Dear Friends of
Pittville,
A lot has happened since our last newsletter in January. Most disappointing was the loss of £300,000 which we had expected would be spent on Pittville Park. The bulk of the borough council’s Capital Budget is being allocated to the maintenance of Regent Arcade. However, we are not daunted and are actively seeking funding from other sources for several projects which we outline later in this newsletter. Best wishes. Fiona Clark April 2010 Lots of Activity You will have seen some developments in the park over the last few months, with more to come. Severn Trent Water’s community recovery fund has provided six more fishing platforms and a new multi-purpose games area near the leisure centre. Central government Pathfinder funds will build the ‘adventure playground’ on the south side of the Lower Lake. Work (though not visible yet) has commenced on the ‘community bridge’ across the Lower Lake. Our volunteers have now spent five mornings, helping clear leaves and long accumulated soil and litter from the underpass, around Pittville and Pump Room gates and picked up litter throughout the park and Pittville Lawn. We have taken over responsibility for maintaining the three notice boards in the park, where we will publicise our activities. Other organisations, such as the Holst Museum, and the borough council will continue to advertise there. So, what events are we planning for the rest of this year? First, a “Plant for Pittville” competition. Click here for details.
Second, we are thinking about an evening event in October, when you are invited to bring old postcards and photographs of Pittville.
This is primarily for members, but potential members will be welcome too. We now have a ‘What’s On Page’ on our website. Please tell the secretary about events you know of in Pittville that are open to the public or to which the Friends might be invited (secretary@friendsofpittville.org) We are also identifying major projects, from which we will choose one, for which we will seek funding. These include: Restoring Pittville Gates, at the town end of Pittville Lawn
Replacing the railings and gates on each side of the Pump Room
Restoring the historic vista from the east end of Pittville Lawn, up to the Pump Room
The first two would be very expensive, so we need to give careful thought to what is realistic. We are interested in having your thoughts on these, whether or not you are a Friend. We’ll use the feedback to guide our decision on which projects to take on. Also, if you have suggestions about other things that Friends of Pittville could become involved with, please let us know by writing to secretary@friendsofpittville.org
Changes in the Executive Committee
We are pleased to welcome Judie Hodsdon as an ex-officio volunteer working with the Excom until our next AGM. Judie has been a Cheltenham resident since the early 1970s, moving to Pittville in 2001. She retired in summer 2009 from a senior position in GCHQ. Our membership is growing
If you are not already a member and would like to become one, please download and complete this membership application form and send it, with your membership fee, to The Treasurer, Friends of Pittville, 11 Monica Drive, Cheltenham, GL50 4NQ. The fee is £2 (or 50p concession) per year. However, if you would like to contribute more, please do so. And if you wish to set up a Standing Order please use this downloadable form.
Chairman
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chairman@friendsofpittville.org |
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