MILLSIDE PARK & PLAYZONE

What do YOU think should be done to improve it? The Focus Team on Yate Town Council has managed to get funding to do it up - to replace the sculptures and sort out the bottom path. But what else needs doing? Yate Town Council has formed a working group with some other interested residents to work out what to do. Once that Working Group has proposals they will go out for consultation. But right now, we need everyone's ideas, however vague, however big or small. How would you improve Millside?

Howard Lewis Park new play equipment

Have you visited the new play equipment in Howard Lewis Park?

If you've not been there before, it's on the Ridge (the area by the tree sculpture)  behind the shops.  Why not visit the local shops whilst you are there too.

The photo shows the Mayor, others members of the Focus Team and Town Council staff at the opening - who were involved in raising the funds and making it happen.

If you have ideas for how to improve the play areas in our town, please contact your Focus Team.

Please vote for Kingsgate Park as UK's Best Park

Fields In Trust is the national group that champions and supports our parks and green spaces by protecting them for people to enjoy forever. Their annual UK's Best Park competition is now open for voting - you can see the parks and green spaces that have been nominated and cast your vote here.

Please consider voting for our lovely Kingsgate Park, which has something for everyone, or look for your other favourites. A vote for Kingsgate Park would be a lovely "Thank You" for all the Yate Town Council staff and the Friends of Kingsgate Park who work so hard to keep the park looking marvellous.

Yate sports and play project grant successes

In the recent edition of Focus we promised to tell you more about the various projects that Yate Town Council has got a total of £1.4 million funding for. The success of these bids is due to a lot of local teamwork by the Focus Team councillors, Yate Town Council staff, volunteers, friends groups and residents. Here are the "main headlines":

Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC)

Yate Town Council successfully bid for funding to replace the track and athletics facilities. They raised £850,000 in total, from developers' "Section 106 money" to develop outdoor sporting facilities in the area), Sport England and by running their own fundraising campaigns. Construction begins week commencing 9th July 2018 to be completed by the end of September 2018.

Sunnyside upgrade

It wasn't very "Sunny" that day...

Yate Town Council ran a Public Consultation to find out views of local people about extending the Changing Rooms at Sunnyside Playing Field. They successfully bid for unding from S106 money to the sum of £128,205.73 to develop outdoor sporting facilities in the area. Construction will begin mid-June and be completed by 12th November 2018.
There will be two more changing rooms at Sunnyside Playing Fields which will enable:
• Female football to take place alongside male match fixtures;
• Provision of an adequate amount of changing rooms in relation to the amount of teams using the pitches and neighbouring Tennis Court facility;
• Improvement of disability access to the facility to promote inclusive sport taking place on site

Abbotswood

Yate Town Council successfully bid for S106 funding of £89,535 to develop an informal play area on the green in Abbotswood Shopping Centre. This includes installing new equipment to expand the opportunity for children and families to engage in informal play. At the Abbotswood Apple Day the town council will give an update and talk with local people to discuss the overall plan. It is anticipated that the work will be completed by Spring 2019.

Kingsgate Park

Yate Town Council will get £72,380 of S106 money for Outdoor Exercise Equipment at Kingsgate Park. The park will benefit from the installation of Yate’s first and only set of Outdoor Exercise Equipment, which will provide a free opportunity for visitors aged 14+ to increase their fitness and strength whilst enjoying the surroundings of the Play Area and Lake. There will be a range of equipment aimed to exercise multiple areas of the body, including the ability to undertake cardio workouts at a range of levels.

A public consultation will take place at the Yate Rocks 2018 Festival and it is planned that construction will be completed by Spring 2019. This will be coordinated with Dodington Parish Council's project at Lilliput Park to avoid duplication of equipment.

Howard Lewis Park

Yate Town Council will received £49,628 of Section 106 money to develop the Howard Lewis Play Area. Following consultation with residents and pupils of the local school regarding ideas, extra equipment will be installed including a multi play unit, a basket swing and bike trail markings. Other areas of the park will also receive attention such as signage and landscaping. Construction to begin by
September 2018.

Brinsham Fields

Consultation is vital to getting funding on this scale!

Earlier this year, Yate Town Council began work on the project to enhance Brinsham Park. The works are part of a long term aspiration to improve the rest of the play area, in line with the new housing development taking place nearby. YTC were awarded £25,370 to develop and enhance the play area further. Construction is starting this month to create a fort, sandpit play area and an outdoor trampoline. The work should be be completed by the middle of May.

Member Award Funding (MAF)

The magnificent Ridge Sculpture was funded by MAF money

Yate Town Council has launched a ‘Yate Ageing Better Project’ to establish the needs of the fast
expanding ageing community of Yate. The Council is working together with Age Concern. The first steps have been to launch a new lunch club and Men in Sheds. They have been awarded MAF funding totalling £2156.73 to fund this project, which will be launched this summer with a public consultation to seek the opinions and experiences of those who are involved in existing groups and activities as well as identifying any additional interest and/or hobbies.

Kingsgate Park - congratulations and Easter Eggs!

Congratulations to Yate Town Council, their staff and all the volunteers of the Friends of Kingsgate Park! The park has been awarded FIVE STARS in South West in Bloom's Pride in Parks Award. It's a very well deserved recognition of all the hard work that has been put in.

Yate Town Council in conjunction with the Friends of Kingsgate Park will be holding the annual Easter Egg Extravaganza on Easter Monday from 10 am - until all the eggs are gone!

This is a free event, but please be aware the number of prizes available is limited. Judging of the Easter Bonnet Parade is at 11 am.

For more information, please contact Yate Town Council on 01454 866506.

Planting for the future - tree and hedge planting events

Local environment groups are organising tree and hedge planting events over the next few weeks. New volunteers are always welcome - you can bring your children or grandchildren too. Major tools are provided.

Wapley Bushes Conservation Group has work mornings on Sunday 18 February (this coming Sunday) and Saturday 17 March. Volunteers will be planting a mixture of native trees in the main woodland as part of a three-year planting project. They will also be pruning the local variety fruit trees and doing a litter pick - there are different types of work to suit everyone.

Meet at the Shire Way entrance to the woodland, south Yate, BS37 8US, 10.00am. Please wear stout footwear, and bring gloves and a pair of secateurs if you have them. The Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve blog has lots of information about Wapley and other local wildlife events.


Lilliput Conservation Group will be planting short lengths of hedge and drifts of bulbs in Lilliput Park on Saturday 24 February and Tuesday 6 March, plus tidying up the hedgerows and planting and litter picking. Again there is something for everyone, and you can work at your own pace.


Meet at the Kingfisher Road gate at 10.00 am. Please wear stout footwear, and gloves if you have them. You can check out the Lilliput Conservation Group on Facebook for more information.

Please vote for Kingsgate Park!

Kingsgate Park in Yate has been nominated as Fields in Trust's UK's Best Park, and it's now up to the public to vote! Voting is open until this Friday, 3rd November.

Please vote here: www.fieldsintrust.org/bestpark/southwest

Thank you to Yate Town Council and Friends of Kingsgate Park for keeping our park tidy, vibrant and a key asset that's enjoyed by all the community.

Brinsham Park Event - fun for all the family

Come and join in this Sunday 16th July in Brinsham Fields from 1.00pm till 4.00pm. Bring your dogs along for a 'Fun Dog Show', 'Tempation Alley' and a Tug of War, free treasure hunt for all the children and other activities.  See you there?

Kingsgate Park Christmas Event Friday 16th Dec 6pm.

Kingsgate Park Christmas Event in Kingsgate Park on Friday 16th December 2016 at 6pm.

This is an event for all the family, so please come along for a sing along, mince pie and glass of mulled wine (soft drinks will also be served)

Second Friends session for popular Lilliput Park

Lilliput Park, between Heron Way and Chipping Sodbury, is very popular with people of all ages. The Lilliput Conservation Group run work mornings in the park on the first Tuesday of each month (e.g. Tuesday 4 October), but they have had requests for local people to organise a weekend session.

The first weekend work morning will be on Saturday 15 October from 10 am until 12 noon, meeting at the Kingfisher Road gate. All ages are welcome, but children need to be accompanied by responsible adults. Suitable footwear should be worn, and gloves would be useful.

Dodington Parish Councillor Paul Hulbert, who is a regular at the work sessions, said "There will be something for everyone - digging and tidying, cutting back the bushes, and litter picking. People can work at their own pace"

For more information please check out the Lilliput Conservation Group page on Facebook, or contact Paul on 07771 562505.

Use your local park? Have your say!

UK Parliament would like to hear your views about your local park.

The Communities and Local Government Committee is investigating public parks and wants to know what you use your park for, or if you use it at all. We also would like to know how you feel about your park and its role in your community.

If you would like to complete a short questionnaire, click here. The questionnaire shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to complete.

Your answers to these questions will help inform how the Committee questions local authorities, the Government and other organisations about how parks are funded and how parks can best be supported.

If you would like to let them know more about your experiences of your local park then please look at their Public Parks inquiry page to find out how. If you'd like to tweet about why your park matters to you, please use the hashtag #myparkmatters.

Easter post no. 2 - Easter Egg Extravaganza Event, Easter Monday

The Easter Egg Extravaganza Event is coming up on Easter Monday (6th April) in Kingsgate Park.

Brimsham Park Big Spring Clean 7 March - Come and join us!

Yes, it's that time of the year again, and the Big Spring Clean at Brimsham Park will be on Saturday 7 March.

Meet in Coopers Road car park at 10 am for gloves, black bags, etc.  Please wear suitable clothing.  If you are unable to come along at 10 o'clock but are able to join us later, we will be glad to see you.

Young people's project at Lilliput Park

Several projects have come to fruition recently at Lilliput Park. Dodington Parish Council and local young people have been celebrating the success of projects in the local community. SAY - the Social Action Youth Project - has involved young people working with residents to enhance the local area.

Around 15 young people from Chipping Sodbury School consulted local people about enhancements to Lilliput Park, and then they designed and painted benches which have been sited near the play area, and created a mosaic as a new entrance feature for the park.

Other young people have been working with residents in an elderly people's home in Yate.

The SAY Project was organised and led by Southern Brooks partnership, and some of the young people have used the project to gain qualifications in Youth Work. Dodington Parish Council provided practical support in installing the mosaic and the benches.

At a celebration event in Dodington Parish Hall, Cllr Paul Hulbert told the young people "We were very impressed by your imagination and hard work. You really engaged with the people who live near the park, and you've carried the concept through to a very pleasing result. You should be very proud of what you've achieved"

Consultation for a café/kiosk in Kingsgate Park - have your say

Yate Town Council and the Friends of Kingsgate Park are consulting about a possible café/kiosk for Kingsgate Park. Click this link to have your say. The consultation is open until 18 July 2014.

New play equipment for Lilliput Park

Dodington Parish Council is about to replace the wooden play equipment at Lilliput Park with something much more modern. The final choice of equipment was made by local children who answered the Parish Council’s survey. The equipment has been paid for by developers through the New Homes Bonus scheme. It is anticipated that the installation will take place 17-18 July.

Serious graffiti attack at Kingsgate Park - can you help police?

Last night (Thursday/ Friday) a considerable amount of graffiti - some of it obscene - was painted onto the play equipment in Kingsgate Park.

A lot of cream emulsion was painted (using brushes/ rollers) onto some of the wooden items, and black paint was used to write and draw on the end walls of the football/ basketball court. Blue gloss was poured onto the basketball  back-boards, and dripped onto the tarmac floor.

It would appear the culprits were well organised and no tins were found in the park.

A big thank you is due to Yate Town Council's Estates Team who have spent today working hard cleaning off the paint. Most has been removed with just a small amount of inaccessible material remaining.

Did you see anything suspicious in or near Kingsgate Park last night or early this morning? If you can help, please contact the police and quote crime reference number 53981/14.

New play equipment for Lilliput Park

The old play equipment for 8 to 13 year olds at Lilliput Park is falling apart due to the wood rotting. It's been there for many years, and now Dodington Parish Council is planning to replace it with modern equipment.

The Parish Council has just been awarded £20,000 for this project by the Frome Vale Area Forum, financed by the New Homes Bonus. A big thank you is due to all our local councillors who supported this!

The Parish Council is consulting local children and residents near the Park about the exact equipment to put there. There are two designs, both modern and imaginative, and the Council would like the children to have the main say. The consultation closes on 19 March.

If you want to know more about the project please contact Cllr Paul Hulbert on paul.hulbert@gmail.com or telephone 01454 315851.

Ideas for the summer holidays part 2, a walk on the wild side

Some more ideas for parents - checking out our local green spaces. Children love wildlife!

Wapley Bushes Local Nature Reserve


Woodland, meadows and lots to explore - you can get a leaflet from the Tourist Information Bureau or check out the Wapley blog. Wapley has recently won the Green Flag Community Award as an outstanding public space.

Ridge Woods 

A lovely walk through historic woodland - see their MyYate page and the Ridge Wood website.

Yate Common

Grassland and woodland to explore - it's bigger than you think! Check them out here

Kingsgate Park

Our biggest local play area, with something for all ages of children. Plus the new water feature area, which is great fun -make sure the children bring their wellies!

Everyone knows the big lake where you can feed the swans and the ducks. But have you explored the long pond in the nature reserve section?

Check out the park here

Brinsham Fields

Another great wildfowl lake, with excellent play areas - details here.

Look out for the giant wood carvings here and in other parks!

Other parks and open spaces to visit

Do you know all of these?

• Lilliput Park
• Goose Green
• Lye Field
• St Marys Green
• Tylers Field
• Wellington Road
• Jubilee Park
• Sodbury Common

Plus of course all the local play areas.

And further afield?

Check out these suggestions from the Avon Wildlife Trust 

Kingsgate Park work day

The Friends of Kingsgate Park have recently been successful in winning a South Glos Council grant of £1200 towards replacing some of the fencing along the Scott Way end of the park.

The Friends are having a workday to bolt on some of the new pales on Saturday 26th March, 10.00am – 12.00, meeting at the double gates on the Scott Way side of the park.