Dear all, 

At the full council meeting on 14th Dec where our petition was presented Cllr Tim Rowkins made the statement - 'I am pleased to say that plans for Wish Park are now moving with more pace, and a dedicated officer is liaising with stakeholders to address the issues raised by the petition. This included a meeting with the ward councillors last week, which has produced an action plan to address concerns raised.' 

This action plan appeared on 8th Jan and did not cover all the areas of community of concern, action owners or a timeline as we had requested. We have had a subsequent meeting and presented our own action tracker based on everything that has been discussed with the council and are awaiting their plans to support repairs and to make the park safe, clean and suitable for the sports that are played. This is really disappointing and our petition will once again be discussed at the City Environment, South Downs & The Sea Committee on 23rd January. The progress that has been made is:

• A new football pitch plan for 24/25 season 
• The hills have been cleared of weeds and will be replanted in the spring 

A fence was put up around the cricket square that was totally impractical and it blew down within a couple of weeks. We have received independent advice on a practical solution that meets the need to protect the square we are now chasing for this to be accepted asap. 

We will continue to press the council and councillors to provide a park that meets the community needs and does not represent risk to those taking part in sport.

Please let me know if there is anything you wish to share or ideas for improvement. You will have seen the consultation document on the new outdoor gym, your feedback will be most welcome. 

Best Regards

Des