NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2020 Biloba and Dawn Redwood. Hopefully you’ll find out a It has been a long time since we had a news few facts about the trees and maybe learn to letter and now seemed a good time to let recognise them in the future. If you spot a fairy, all everybody know what has been going on in the the better! . It’s a long newsletter but that’s just because there’s so much news! TABLE TENNIS Keen to promote a new sporting activity in the Park, WHAT’S NEW IN THE PARK? the Friends applied to the Airport ‘HAPPY TO CHAT’ BENCH Community Trust Fund for a grant to enable us to Last December, Clare Sheehan approached FOLP offer table tennis in the Park. We received a grant about a new park bench in memory of her for £2,700 for the table and the suitable surface grandmother, June Copping, who loved to chat. The for it to be placed on. idea is to encourage people who may be lonely to Despite delays take a seat on a bench where someone else can then caused by Covid, engage them in conversation. The Friends were with help from already considering the idea of a chat bench, and our Green Space agreed to join forces. Many chat benches have been officer, Dave established around Sykes, the the country, surface was laid including one in and the table George Street, installed in just 6 weeks. The table has since proved , and even very popular. The site was carefully chosen, being abroad. sheltered and clearly visible but also near to the Due to Covid, it was café, where the plan is to loan equipment in the June before the future, when Covid restrictions allow. bench was installed, on the path where the main avenue from Edge Lane turns up towards the Hall The facility will now be even more popular, as it has portico. Though the Park’s Health Walk group has been discovered by a group of ten table tennis had to suspend activities, they kindly funded the players, all over 50’s, who had been looking for an ‘Happy To Chat’ sign, which has now been fixed in outdoor table as their indoor club remains closed. place. They plan to play twice a week – and as a bonus, will also be cleaning the table on each visit. FAIRIES IN THE PARK Yes it’s true! There are 18 trees on the Longford GROUPS IN THE PARK Park Tree Trail, each with a fairy door and home to WILDLIFE GARDEN a fairy family. The trail has been very popular this The small group of volunteers have not been able to summer. If you’ve not tried spend as much time as usual looking after the it yet, why not have a go at wildlife garden. In case you don’t know, that’s the this magical tour of area just beyond the formal gardens, on the discovery. You can get your Ryebank Road side. The wild flowers there made for own full-colour leaflet from a glorious sight at the height of summer. The pond the Longford Park Café at was filled with tadpoles for a period, though the the start of the trail, or resulting frogs were harder to spot. People may not download the leaflet from now recall but there was a long period in spring the Friends of Longford when there was no rain at all. The pond was in Park website at danger of drying up but the efforts of volunteers https://friendsoflongfordpark.org.uk/park- and particularly a member of the public – thanks facilities/tree-trail/ Jim – avoided this. A positive development was that There is a varied selection of trees on the trail, we now have a smart new information panel, about some common ones like Sycamore and Beech and wildlife in the garden. Many thanks to local some more unusual species such as the Gingko residents Sara Winstanley for designing and producing the new board and Richard Aubery for As a result of the vandalism in autumn last year we providing a number of park based wildlife photos. were left with one very damaged greenhouse and one of the beehives overturned. As yet, we have Wildlife is evident in been unable to repair one of the greenhouses but other parts of the Park have just received a kind offer from the council to of course. A highlight cover the cost of this. In the other greenhouse, we in the summer was a have still been able to offer space to in tall tree near Pets’ Bloom to prepare their plants for display around our Corner and the under town centre. Some other good news is that, despite 8’s playground where the damage to one of the beehives, our new both woodpeckers and beekeepers have now settled a new swarm and even nuthatches took up produced some honey. residence and successfully hatched. We are very thankful to FOLP for their financial The woodpeckers support towards our costs in the community looked as if they might allotment and look forward to working together for return – but the parakeets had taken over the a more productive season next year when we can nests. FOLP also arranged with One to set open up to involve others. aside part of the old fairground site – to the north of the stadium – as an area of reduced mowing, to BOWLING GREENS promote wildlife. Volunteers manage the wildlife With the help of FOLP the bowlers were looking to garden and periodic work sessions are organised. If make a big push for new members this year however anyone is interested in helping can they please make Covid changed all that, and the greens were contact via the FOLP website or email completely closed until early June. [email protected]. Some bowling activity resumed in June, though not THE COMMUNITY ALLOTMENT games against other clubs, and the club rooms only Unsurprisingly things have been very different at have restricted access. There has been one success the Community Allotment this year ! story. The timber edging boards were rotting badly, We had total and FOLP, with help from , paid closure during £1500 for new edging boards. These are made of lockdown - during recycled plastic, so won’t rot and don’t need the months of the painting. The bowlers bought the necessary stakes year when we are and fixings, at a cost of £400 and have now fixed normally our the boards in place – though fixing the 18 inch busiest. Thankfully stakes was not easy given the amount of rubble and we did manage to concrete found. plant and grow quite a large GARDENING CLUB number of the A socially distanced gardening club has been set up vegetables seeds to help out across the park. Work has already we had purchased started on the long flower bed which runs along the in our homes and, beech hedge in the formal gardens, on the shelters once lockdown had side. ended, organised a small plant sale amongst ourselves, raising £150 for Stretford Foodbank.

Over the summer our regular gardeners began to return for the normal sessions and we are starting to plan for next year. Sadly we feel unable to open up to new gardeners, as we wish to keep numbers in the allotment low and so to ensure a safe space. Given the current rise in Covid cases, visitors are also asked not to enter while we are gardening.

HEALTH WALKS Unfortunately, the fundraising events that we had Due to the coronavirus restrictions the monthly planned for the summer had to be cancelled, and health walks have been suspended. We are looking this means that our income for 2020 has been into starting greatly reduced. Many supporters have been kind a different enough to make an online donation via our Facebook walking page, or have sponsored one of the Pets as a gift initiative and for a friend or family member. Please email us if have you would like further details on the sponsorship received a scheme: [email protected]. In exchange donation of for a monthly donation, you will receive a £200 to certificate with a photo of your chosen animal, and create a your name will be added to a plaque on the outside signposted of their enclosure, as a small thank-you for your one mile walking route that would be suitable for support. people who do not take regular exercise. We plan to create walking and friendship stops at 3 park Our long-time supporter, Amanda from Giddy Goat entrances. People can then informally meet others Toys in Didsbury, has continued to sponsor Frodo & on the same fitness journey at a set time on any Gandalf and we are very grateful for her generosity day. Options are currently being explored to fund in these uncertain times. Place Maker Events in this initiative. Stretford also made a generous donation from the proceeds of their Halloween fundraising event. PETS’ CORNER It’s been a funny old year for us all – not least We have also received several donations of hay, because we were forced to close the gates for sawdust and rabbit treats from a very kind lady several months in order to protect the public, the called Helen (unfortunately we don’t know her animals and our volunteers. We have still been busy surname!) and lots of healthy fruit and veg for the in the background, making sure that the Pets were Pets from Tony & Eric at AJ Adams Greengrocers fed and well looked after, though training up new in Chorlton. Pets’ Corner is only able to continue volunteers from a 2 metre distance has been quite a thanks to the kindness of people like you, and we challenge! would like to say a huge thank-you on behalf of all the animals. Sadly, at the end of March we had to say goodbye to our three remaining guinea pigs – Steve, Salt and DISC GOLF Liquorice, who all succumbed to a respiratory Manchester Disc Golf started the year in its usual illness. They are much missed by all the volunteers. fashion: a charity event back in February, called the On a happier note, we have rescued seven little Icebowl,that raised over £1100 for a local silkie hens who are all named after Disney homelessness charity called Coffee4Craig characters – next time you visit the park, be sure (https://www.coffee4craig.com). Following that to come and say hello to Minnie, who is the little some of our volunteers, alongside some help from a scruffy one with the very loud voice! few FOLP members, managed to plant 420 new saplings. The native trees were from the Woodland Our beautiful Belgian hares, Trust, one of their Wild Harvest packs, and should Agatha & Hercule, are bring a variety of blossoms and wild fruits in years spending the winter months to come. with one of our volunteers. As we were all getting a They were both slowing down a handle on lockdown, many bit as the colder nights drew more people discovered in, and the vet suspects that that disc golf offered a they may have arthritis, which cheap, fun and socially is quite common in this breed. distanced activity in their They are now living a life of luxury as pampered beautiful local park. We've “house hares” with their own bedroom, but will enjoyed a boom of people hopefully come back to Pets’ Corner in the spring! learning the sport. With lots of players now cycling to the course, we decided to crowdfund a new set of bike racks, which have security. Everybody is looking forward to returning since been well used. The virus restrictions meant to something approaching normality. that the club couldn't engage with the local community in its usual ways but with the thriving PARK FACILITIES popularity we wanted to do something. So we found TRAFFORD ATHLETICS STADIUM a way to run a socially distanced Sunday League, Trafford AC has worked with Athletics ( which went really well, attracting 90 competitors, EA ) & Trafford Council throughout the pandemic. way more than we expected. One final highlight was The stadium has been a Covid-Secure Environment back in August when CBBC came to film a segment since June. This means extensive signage, a Track & for Blue Peter with a couple of our junior players. Trace policy, the wearing of masks, blocking off The show hit the airwaves back in September. It where appropriate and sanitiser stations. was quite exciting for us. In mid-July we were one of only two clubs in

England to be selected by EA to hold a pilot We're looking forward to next year when hopefully athletics meeting. Just over a hundred Trafford we can restart the rental scheme, host our Open athletes competed in our Club Championships for Days, and run our big Halloween tournament again. the U13s and older. Since then the club has held Fingers crossed. meetings on a weekly basis that have proved to be

very popular. Initially they were limited to local PARK RUN athletes but then extended so that athletes came Stretford parkrun should be coming up for its 5th from Scotland, Wales and the South. year anniversary this autumn at Longford park had coronavirus not halted our Saturday morning run We have held all events from sprints & hurdles to and walks. Parkrun is renowned for having built a the more specialist events such as Pole Vault, community of runners and walkers, and seen as a Hammer and Steeplechase. We have been catalyst for many returning to exercise. Stretford supported by our wonderful officials & helpers with in particular is very popular; in part as it's a pretty some of our parents getting involved. It takes forty course on paths, but also because of the welcoming people to organise such meetings! community and feel we've created over the years. Club training sessions have been spread across most Our runner numbers were over 800 per week pre nights to reduce the numbers. Groups were initially lockdown, with a further 35 volunteers supporting limited to six but are now limited to twelve. As we each week. Volunteering is just as important as go into the winter, we don’t know if there will be running, with many turning up every week, seeing cross-country races but the athletes will continue themselves as much of the parkrun community as to train. the runners.

TENNIS COURTS It's obvious people miss it, as we see many runners The tennis courts have been very popular this year, still using Longford Park for their Saturday runs. with all 6 courts being full all day on many Our return is looking more like 2021. We can't wait occasions. Mud does naturally accumulate on the to return on Saturdays, getting people using the courts, especially after a period of wet weather park, and rebuilding that fabulous community. however at one point this summer Amey did a great

job of cleaning the courts and this made a SCOUTS significant difference. If you want to play on courts Longford Scout Group restarted in September, with 1, 2 or 3 (1 being nearest the car park), particularly on-line meetings for all age groups. at weekends, it might be advisable to book on the As of October, face-to-face scouting restarted. LTA website: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/rally/. Following the Scout Association advice (their Courts are free to book. "amber" level), meetings are restricted to outdoors only for Trafford. An outdoor area has been FIRSWOOD COMMUNITY CENTRE secured behind the Shippon building (thanks to TBC Firswood Community Centre is open for business in for permission) and this has been used to provide a a fully covid secure way. safe floodlit area for scouting, and some shelter Currently we have Tai Chi, G-Camp fitness (small from the weather. A packed programme of sessions only) Slimming World, Heartbeeps, Dance activities, suitably risk assessed, will be pursued, like a Mother, a sling library (once a month) and including archery, camp fires, etc. Detailed Mary Woods School of Dance is open. However due guidance is being followed to maintain Covid to the reduced capacity several groups have been Capital Investments unable to reopen. To attend any session you must There has been no recurrence of the serious book in advance. flooding in the formal gardens since a new pump arrangement was put in place at the end of 2019, We are also helping local businesses who can't and the required restoration work also included access their current location due to closures or much-needed repairs to the ornamental walls. Please restricted access to their usual venue. If anyone let One Trafford know if this builds up again as the needs any support please contact Sharon on warning system has been vandalised. Work has 07576448316 started on investigating the hidden reservoir which was the source of the flooding. LONGFORD CAFÉ The cafe returned after lockdown with extra The revised traffic arrangements from the seating and an efficient and safe system for Cromwell Road entrance were carried out to help dispatching orders. We created a new product, improve safety, remove potholes and make vehicle sourdough pizzettes, that we thought would work access clearer to visitors. This included an extra well in the new speed hump and resurfacing of the car park beyond normal of the shippon complex. disposable plates and cups (and they Time was found to install the new table tennis did). This autumn facility and at the request of the FOLP, part of the and winter will be a old fairground site was set aside to promote challenge. Inside wildlife, so this area will now only have one cut a the cafe doesn’t work for social distancing but we year, and in the first months cuckoo flower want to keep providing our service for the bloomed. community, so we’ll still be here and we’d love you to get your big coat on and come and join us. We will Old faded ‘keep dogs on leads’ signs have been be bringing back all the winter warmers that we are replaced around the formal gardens. Although not known for and we have something else new planned. enforceable One Trafford were receiving increased See you soon. reports of dogs chasing and catching squirrels in the gardens who have become used to approaching OTHER NEWS: visitors for food causing some distress to children. ONE TRAFFORD PARTNERSHIP (OTP) REPORT New signs have also been installed on the play areas OTP has managed to make significant progress in and tennis courts to meet new RoSPA requirements the park over the last 9 months or so, despite the regarding the information provided to users. many challenges thrown up by the continuing covid restrictions. Future actions. Looking forward the Conservation Volunteers have Grounds Maintenance. been engaged to replace the timber board walk The parks team have continued to visit the park around the pond in the wildlife garden with a twice a fortnight. The wider grass areas have been countryside style gravel path as sections of the mown with the big tractor gang mower once a timber subframe of the board walk can no longer be fortnight, augmented with the ride on mowing team repaired due to rot. with bat wing machinery. We are awaiting final safety information for the tender document for the safety surfacing repairs in The north area bowls team has mown the greens the younger children’s play area. We hope these twice a week and are currently working through a works can be actioned as soon as possible. program of autumn treatments for the greens; scarifying, aeration, seeding and top dressing. All Instructions have been sent out to drainage the formal flowerbeds were planted with summer engineers and we hope to be meeting them soon to flowers and the infrastructure team have been busy begin works investigating the parks drainage carrying out repairs and new installations such as systems. the chat bench and repairs within the younger children’s play area with repairs carried out to two STOP PRESS! spring riders and a cradle swing. The Under 8s playground has been shut since the end of September due to an issue with the playing surface. FOLP have continued to press TBC for the executors of Mrs Rylands were instructed to earliest reopening of the under 8s playground but destroy records, unless they related to the new unfortunately, as a result of the second national Library she had created in memory of her husband. lockdown, the tender process has not yet been Richard Bond, Chair of FOLP, has been doing completed and will not be until the end of extensive research and has discovered Trafford December. It is hoped that work will start early Local Studies (TLS) have a superb estate map of 2021. 1885. The John Rylands Library have a similar map of 1881, published online, and both illustrate just RYEBANK FIELDS how many houses John Rylands owned near to his FOLP’s opposition to the proposal by Manchester estate, these being shown in pink. The 1885 TLS Metropolitan University (MMU) was first set out in version is significantly different, as it shows how December 2017. Our main concern then was to the northern half of the streets to the west of the protect the trees on the boundary line, and to be Park were divided into 150 building plots. Richard clear where the boundary ran. The final version of discovered local resident David Brady had been the Development Framework saw an increase in the researching the history of these streets. The land number of proposed housing units from 70 to 120, had been purchased by a freehold land society in which prompted FOLP to revise our statement in 1852 and then divided into 150 plots, the idea being March 2020, to make clear we opposed any each subscriber would buy a plot to build a house development, as we recognised the importance of and so gain the right to vote. Many more details of preserving the green space beyond the trees. We each of the houses coloured pink are to be found in have since been working closely with both the Save a property ledger kept at the John Rylands Library. Ryebank Fields campaign and the Trafford Ryebank More details Road Residents’ Association. are also being found of the More recently, MMU has decided to sell off the buildings on site to a developer, who would then have to take on the estate. It the costs of remediating heavily contaminated land. was known that They have also published John Rylands’ a series of site reports, Hall replaced which are being closely an earlier scrutinised. Our aim, as mansion, built with the other campaign by the previous groups, is to be ready to owner C J S respond to any planning Walker after application that might 1845. Thanks to Bill Sumner, an image incorrectly arise after a sale. In the labelled Stretford Hall was found to be the earlier meantime, we are now Longford Hall, in an 1847 drawing. You can see this pressing Trafford by searching for Longford Hall on Council as a matter of www.images.manchester.gov.uk urgency for clarity about the boundary. As far as We now know the lodge on Edge Lane was built in we are aware, the Park’s boundary in that area has 1860 or 1861, as a part of a new access road to the been unchanged since the Park was created in 1912, new Hall, which was being built by John Rylands at indeed it was the boundary of the Longford estate that time. Two more access roads were built some going back at least till 1881 – and indeed, the estate 20 years later. John Rylands created Rye Bank planted the trees to mark this boundary. A series Road, off Edge Lane, between 1876 and 1881, and in of maps since then all show the boundary to the 1881, he bought more land to create a new access east of the treeline. Moreover, the line of the drive, guarded by a new lodge, which remains as a boundary railings put up by Stretford Council in private house to the right of this entrance, More 1912 has now been traced by a metal detectorist details were published on Andrew Simpson’s history and it follows the hedgerow next to the trees ie blog, see even further to the east. https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2020/07/the -origins-of-ryebank-road-by-richard_7.html The PARK HISTORY REVEALED original style of this lodge is clearly the same as Discovering the history of the Park is very the ‘Old Lodge’ on the right of the Cromwell Road difficult, as very few records have survived. The entrance to the Park, and we now know this road However, in the meantime, The Tree Amigos have and lodge were built between 1878 and 1881. donated a Community Christmas tree instead. We’d love it if local children could GOING FORWARD: bring along a bauble or even a NATIONAL LOTTERY home made decoration for FUNDING the tree. It’s a Norway to DEVELOP IDEAS FOR LONGFORD PARK Spruce that was freshly dug Autumn has seen the continuation of work to develop up from Ivy Cottage ideas to feed into a masterplan for Longford Park to Christmas tree Farm near Wilmslow a couple of make it even better for the people who use the park days ago. Members of FOLP planted the tree in so many ways; for the wildlife, trees and plants yesterday just behind Pets’ Corner near where Tree that make it so special and so that its amazing Amigos usually set up. heritage can be restored, interpreted and shared as According to Trafford’s Tree Unit, it can take a widely as possible. The work is part of the few years to get established in its new home but development phase for the project, funded by The can then grow up to 3 feet a year. National Lottery Heritage Fund, after the Council’s initial bid for development was successful last year. While you’re taking a look at the tree why not pop

into Pets’ Corner and say hello to the residents? Made possible by National Lottery players, the funding will be used to develop proposals to THEATRE IN THE PARK: refurbish and regenerate key areas and features in Sadly we were unable to have any theatre shows the park such as the Longford Hall footprint and the this year due to Covid – however we are hoping to stable block/shippon complex. Events and activities have a return of Heartbreak Productions with ‘The will be trialled to see if they attract new audiences Great Gatsby’ on Saturday July 10th 2021 – to the park including a new walking route based on pandemics permitting of course. the history of the park, sessions on growing your own food and disc golf taster sessions for beginners, to DONATIONS name just a few. FOLP have been blessed with some generous

donations this year: Any activities and work will of course be carried out  Rose Arnold, a local resident, donated in line with Covid 19 guidance. Whilst it will also be generously towards the tree trail, as did necessary to hold more events online than originally theTree Amigos (the Christmas tree planned, Covid 19 and its impacts have reaffirmed Company). the importance of Longford Park to local  June Copping’s family contributed towards communities and this is a great opportunity to her memorial chat bench which is located on discuss what you like about the park, try out the uphill section of path between the something new and most of all, let us know why children’s playground and the Hall memorial Longford Park is important to you, and what you plaque. would most like to see improved. City of Trees are  The £200 donation referred to under working with FOLP and Trafford Council to develop Health Walks is from Jamie, who won the activities and events. You can contact Miranda at Trafford Sports awards volunteer of the City of Trees with any ideas, suggestions or year in 2019. The idea was that he could questions via [email protected] donate the money to something that

encouraged people to take part in sport and

exercise. He chose FOLP and suggested a TREE AMIGOS: walking initiative, which we are now working Unfortunately the Tree Amigos will not be selling on. Christmas trees in Longford Park this year. The  A happy park user, Emma Jones, also imposition of a second lockdown, with uncertainty donated £100. Thank you from FOLP for all about what follows, meant they could not take the your generosity. Extra money enables us business risk of ordering and shipping the trees keep developing new ventures in the park. upfront and not being able to sell them. We and they are keen to see a return to the Park next year.

Copyright Anne Humphreys

If you want to join our email list (we promise not to bombard you!) or just want to voice an opinion on the park contact us on [email protected].

Due to the ever changing situation most groups are not taking walk in volunteers. If you would like to help out at the allotment or Pets’ Corner (or other groups) contact us on [email protected]. and we’ll put you in touch with the appropriate person.

For what is happening in the park keep an eye on the notice board near Pets’ Corner or the notice board at the Community Centre, our Facebook site or www.folp.org.uk.