BUGs in Mill Dam Park

It's Sunday and we did some weeding, digging over a new bed, as well as some hard swinging as high as we could on the swings.

We've agreed to come back at 3:30ish on Thursday to put in the hundred odd new bedding plants that we will be getting from David 's market stall then.

Park's looking good - great to see the children, parents - and the sun!

To the rescue

Threatened with a hard day of graft, spading and wheelbarrowing endless loads for possibly two days, eleven people sprang forward to do a lot of hard work to help me out.

Better still they thoroughly enjoyed themselves and thanked me for the experience.

Here's a record of their adventure.

Some of you would have dearly loved to be there and help.

Next time perhaps - see below !

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Contact Geoff  if you'd like to get involved - gd at tygh.co.uk - 01229 480 347

 Terry from Star street is helping later today at 4 pm (Friday) to spread some of it over the turf as a dressing where it's needed in the park - while it is still dry and easy to work with.
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Next job - refurbishing the decrepit fences !

Creating a lovely relaxing space in next door Pound.

A celebratory picnic and play for all.

Watch this space as they say.

But especially the little notice board in The Park

And starting in a fortnight, please bring scissors and pick all the Sweet Peas on the fencing: the more they are picked , the more they grow - please don't stop and we'll still be getting flowers in November.

Dispute : Whose responsibility is this fence?

An email sent to Mrs Anne Makin in the Legal Department with copies to Carl Ballantyne in Sheltered Housing, Tony Naylor in the Parks Department and relevant councillors and members of BUGs, the voluntary Mill Dam Park support group: -

Anne Makin,

Carl kindly provided me with information regarding the responsibility for the fencing that acts as the boundary between Mill Dam Park and Mill Dam Sheltered Housing.

I understand from you to quote  "  I have the deeds which incorporate the area of Mill Dam (includes both the sheltered housing site and the playground together) and SLDC would be expected to be responsible for the fence."

I am surprised at your conclusion as I believe this particular fence is clearly the responsibility of the sheltered housing owner .

As the chairman of the group of some fifty people, known as The BUGs, my  interest is in getting this fence replaced with fencing that matches the beautiful new fencing on the front of the sheltered housing.

The BUGs have been putting a lot of work into the park over the last a three years which includes the planting of bulbs and flowers; the making and purchase of four picnic tables (one of them stolen) and the repair last Saturday of a bench that has been derelict for two years now.

I am writing in particular as I have knowledge of this situation that goes back before the time that Mill Dam Park was there.

The fence is clearly the responsibility of the sheltered housing as the fence, surrounding the then new Sheltered Housing was there before the park existed. At that time in 1984 there was housing, a fence round it with what was then barren land  with rubble and broken glass left behind by the builders who built the housing: on the very  land that is now our park .

I know because it was I together with a small group who campaigned with SDLC at the time to give us the park promised by Mr Woodburn, Town Mill owner, who gave the land to SLDC for use as a park. Instead they nicked the land to build houses albeit sheltered leaving us with  piles of rubble and broken glass which the kids cycled up and down over - as they will - at their own peril. Absolutely shameful behaviour on the part of SLDC - and we rubbed their noses in it at the time and demanded action - and got it - our park!

 It is clearly the Sheltered Housing fence as it predates the park.

Could it be that you have come to the wrong conclusion?

I have put together a video that states our case which is  on Youtube at
http://youtu.be/3lJVVeg4AOo see below

Dr  Geoff Dellow

Cathie's Gardening Afternoon

First of two videos:

Work as it happened:

After the event :

Three Cheers for Peter Clarke

Mill Dam Park users in Ulverston will be indebted to the conscientiousness of our SLDC Parks Engineer, Peter Clarke; the guy who singlehandedly manages all the parks for this area stretching from the far side of Kendal, Sedbergh, Ambleside, Grange and Ulverston. During the last ten years Peter has had responsibility thrust on him to do more and more with less and less - and no doubt be cursed for inaction in the process.

We at Mill Dam have been working in the park for over three years now providing all the flowers, bulbs, picnic tables and doing some repairs. We have had an outstanding safety issue for two years with a gate opening outwards into the road with no catch that has withstood vandalism. Our previous Councillor, Colin Hodgson agreed that something needed to be done, in fact he agreed that the gate should not open outwards onto the road but the reverse thus reducing the chance of accident from small children that elude the attention of their parents. For two years now we have struggled with inaction from others than ourselves. Bingo we have now hit the jackpot having at last reached the right person to do the job. By return of email only two days ago we got an immediate commitment to action and today, Thursday the new catch is in place. Similarly a bench that has sat sadly vulnerable for two years with only one seat slat is to have the correct three pieces of new substantial wood in place.
Peter Clarke provided the required wood today and we will drill, provide bolts and fix the new timbers in place on Saturday afternoon at our work, play and eat party organised by local parent Cathie.

Now after many phone calls, emails of barking up the wrong trees of councillors and management we have finally found the person who actually gets the job done - someone no doubt that no one has heard of before whilst the people who should be doing something get their name on the front page decrying how  Ulverston is going to pot.

Mill Dam Park is set to be the most supported and maintained park in Cumbria. Ulverston in Bloom you've seen nothing yet with new 400 bedding plants promised in June. People  bring their children from Backbarrow, Dalton and other outlying areas because of the friendliness of the environment. It's obviously one that is cared for by the local people.

What we all need are action men rather smooth talkers. Let's hope the new bunch of politicians meeting at the Town Hall to share the jobs out, this next Monday evening will demonstrate in the future that things now will start to happen in Ulverston.

Will the new Labour Councillors be any different to the old Conservatives? In four year's time we will know.

What's happening in Mill Dam Park ?

Our Mill Dam Picnic Table goes missing

Just when it's needed !

With this gorgeous weather people are coming from all over to meet each other while their children play.

With all the flowers and pottery, the park is looking great and people are understandingly using it more and more.

People are coming here from Croftlands, South Ulverston and even Dalton and Backbarrow.

Yet the SLDC Parks Department have chosen to remove one of the picnic tables, we are told, for repairs to one leg.

We appreciate their involvement but it is now a whole week since it was taken away and our enquiries yesterday and today have so far failed to determine when the table will be returned.

Although appreciative of their involvement in repairing the table, we are very capable of promptly doing all repairs ourselves since we made it with new materials we supplied in the first place.

We would far prefer the Parks Department focused on repairs they said they would help us with two years ago.

One is the bench that has had missing seat bars all this time. Eighteen months ago SLDC said that they would provide the wood to repair it, if they couldn't do the work themselves.

Even more important is for a satisfactory way of closing one of the gates to be implemented. The one in question uses a weak latch which vandals have broken twice in the past two years. Could the SLDC not replace this with a loop similar to the one they placed on the other gate last year?

This has been a great success.

The BUGs, a group of local people the have put a lot of work into improving the park. They hope that their efforts are recognised so that greater cooperation between them and SLDC develops during these times of limited resources.

The BUGS believe they are doing their part in not only improving the park but in keeping it tidy thus minimising work for SLDC contractors.

Could we have some consideration in return?

As soon as we get more information we'll post the outcome here.

The World Financial Markets Crash

So let's have some positive news.

Something we can do something about!

At very little cost and a small amount of effort each week.

The latest from Mill Dam Park - worth a visit!

We're having an event here in a week's time:

Saturday 27th August

Pottery making for The Railings, Gill Banks.

Now

Compare this taken on May 11th

Saying goodbye to sanity

More and more we are experiencing a disharmony in our world.

Injustice is the flavour of the day.

It's always been in our lives but now we can react to it.

Buried emotions are surfacing in abundance.

It's time for a total change of direction in the way we deal with each other - or we shall totally destroy the society we live in.

It seems that we will have to experience pain - some of us a lot of it - before we come to our senses in the way the alcoholics do when they are dangled over the precipice of disaster.

Policians are out of touch because they manipulate a society that is slowly coming to the realisation that they don't like the way they behave.

In the extreme, countries like Greece are going down the path of dramatic change and turmoil.

Many of the same feelings bubble under the surface here in Britain - here in Ulverston.

For the most part, average people are apathetic  - they want others to solve their problems for them - the welfare state , the NHS and Education has encouraged this.

Even here in Ulverston politicians try to even control the behaviour of the local people as though they have some influence. They don't - for the most part, they are a ceremonial irrelevance . By using grand council chambers; following archaic procedures and dressing up ; they kid themselves that their views are important. In fact their behaviour and actions are for the most part pointless. We don't respect them.

They rarely follow important issues through.

Take the issue of our market:

Here are some wise words

However note the date - 2009 - so what has happened since then?

We've only got to lose one stall holder - David Gardiner at the plant stall and the whole of the Saturday Market would collapse and with it , inevitably in the long term, shopping in Ulverston.

The repair of the cobbles in Market Street  has been totally botched  - it looks good but was for the most part unnecessary - and is largely a waste of our money when this commodity is in short supply - as stated by the Amey contractor - Cumbria County Highways have always been crazy. Had the Highways Department supervised contractors in the past when they replaced the cobbles after digging holes then no work would have been needed. A point that United Utilities acknowledged when they returned to make good bad work they had done at the request of - a couple of individuals whose efforts weren't supported by our politicians at the time.

There are plenty of similar issues here in Ulverston: another very important one being car parking in the town with the extreme example of the little used Stockbrige Lane Car Park to which the official; response over a year ago - maybe two - on this blog - was "the matter was under review".

Fortunately we do have many groups of people who do get on and do things - though on occasions their activities are taken over by self important people making a name for themselves.

What we don't need are top down organisations which reflect the views of their "leaders" - organisations that promote apathy and a lack of involvement.

There are encouraging signs though. One local community is getting together to form the BUGs - they believe in action and not talk as exemplified by the transformation that has taken place in Mill Dam Park - a place of great importance to locals.

Councillors have shown little positive interest or support; in fact some have deliberately raised problems with what is being done, but the group has gone ahead despite the broken promises made by SLDC and a small amount of vandal activity.

The BUGs are having an event in Mill Dam Park this next Sunday - there's a very strong positive feeling in this group - why not come and join them.

Event in Mill Dam Park this next Sunday

Croftlands Park a great success

There's a great atmosphere here at the moment.

Kids are having a wonderful time.

They are tackling challenges to suit their ability.

SLDC have done a great job of choosing equipment with varying degrees of risk involved.

There are a wide range of activities to suit different ages and the layout has been thoughtfully put together.

Parents I spoke to yesterday were full of praise.

The children play really well together and the adults are beginning to dare talk to each other as they, for the most part, sit around and watch.

The presence of this park in Ulverston owes much to Phil Lister speaking up when he was a SLDC councillor at a meeting when Windermere declined the offer of a theme park there.

Phil piped up quickly with "If you don't want the money, we'll have it".

The money was thus earmarked for Ulverston several years ago.

After some discussion Phil, a Labour Councillor, persuaded the other councillors not to rip up existing equipment in Lightburn Park but agreed to support the Conservatives in their bid to have the equipment on Croftlands.

This was a great decision; the equipment benefitted from all the extra space available on the site on Central Drive.

There have been some moans about the lack of parking for cars but I can't see this as a serious problem as there are a lot of alternative places.

Yes Croftlands will get "invaded" by lots of people from outlying areas. but this will in the long term be to their benefit. The kind of people being attracted have very positive outlooks and amny great friendships will result.

As someone very interested in supporting parks in general; Mill Dam and Lightburn in particular; I hope a similar spirit can be encouraged at both these parks through the efforts made by local people in their park.

Work in Mill Dam is going really well - Lightburn, apart from the Skateboarding facility and one new piece of equipment, is on hold because of lack of enthusiasm in a potentially difficult area.

Maybe Lightburn will draw some strength from seeing what can be done on Croftlands and by a small group, with little official support, the BUGs,in Mill Dam.

So well done Phil Lister and the design team at SLDC which includes the overworked Engineer Peter Clarke and his behind the desk counterpart Tony Naylor.

Well done - we need a plaque to honour them.

I could make a ceramic one if this would be appropriate.

Tongue in Cheek

The sun is out and it would be good to sit in the park

But if this is Mill Dam Park , things are different.

True there have been, and still are, lots of crocusses out; then the daffodils are just coming out, the tulips have buds, the forget-me-nots are strong and healthy, the wall flowers too and the african marigolds seeds are germinating : thanks to our efforts and money.

But where is the wood for reparing the park bench that SLDC Parks Department have promissed on three separate occasions? Where is the picnic table that we were promissed last May and again in November. Both times we were told that there would be no problem in supplying these.

However we were also told that Councillor Hodgson was "out of order" in his part in preventing this happening.

So we've got the message : if you want something - do it yourself. If we want a second picnic table after the one we already supplied then we will make it ourselves as we want it to be well made, strong and heavy, and the Ulverston firm that was making them has stopped. We'll also repair the bench and hope that this time the kids don't wreck our repairs.

Why was the one shown on Google maps removed in the first place?

A Park to aspire to

Dave has alerted us to what is happening at Park View in Lytham St Annes just south of Blackpool.

"We have proved that if people work together for the good of the community, then anything is possible. We have created a safe environment not only for young people but for the whole family to enjoy. We now  have the first 3G park in the country. But we believe that we haven’t just built a park we are building a new community, we now have children from all backgrounds playing together, children who previously didn’t know each other. The park is the one place in the community where there are no social barriers."

This is just what I love to see happening. I've seen samll parks all over Paris that operate in this kind of way.

Parks provide a place for people to  be rejuvenated and get to know each other.

A place where this kind of park could be developed would be Lightburn. But is anyone interested?

With the present politicians we have I can't see this kind of thing happening. As described before Cllr Colin Hodgson actively prevents improvements to Mill Dam Park.

Will the politicians on Croftlands help them get the kind of park that they want?

Or is this going to be a botched opportunity?

Lytham, here I come to find out how they did it. Anyone feel inspired enough to join me. Thanks to Dave (below) the content of their web site is now viewable , the cached material is perhaps not needed

We could start with Mill Dam and go from there. It will all depend on the involvement of local people.

Thanks again Dave for this brilliant piece of information, without you we wouldn't know about this project. This is an example of what this blog and the internet is all about.

Correspondence with Cllr Colin Hodgson and Tony Naylor of SLDC

Email sent Wednesday 8th December to both.

Subject: Latches on the gates at Mill Dam

Colin and Tony,

Are you both aware that, having waited so long for the Council to replace the  latches on the gates at Mill Dam,  one of them is already broken.

This is almost certainly due to normal usage which has resulted in work hardening at the weakest point in their design.

Surely the council can come up with a better design and way of installing it. (A single washer at the breaking point would have helped enormously).

This result reenforces the view that if you want something done, you are better doing the job yourselves.

We are still waiting for repairs to be done to the bench and the provision of a picnic table as was promised by Tony Naylor to replace the one that was there before and was removed by the council.

It was there until recently - see the attached photo. ( The one that is now in the park, we provided - and repaired - at a cost of £125).

Could you give a date when you anticipate the latches will be replaced with more substantial ones; the bench  repaired and a picnic table be supplied.

We can then determine whether it would be more expedient for us to make and install latches; repair the bench and buy a picnic table ourselves.

Many thanks for your anticipated speedy reply

Geoff

At last

Mill Dam Park

These essential safety catches have been missing for well over a year and were promissed six moths ago.

I guess we should say "Thanks"

Thanks

At least the look good and work well.

But why couldn't they fix the bench at the same time?

Six months ago the park's officer of SLDC promised wood so that we could repair this ourselves - even this has not arrived.

Mud is caking above the rubber matting in many places. Would the council like us to sort this out?

And what's happened to these repairs that were promised?

And to the picnic table he promised and said he could cover the cost of in his budget?

Why did this get removed in the first place?

And what happened to the slide that was here?

Putting bulbs in in Mill Dam Park and Gill Banks

We're off to a good start:

500 crocuses, 100 daffs and 100 tulips have gone in at Mill Dam and then about 1,000 crocuses (many of them tiddlers) in the planters in Gill Banks along with Hyacinths

We're planning to put the same again in Mill Dam very shortly - winter is approaching.

Work on the Candlelit walk are going very well.

We had a pottery workshop on Saturday morning and another this evening at 7:30 pm in the Coach House.

Flowers await picking

At Mill Dam Park

Sweet Peas awaiting picking by the public

These plants at Mill Dam Park will benefit from having their flowers picked.

The recipients will be able to enjoy their fragrance !

Reading between the lines

It would seem (though no one has actually said so) that some Cllrs are gunning for me because I'm too involved in Gill Banks, The Gill, Union Lane and Mill Dam Park.

My my - I live there and have toddlers to take care of .

Join twenty of us as we form a "Supporting Environtmental Improvements in Ulverston" Group to help them feel better!