Alexandra Park has been a hive of activity this year - with work being carried out to ponds, lawns, paths, buildings and the flowerbeds.
Building work is now complete and the café will soon be refitted so that it can provide refreshments from July this year. However, it has not yet been possible to secure an operator who can provide evening meals. But it is hoped that the café will be developed as a bistro early in 2003.
The bandstand is almost complete and has been painted cream and green. Decorative lighting and down lights will be used at night to illuminate it. During the summer there will be band concerts every Sunday and the Council would like to encourage other regular entertainment in the Park, using the bandstand as a focal point.
The tennis pavilion has been upgraded to include new toilets (including disabled facilities), a baby changing room, changing rooms and offices for the Park Rangers. The front of the building will be replaced with a rustic façade and enhanced with climbing plants such as wisteria. The toilets will be open to the public as soon as the path next to it has been completed. The path has had work carried out on it to change the levels to make access easier for the elderly, wheelchairs and pushchairs. Park Rangers will now be based in offices in the Tennis Pavilion.
Plans are currently being drawn up to convert the shelter into an information point.
During May, new plants were put around the pond to soften the edges. Netting has been put over them to protect them from nibbling ducks! The nutrient levels in the pond are quite high and barley straw is being used to keep the levels down. Now that the silt has been taken out of the ponds and they have been refilled, the ponds themselves are much healthier and the Environment Agency has now returned the fish to them from the boating lake.
Exceptionally dry weather during the spring allowed contractors to start 'working' the silt. An analysis of the consistency of the silt has shown that it has a better structure. The silt will be cultivated and a 25mm layer of woodchip will be mixed in before it is levelled. Then, a thin membrane will be laid over the top which will stop stones moving to the top of the mixture. Around 200mm of topsoil will be put over the top and the whole area will be seeded. If the weather is favourable, the lawn should be back in use by the end of the Summer.
Resurfacing work has been taking place on the paths and roadways in the Lower Park. A vehicle route is being built which will be more robust than the paths which are being constructed just for use by pedestrians. The paths will have a gradient suitable for use by disabled people. All the entrances around the park which have steps will have new handrails, and benches are being replaced with a Victorian style of seating which was used previously in the town's parks. The work taking place on the paths is likely to cause park users some disruption for which we apologise.
There was an excellent response to the consultation that was carried out with children and parents and park users and the final design for the playground has been decided on. However, there were delays during the design and consultation stage of the plans and work will now start on September 2nd.
If you would like to look at the plans please contact Peter Mead on 781385 or Jeremy Linden on 781197.
Planting around Bethune Way has been delayed due to the difficulty in finding some of the plants needed. Some plants that were delivered were not of an acceptable standard and were sent back. This means that planting will now have to be delayed until the Autumn. However, three new beds, replicating the original Robert Marnock design have been laid out around the Queens Road entrance and planting took place during June.
The toilets next to Queens Lodge will be demolished. An Environment Agency project to build four fishing platforms along the west bank of the reservoir has now been completed. A lot of vegetation has been cleared away from the area and designs will be drawn up for major landscaping projects during the Winter and next Spring.
Councillor Godfrey Daniel, Chair of the Custodians of the Park, said:
"These are certainly exciting times for all of us who care about Alexandra Park. Almost daily we can all see visible improvements which will culminate in the restoration of a really lovely green space - fit to meet the needs of today's community."
The voluntary organisation, Friends of Alexandra Park, continue to play a key role in the shaping of plans for the park. They are looking for new members who are interested in the project. For more information please contact Membership secretary Stuart Farquhar on 437517.
For more information please contact Project Manager Jeremy Linden on 781197 or email jlinden@hastings.gov.uk or keep an eye on the noticeboards around the park which are updated regularly.
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This page last updated: 25/06/2002