Help park turn over a new leaf

Green volunteers help to restore the gardens at Denehurst Park

Rochdale residents are being invited share their vision on how funding is used to breathe new life into a local park.

From 10 am to 2 pm, on Saturday 5 October, visitors to Denehurst Park in Spotland can take part in a special ‘Visioning Event’ to share their ideas to rejuvenate the area.

Councillor Jacqui Beswick, Rochdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Place and Regulation, said: “The council has allocated £300,000 for improvements and we want to encourage the people who actually use the park to take a major role in how the space is shaped for the future. This is an opportunity to transform Denehurst Park into a place that has great facilities that people want to use.”

There will be a variety of displays at the entrance to the park on Edenfield Road, including a site plan showing draft ideas for improvement that visitors can comment on and there will be council staff on hand to answer questions.

Visitors can also find out about being an active volunteer to improve the park by joining a new Friends of Denehurst Park group.

“There are already 11 very successful friends of parks groups across the borough which provide that extra enthusiasm and commitment to turn a good park into a great park,” Councillor Beswick added.

Friends Groups can:

• Host a variety of events such as sports days and Easter egg hunts
• Apply for even more funding which is only accessible to community groups
• Run gardening clubs, litter picks and other activities
• Encourage involvement from schools, nursing homes and other members of the community

The visioning event marks the launch of a consultation period with residents, from Saturday 5 October to Saturday 2 November, about the future development of the park. During this time a special web page will also be launched to receive ideas and comments from local people. 

Opened to the public in 1932, the park is in the grounds of Denehurst House and includes a small play area, green space, ornamental gardens. Near the house there are also a number of shrub beds and herbaceous borders which Green Volunteers have already successfully started to restore.