Association.
From October 18, for one month only, residents will be able to register their support in protecting their favourite open space by visiting the Fields in Trust website. Residents will also be able to provide their contact details with a view to forming future “Friends” groups for their local site.
Councillor Steve Wallis, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Parks and Downland, said:
“This is a superb initiative to provide permanent protection to some of our best loved parks. Eastbourne has an excellent reputation for providing quality open spaces and with Princes Park receiving a Green Flag award and Hampden Park’s greatly enhanced and improved Decoy Pond, it was too good an opportunity to miss the chance to protect these parks for future generations.
“Please support the scheme by logging onto the Fields in Trust website and posting your comments from October 18.”
All the parks submitted can be viewed on the Fields in Trust website and selecting Eastbourne Borough Council or by entering your post code.
