More than 30 people turned out this morning to help plant bulbs and plants at Market Harborough's new Friendship Park. You can hear one of them on the HFM News site.
I'm not surprised at the turnout. A few weeks ago I saw someone with a clipboard looking at the derelict site and guessed that she was involved with the planning of the park. I went over for a chat, and she mentioned how much support for the scheme she had found in the nearby flats.
The park is a project of the Liberal Democrat, Green and Labour coalition that has run Harborough District Council since last year's elections.
The Green councillor (and sometime Liberal England contributor) Darren Woodiwiss tweeted:
There was a great turn out this morning to plant 10,000 bulbs in the new friendship park on Northampton Rd, #Harborough.
— Darren Woodiwiss (@darrenwoodiwiss) October 25, 2024
Thank you to the lovely volunteers and @HarboroughDC officers and contractors for organising. pic.twitter.com/soin3aeJE8
Who could be against voluntary action, a new park and friendship? Our local Conservatives, that's who.
My old friend Phil Knowles, the Lib Dem leader of the council, was spot on his reply to this nonsense:
It’s a shame that local Tory councillors won’t be coming down to Market Harborough’s new community led green space because they think it’s “silly”, or that they don’t like the residents suggestion of calling it a Friendship Park. As it sounds like they could do with a little friendship, and hopefully they’ll change their minds.
Luckily the local community, who championed this project, have warmly received the invitation to help be apart of it’s success.
“It’s rather sad that involving the community and our many wonderful volunteers is seen as a negative. I’m proud to say that the coalition see the community and volunteer involvement as a tremendous positive.
We feel that creating a new park and community open space close to the town centre for residents and visitors to enjoy for wellbeing is a positive addition. We as we say, are not about negativity, let’s improve our district not keep talking it down!
Investing in communities is what we as a coalition do.
That's good sense and good politics. Who the Tories think the are appealing to, I cannot imagine. This attitude will do nothing to dispel the general impression that their party has gone rather weird in recent years.
And, best of all, the park is on my way into town.
Later. Another email from the good guys.
“Most of the people who came on Friday didn’t know each other or others groups but now they are all friends” - Cllr Peter James, Market Harborough Friendship Park pic.twitter.com/2xR7m1TOLg
— Harborough Lib Dems (@HarboroughLD) October 26, 2024
3 comments:
I live in a co-housing development where Residents Societies own a lot of the public realm space outside of peoples' houses, this includes extensive landscaping. Activities like bulb planting are standard practice where I live because every householder owns the space collectively through being a member of the Residents Society. It might not be for everybody , but it strengthens the idea that you have a stake in how your neighbourhood looks. I guess Conservatives have taken against volunteering and collective action in the culture wars now
Oh, come on, Matt! There is no such thing as society
This exemplifies a trend that has been under way for a couple of decades, but has I think now become the norm: the attitudes and personnel of local Tory parties have become divorced from active citizens with a small-c conservative outlook. That sort of person would have been involved in initiatives like this, not scornful of them! And they would also have been Conservative council candidates, too!
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