(a registered charity in England and Wales No 1101748) Annual Report 2016

Heritage Lottery Fund Bid We learned at the end of 2015 that the round 1 stage of a £2.7m Heritage Lottery Bid for Poole Park had been successful. The hard work to raise extra cash to boost the amount that the Borough of Poole and the community locally can offer as its contribution, continued. The more money that can be raised increases the final amount that can be obtained from Heritage Lottery Funds. By the end of 2016 the Friends of Poole Park had achieved just over £20000 and an amount of £20777 was paid over to the Borough of Poole during December. We have been advised that the stage 2 application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for approximately £2.7 m will be made in early March 2017

Cygnet / Westfield Children’s Play Areas Both the Children’s Play Areas in Poole Park continue to be popular with children but more and more are showing their age. Unfortunately we will have to wait to see the outcome of stage two of the Heritage Lottery Bid to see any real improvements can be made, both are high on the list for either rebuilding or improvement. However, members are asked to be ever vigilant and when damage or graffiti is noticed in the Children’s Play Areas or anywhere in the Park. We ask you to immediately report it, on line or to the ‘Hotline’ 0800 506050.

Salt Water Lake/ Weed Weed in the Salt Water Lake reoccurred in 2016 but did not seem the problem of previous years, the eradication of this problem will not be easy but it is high on the priority list, should the Heritage Lottery Bid be successful.

Geese There has been some improvement in the problems caused by these birds in Poole Park during the year. Thanks to the Park’s maintenance team for keeping this matter under close scrutiny and control.

Traffic and Car Parking in the Poole Park Although this is still a concern, the Friends have not noted or have been advised of any extra efforts to control the speed or number of cars using the Park roads during the year. The roads continue to be heavily used throughout the day and especially in the early evening. Car parking still causes problems in the west of the Park with the car parking areas being largely used by visitors to the nearby Dolphin Centre. Suggestions have been made to try to get the charges in P & D areas near to the Park reduced to make these areas more attractive to drivers, hopefully leaving parking in the Park more available to Park visitors, but as in previous years the suggestion has fallen on deaf ears. The suggestion to introduce parking charges in Poole Park was dropped by the Council. A temporary road closure scheme in the evening peak during August proved controversial.

Projects This still continues to be the most disappointing aspect of our work. However, it seems that many of our aspirations will now need to wait for money from the Heritage Lottery Bid.

Green Flag Award 2016/17 We are delighted that Poole Park has again been awarded with the prestigious Green Flag this year, 2016/17. We feel that the Council could do more to advertise this achievement. The Kiosk We try to keep the Kiosk open during the summer months and when special events are held in the Park. However, the opening of the Kiosk for information can only be achieved when volunteers come forward to help.

Membership Membership was down in 2016. New members are always very welcome. If you haven’t done so already, please renew your membership for 2017.

Meetings Three public meetings were held during the past year in March, July and November. The 2016 AGM held in conjunction with the March 2016 public meeting. The AGM for 2017 will be held on Monday 6 March, 2017 again followed by a public meeting and further public meetings are planned in July and November. Please come along to hear what is happening in Poole Park, especially about the HL Bid. Meetings are normally held in the Council Offices at the Civic Centre, Poole (enter by the door opposite the East Park Gates). All meetings start at 19 00 hours (7pm) and finish by 21 00 (9 pm).

Friends of Poole Park Committee We still need your support. The Committee does its best but cannot be expected to do everything. In 2016 Michael Collins became the Chairman. We also welcomed Graham Sutton onto the Committee.

Conclusion and Thanks. In conclusion the Friends of Poole Park Committee would like to thank everyone who has continued to support the Friends by joining or renewing their membership for 2016. It is hoped that you will continue to support us in 2017, please spread the word. We thank all the staff at Poole Council, especially Lucy Giles-Townsend, Kate Mitchell, Martin Whitchurch, Toni Powell and Nigel Bridle for their help and support during the past year. To all who provide facilities and services in the Park, we thank you all for your help in making Poole’s wonderful Park a more attractive and interesting place to visit.

MWH March 2017