Saunders Park needs more ‘Friends’

A local park needs volunteers to help with improvements to ensure it continues to be a great place to visit.

Saunders Park, on the Lewes Road between the gyratory and the B and Q retail park, is a popular park with recently refurbished facilities including a paddling pool and play area.

A team of volunteers has organised improvements over the last few years and helped to run successful events including Halloween and spring fun days. However, due to family commitments, several members of the Friends of Saunders Park are having to step down.

Labour council candidate and Hollingdean resident Tracey Hill is joining with the Council’s park ranger, community workers and residents who use the park, in the search for more people to come forward.

She says: “Saunders Park is very popular, particularly the paddling pool in hot weather and the play area, which is excellent for young children.

“Being involved in the Friends group wouldn’t be a huge time commitment, but it would ensure that the park is run for the benefit of the people who use it, and that the local community is involved. I think more use could be made of some of the facilities. It would be great to see local children helping to plant and maintain the raised beds, for example.”

In 2009, the park received funding to set up an Eco Park which includes a pond, an eco-trail, raised beds and information boards. The money came from the M&S carrier bag scheme. The Eco Park was designed with input from local schools.

In July, Labour candidates, including Brighton Pavilion’s parliamentary candidate Purna Sen, appealed to Southern Water to fix a deep hole which had been fenced off for two years. Over 100 people using the park signed a letter asking for the hole to be filled. The work is now scheduled to be completed by Christmas.

Purna says: “Several parents told us that they were not using this area because of safety concerns. Once the work has been finished, a bigger area of the park will become available, including better access to raised beds and the pond. Clearly a lot of work has gone into the park in recent years and it’s really important that it continues.”

To enquire about getting involved with Friends of Saunders Park, EMAIL:

Labour’s Team in Hollingdean and Stanmer are Councillor Jeane Lepper, Tracey Hill, Michael Inkpin-Leissner and Caroline Penn.