Archived press release

Date Published: 01/08/07

Aylesbury Vale District Council’s green spaces team is bidding for cash to improve Vale Park in Aylesbury, and seeking help from residents with fond memories of the park. The team is preparing a bid, which will be submitted to the Heritage ...

Aylesbury Vale District Council’s green spaces team is bidding for cash to improve Vale Park in Aylesbury, and seeking help from residents with fond memories of the park.

The team is preparing a bid, which will be submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund, to request funding for a range of improvements to the park.

An important part of developing the bid is to establish how much the local community value the park. Residents can help by providing their own accounts and special memories of the area.

Local artist Pippa North will be in Vale Park on Friday 3 and Sunday 12 August between 8am and 8pm to gather people’s memories and stories. This information will be used in a ‘Book of Personal Heritage’, which residents will help put together.

Participants will choose which aspect of their story they would like to see included and will also be invited to help the artist create the artwork for the book.

In addition to the reminiscence project, AVDC is inviting local residents and groups to have their say on what activities they would like to see in the park. Representatives from a variety of organisations, including the Bucks Association for the Blind, the Grange Youth Centre and Aylesbury Vale Youth for Christ, have come up with ideas such as family fun days, inter-faith festivals and basketball tournaments.

Improvements planned for the park include the renovation of the formal gardens and the creation of a new entrance at the bottom of Aylesbury High Street to integrate the park more closely with the town centre. The design of the formal gardens will be based upon the original design of the park, which was drawn up by Thomas Mawson & Sons, the leading park design company of the 1920s.

Councillor David Thompson, Cabinet Member for Leisure, said: “Vale Park has played such an important role in Aylesbury over the years. Our research has unearthed photographs of cycle racing and athletics in 1900, and of the changes in the park such as the style of seating. We are very keen to hear from anyone who would like to share their memories of the park, or who has ideas on what sort of activities they would like to see there.”

For more information about the reminiscence project, please call Pippa North on 07871 387620. Anyone who would like to have their say on what activities they would like to see in the park should call 01296 585228 or email gbird@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk