NEW NOTICE BOARDS -latest progress

[martin weitz]

Dear Everyone,

sorry for the delay for this update on the Notice Boards project .

PROGRESS to DATE

1/ £10k in funding has been successfully obtained from BCC ( £5k from Neighbourhood Partnership funding and £5k matching funding from BCC)

2/ Jon Rogers has been attempting to allow us to pay our bills through the council and thus avoid paying VAT - but this now looks unlikely - however no definite answer has been forthcoming yet.

3/ Our contractors for the notice boards Fitzpatrick Walmer can supply the 3 notice boards and one finger post for under the 10k figure - but there is VAT on top - so it looks like that we will only be
able to go ahead with with 2 boards and one finger post even though we will have
£10k. Moreover, the council so far has not agreed to cover the cost of fixing
the boards -so we may have to bear the brunt of this cost too. We also have to
set aside funds for replacing any damaged boards ( around £250 each plus VAT).

4/ In view of the funding situation I am now making an application for Heritage Lottery Funding - I made an initial phone call this week and it seems we satisfy all the criteria - so I would say we have a good
chance of getting the money.

5/ We have received branding guidelines from the councils graphic designer - Jan Harvey which seem to be the only ways in which the boards have to be compliant ( see attachment) with the council.

6/ Scheduling - our agreement with the council for receiving Neighbourhood Partnership funding states we must have the first boards in place by September 2010 - I sincerely hope we will do this much sooner than
that. I hope we can agree the following in the next 4 weeks - by the end of
March! BUT WE NEED YOUR feedback, suggestions, ideas and opinions!
Please note these are just our first thoughts (albeit 2 years in the
making!) and are in not yet set in stone yet - so do feel free to suggest
alternatives.

(a) LOCATIONS We need to agree the location of the first three notice boards and the finger post. It is generally agreed that the boards need to be INSIDE the park ie not on the road - as is the case for the old sign now on Effingham Road.
Here are some possibilities: There are 7 entrances to the park, in clockwise
order:

Entrance 1: Corner of Effingham and Leopold Rd

Entrance 2: middle of Effingham Road ( Main Entrance)

Entrance 3: corner of Effingham Rd and Melita Rd - by wildlife pond

Entrance 4: Corner of Melita and Somerville Rd ( by recycling Bins)

Entrance 5: Top of Somerville Road - with swing gate

Entrance 6: Middle of Maurice Rd

Entrance 7: End of Maurice Rd on corner of Leopold Rd

Additional possible locations:

8. By the cafe and the old bandstand.

9. In the childrens playground or at the gated entrance to it

10. Between the pond / wild grass area and the bowling green

11. Near the WW2 Wellington Bomber memorial.

FINGER POST

(b) We also need to agree on finger post location and contents of six arrows, possibilities include:

1/ Toilets

2/Children's playground (but not if the finger post is located next to cafe?)

3/wildlife pond and meadow

4/Bowling green??

5/ cafe ( but not if the finger post is located next to cafe?)

6/ Gloucester Rd shops

7/ Park Users Recyling bins

8/ PLEASE ADD ANY MORE IDEAS AND CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE SIX AND SEND BACK TO ALL FOR COMMENT

(b) THEMATIC CONTENTS of BOARDS

Agree on the subject matter and text for Board No.1 and Board No. 2. and make suggestions for specific illustrations/photos/archive pictures.PLEASE SEND and CC everyone with your
suggestions ASAP. IF YOU HAVE ANY PARTICULAR OLD OR NEW PHOTOS YOU
THINK ARE A MUST HAVE - PLEASE EMAIL THEM TO ALL TO SEE. We will be
using old black and white photos, drawings, modern photos of the flora and fauna
etc - if you have taken some brilliant shots which you would like to suggest are
used PLEASE EMAIL to all.

Suggestion for BOARD no.1

1/ The Origins of the park from Victorian times ( this could be the main subject) (text + several illustrations and old archive b and w pix to accompany)

2/ Large Hand drawn map of park - showing where you are now and key features of park

3/ Text + 1-2 small pix/drawings of trees, rich flowers and plants found in the park (this will be just a flavour as a separate board will focus on this as well)

4/ Text + an 1-2 small pix/drawings of wild animals and birds found in park (this will be just a flavour as a separate board will focus on this as well).

5/ Text + an 1-2 small pix/drawings of Wellington bomber story (this will be just a flavour as a separate board will focus on this as well).

6/ Text + an 1-2 small pix/drawings Civil War History of area of St Andrews. (this will be just a flavour as a separate board may focus on this as well).

Suggestion for Board No.2

Main feature: The Wellington Bomber Story + map etc

Suggestion for Board No. 3

Main feature: wild birds and animals + possibly include details of wildlife meadow and pond.

Suggestion for Board No. 4

Main Feature Trees and plants flowers found in park

Suggestion for Board No. 5

Main Feature Civil War History and other Early history of St Andrews area

(c) Agree on the Welcome to St Andrews Park Rules section ( this is a separate lower section which will appear on every board).

We will base on the text previously used in our Welcome to the Park poster (see attachment) .

DOGS ON LEADS ONLY? NB A number of Friends would like to add the additional rule: Please keep your dog on a lead at all times. There has been a significant increase in recent
months in people failing to pick up their dog poo all round the perimeter of the
park and some park users have been attacked by dogs while the owners look on
helplessly and lamely ask them to stop doing it, whilst saying "sorry they are
very friendly really"! So maybe this is an opportune moment to introduce
this modest restriction which I believe will be to everyone's benefit, it is
already in place in most other Bristol parks.WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Really look forward to your feedback/ ideas/ comments/ pictures - SOON!

best wishes,

martin

[Ches Chesney]

In a park that is divided into three (soon to be four) areas by gates and fences and where dogs are allowed in only one of those areas, it is unreasonable to insist that dogs be kept on leads.
If you wish to put up a notice about dogs, by all means warn the public that dogs are walked in one part of the park and point out that dogs are not allowed in the other areas. That way everyone can make an informed choice about where they choose to walk, run, picnic and play.
Personally, I find it offensive that you propose prohibition against all dog owners instead of those who are irresponsible or anti-social. Would you prevent everyone from using the park because a (sizable) minority leave litter? How about those who ride their bikes through the park? Or those who deface the walls, benches and trees with graffiti? What shall we do about those who burn the grass and bake the earth with their barbeques?
Perhaps we should just lock the park gates to everyone, because a few don't follow the rules...

[Toby OCM]

I would suggest that it would probably be appropriate to create a separate thread concerning the proposal to keep dogs on leads, rather than bury it in a thread about noticeboards. Otherwise it gives the impression that you're trying to sneak it through.
So I've started that strand.

[Annie]

How do you ensure that the minority of irresponsible dog owners clear up their dog poo? I have pointed out very pleasantly to a young man that his dog pooed and offered to lend him a bag and he just turned his back and walked off. Will a sign saying he must have his dog on a lead pursued him to act differently? I doubt it.
How do you ensure the minority of selfish anti-social picnickers clear up their litter? And they are not all young.. I have seen a family with young children just get up & walk off and leave all their litter.
I agree that dog poo is nasty & a health hazzard but I also find the litter spoils my walks in the park. I just don't think a sign about dogs on leads will make a difference and spoil it for those who use and love the park all the year round and not just on sunny days.. the dog walkers.
Is it realistic to employ a dog warden? Fine if it is, I have no problem with this, but can we have a litter warden too and perhaps a noise-abatement officer patrolling regularly on warm weekend evenings.

[martin weitz]

Thanks Jim for your comment. There still remains the problem of some dog-owners who, unlike yourself, allow their dogs to run wild and do not pick up their dog's poo. there was more this morning - and it ended up on my trainers - not very pleasant - and a serious health hazard. what do you think should be done about this? I look forward to your suggestions. best wishes martin

[Jim R]

I would also like to strongly disagree with the proposal that dogs should be kept on a lead in the park. As someone who only occasionally used the park until becoming a dog owner it seems that this would just be a good way to alienate responsible dog owners who are quite probably the single largest users of the park.

[martin weitz]

Hi Annie,
There are dog wardens employed by the council who could patrol the park and fine offending dog owners. Whilst I sympathise with your view that most dog owners act responsibly - there remains a minority who allow their dogs to run loose and uncontrolled. Every day I come across fresh dog poo when I run around the park. It is a serious health issue as well as being disgusting to get it on your shoes and when it gets on children's hands and fingers. What do you suggest should be done about it? It remains a daily problem that needs to dealt with. best wishes martin
look forward to your suggestions.

[Annie]

I strongly disagree about dogs being kept on a lead. As a regular dog walker in the park, having my dog off the lead allows me to exercise her before work when I am pressed for time. I tend to have her on the lead when the park is full of people having barbeques. She was once attacked by another dog & I do think that such dogs should be muzzled or kept on a lead. The great majority of dog walkers are responsible and highly conscientious about clearing up their dog poo. For the minority who refuse to clear up the poo, having them on a lead would make no difference. And how do you plan to enforce the rule about dog leads? It is this irresponsible minority who will disregard this rule if they choose to.
What upsets me is the noise & litter left by some of the people using the park on sunny days like the last few.

[Dan Taylor]

My wife's friend from a post natal group suggested I had a look at your site. I have a local sign making company. It sounds like a lot of money for a few notice boards and finger posts. Have you got a specification in mind?
We may be able to help to get this done at a more agreeable cost.

[martin weitz]

many thanks Simon for the interesting feedback . I agree it would make sense to have finger post just inside main effingham rd entrance - and then maybe locate the no.1 board by the cafe. The finger post could also point to start of the park trail ( the trail would consist of a walk around the park from one board to the next)