Big Times ahead for saved Lincoln City Park

BIG TIMES AHEAD FOR SAVED CITY PARK

Organisers of a ‘Big Tidy Up’ and ‘Big Lunch’ event in Lincoln hope it will mark the start of a new lease of life for a City park which has recently been saved from development.

On Saturday 4th June, Wickham Gardens in Lincoln, will be just one of the venues taking part nationally in ’The Big Tidy Up’ organised by The Tidy Britain Campaign and ‘The Big Lunch’ which is an idea started by The Eden Project.

Event organiser Victoria Douch said, “The whole idea of the event is to make the area look nicer for families and give people a chance to get together with neighbours, members of the local community and have fun. We want Wickham Gardens to be a pleasant and safe place for families to come and to remind people what an asset it is to the uphill area of Lincoln. So, bring along a blanket and a picnic and enjoy this space which has provided a recreation area for the people of Lincoln for nearly 100 years.”

Wickham Gardens has been a play area for generations of children in the uphill area of Lincoln since the land was donated to the City by a former Dean of Lincoln Cathedral, the late Canon Wickham, in 1914. Last year the City of Lincoln Council proposed to sell the site for development, but protests from the local community resulted in the land being kept for recreation use.

SWINGS (Save Wickham Gardens, Infants Need Green Spaces) campaigned for the land to be retained as a play area, and the group are now working with the City of Lincoln Council to improve the site and raise funds to replace the play equipment which was removed, for Health and Safety reasons, by the Council in 2010.

To help with the ‘Big Tidy Up’ just turn up at Wickham Gardens on Saturday 4th June at 11am. All equipment will be provided. ‘The Big Lunch’ will start at 12noon and families are invited just to turn up and bring a picnic.

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