Author: Polly Freeman

We are delighted that Community Payback are once again working in Vauxhall Park to support the never ending list of maintenance jobs in the Park.  The team is working every Thursday for the foreseeable future and, so far, have removed some large bushes which were being used to conceal anti social behaviour and are starting work painting the remaining silver railings in the Park.  The Friends of Vauxhall Park have paid for the materials needed to make the rest of our railings look as smart as the dog area railings – a job that Community Payback did for us last year.   This week they have been planting spring flowering bulbs adjacent to the Tennis Courts and we are very much looking forward to seeing the results of all their work next year!

We are delighted to announce that Vauxhall Park has once again been awarded a Green Flag and the 2014/2015 Flag is flying over the Park.   The Green Flag award scheme is administered by Keep Britain Tidy and recognises and rewards the best green spaces in the country.  This means that Vauxhall Park is amongst the 1452 best open spaces in Great Britain.  This year has been very difficult with maintenance budgets cut to an absolute minimum.  We are very grateful to our Parks Officer, Mickey Penney and the maintenance team working under Donald Campbell.  This year’s judging was done by a ‘mysery shopper’ who came unannounced to the park to inspect it.  No chance then for a last minute spruce up, so this year’s flag is especially hard won!  We are also grateful to the Corporate Volunteer Groups who have visited the park including those from the Langham Hotel, who created our chess table tops for the picnic benches, a team from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who spent a day in the Park and Worldwide Hotels who recently helped with the lavender.  Local residents have also played a large part in the upkeep of the park and we are very grateful to them for their time and enthusiasm.  Anyone is very welcome to work in the Park.  Please contact us as friends@vauxhallpark.org if you are interested.