Residents call for park fence

11:40am Thursday 7th August 2008

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MORE than £60,000 will be pumped into the security of a Ruislip park after complaints that residents did not feel safe.

During a meeting with residents and users of Bessingby Park and Hillingdon Council, suggestions were made that fencing should be installed to increase security.

As part of the consultation period into making changes to the Bessingby Road park, questionnaires were also sent out to residents with a number of options to choose from.

From the 183 responses received by the council, the majority wanted a secure fence around one side of the park.

Councillor Mike Cox, who was at the residents’ meeting said he raised the issue of safety which he saw was a major concern among residents.

Although the council had given people three options which could be implemented to changing the park, he said some form of extra security was not one of them.

He said: “Residents were given the options such as a flower bed or skate park, basically something for all age ranges.

“There were a lot of people asking about safety and I mentioned some sort of fencing.”

Cllr Cox said the idea was put to Carys Walker, community leadership co-ordinator at the council, that the fencing should be a fourth option and around 90 per cent chose it.

A bid for funding from the council’s Chrysalis programme was put in and there is now £65,000 in the pipeline for the fencing, which will should be installed later this year in Beverley Road.

Speaking about her involvement with the residents, Ms Walker, said: “Most of the residents in the survey we sent out said their priority was to see a secure fence around the park.

“Also from a public meeting we held, residents decided to set up a group – the Bessingby Park Management Advisory Group.

“This was a positive thing to come from their involvement in their area. The group will meet every three months with the council to discuss any issues residents may have with the park.

“This way it gets the residents involved and makes them feel like they are having a say in local issues.”

What other changes to do you think the park needs? Tell us by leaving your comments below.