Local residents are being urged to join a new group hoping to breathe fresh life into Armley Park.
A first formal meeting to help set up the new Friends of Armley Park group is being held on Thursday 22nd September at the golf club (8pm).
The meeting will give people the chance to hear about the consultation work that has been done so far and have a say on the future of the park.
The Friends currently consists of a small number of local residents who love the park – recently in the news due to anti-social behaviour – and want to see it improved.
One of the Friends, Cat Pearson, said:
“We are looking for local people who are passionate about their park and who want to make a difference and take this group forward.
“Armley Park is a great park but some feel its facilities let it down. A Friends group would try generate some cash to make the park a better place with better facilities.”
Cat said a consultation was held at Armley Festival earlier this month and the findings showed many people didn’t use it. She added:
“We found people were choosing to get on a bus and go to Pudsey Park because it has better facilities, like toilets, the visitor centre and an ice cream place.
“We hope a Friends group can be the catalyst to investment and improvements in Armley. We could starts with better rubbish bins, benches, toilets and a play park… it’s all there to be debated.”
Cat said similar groups in places like Middleton and Roundhay had made a real difference to local parks.
She is hoping to get at least ten people to form the Friends group – there are currently about four, who have been operating informally over the past couple of months.
Meeting venue, Gotts Park Golf Club, has a rich history and last year it moved out of council ownership is now a self-managed social enterprise featuring a social club and café.
The Friends are also running a ‘picnic in the park’ event on Saturday, September 17, noon until 2pm.
The picnic is a social gathering for anyone who loves Armley Park. It’s a chance to share stories and insights into what you love and hate about the park and what you’d like to see happening there.
A consultation on how people perceive the park and what they’d like to see improved is also running. Have your say here.
The park is already home to running and fitness sessions, as well as the 161 Killer Steps group where brave residents from across west Leeds descend on Armley Park every Sunday afternoon to practice ‘stair running’.
Last year the Dispatch highlighted four reasons to go to Armley Park.