Wanted: public help on park revamp

FINGERS crossed . . . Friends of Dunwood Park are making a final push for Lottery funding with chairman Michael McGrother pictured at the front.

Campaigners call on Shaw people to aid bid for Lottery funding

ONE final push is being made to help secure Shaw’s Dunwood Park a £1 million revamp — and get people involved in community projects.

The windfall is within grasp but members of the Friends of Dunwood Park have to show evidence to the Lottery Heritage Fund and Big Lottery Fund that locals have given their support.

They have set up Dunwood Heritage Partnership so that schools, businesses and voluntary groups can become partners, and there is also a website to keep people informed.

But they also need people to come forward with ideas on how they would use the park and help with its development, whether it’s organising an orienteering trail or opening a cafe.

The group’s chairman, Michael McGrother, outlined the developments at their annual meeting last night, which was the last chance for people to influence the plans.

He said: “We have been allocated £1,090,000, and another £45,000 to complete the bid by August. What is required by us is to show that the people of Shaw and the local area want what we are proposing.

“To do that we have set up the website, which will be the evidence that we will present to show the support that we have. And we are preparing a prospectus to enable the public to see exactly what’s being proposed.

“We are also looking for individuals, local businesses, schools and voluntary groups to become partners of the heritage partnership. That entails that they give us their support in terms of how they might use the park in the future, given the development we are proposing.”

The group needs people to say how they have used the park in the past and how the development will attract them to use it in the future.

Groups that become partners will receive a certificate and an invitation to attend the park’s reopening in 2012, when it celebrates its centenary. Supporters have worked tirelessly over several years to put the bid together, with the help of Oldham Council’s parks department.

Mr McGrother added: “It’s the biggest thing to happen to Shaw in years. It’s one last push. We have everything in place, it’s a matter of people coming out of the woodwork to support us.”

A significant portion of the money will be used to support community activities, whether through training or equipment.

Council parks manager Keith Bennell said: “It’s as much about offering opportunities for learning, training and development for local people as it is getting a new park.

“Think about what you might want out of the place and what it’s capable of delivering and how people can get involved and learn with the process.

“The money will help to fund any necessary requirements people may have whether it’s a training course on dry stone walling or how to run a cafe. It’s quite a big thing and something we have never done before and it’s quite exciting. We are keen to be a leader of this in Oldham.”

To give support call Mr McGrother on 01706 845041 or e-mail dunwood@tiscali.co.uk. The new website’s address is www.dunwoodpark.co.uk