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Great Harwood Memorial Park, Hyndburn

Great Harwood Memorial Park, Hyndburn

12.03.2024

Details of tomorrow’s volunteer session at Memorial Park 🙂

Wednesday 13th March

Time: 10am – 1pm

Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.

Google Maps link HERE

What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner

What to wear/bring: Please wear sturdy steel toe-capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.

Facilities: There are no toilets on site.

Weather Forecast: Temperature around 11-12°, Light rain and a moderate breeze, 16-17 mph winds, 66-81% chance of precipitation.

Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland, woodland may be boggy under foot.

 

28.02.2024

Look out for more contractors starting on site next week. The Wade Group will be improving the low stone wall to the rear of the memorial, and then starting on the other elements of work including the raised circular tree pits, seating, signage, interpretation and path works.

We hope that work to refurbish the memorial itself will start soon – we’ll let you know as soon as we have an exact date!

17.02.2024

As contractors begin on site at Memorial Park, the timber hoardings need to go up to protect areas of work.

Instead of leaving these blank, local community artist Cath Ford has been working with children from St. Bartholomew’s Primary School on some designs to cover the timber.  Cath has worked with the school since November and has, amazingly, worked with every class / year in the school!

The theme for the artwork is the community, physical, and environmental heritage of the park itself. We’ve been blown away by how beautiful the images are. Cath and the children have worked incredibly hard on the project, and we can’t wait for everyone to see the decorative hoardings go up next month 🙂

 

Jul to Feb composite

poppy composite    tree composite

 

402663162 10221298122196283 5895519826250006738 n season composite

 

15.02.2024

The winter bird ID walk was a great success – thank you to everyone who came along Here’s the list of birds that the group saw or heard during this session, and previous volunteer days too:

Nuthatch

Dunnock

Song thrush

Tree creeper

Greenfinch

Coal tit

Goldfinch

Greater spotted woodpecker

Blue tit

Great tit

Collared Dove

Black-headed Gull

Common Gull

Magpie

Wood pigeon

Jay

IMG 20240214 094823

12#.02.2024

This Wednesday, The PROSPECTS Foundation will be hosting a winter bird ID walk at Memorial Park. The session will run from 9.30am to 11am. Everyone is welcome, but please do book in advance. Everything you need to know is on the poster below and, as always, you can email Brandon Cherry from Prospects if you have any questions.

Winter Bird Identification Walk

30.01.2024

This Wednesday volunteers will be carrying on with the Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel removal. Tasks include using hand tools to fell and process invasive non-native species and extracting the arisings. If you’d like to join, you’d be very welcome – see details below 🌳

Wednesday 31st January

Time: 10am – 1pm

Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.

Google Maps link HERE

What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner

What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.

Facilities: There are no toilets on site.

Weather Forecast: Temperature around 4-7°, Gusty winds and heavy rain, 13-17 mph winds, 0-20% chance of precipitation.

Accessibility: Steep inclines throughout the site, boggy and undulating terrain throughout the woodland. 

23.01 2024

As well as the great work the Prospects team and volunteers are doing in the park, there are also various teams of contractors making changes across the site. Some things to look out for on your next visit include new, beautiful, railings being installed by the team from Farefence , and new upgraded surfaces around the Memorial.

In the next couple of months, contractors from Wade Group will be starting work to rebuild the low stone wall around the rear of the memorial garden, as well as completing other work around the park including installation of signage, interpretation and furniture.

As always, we’ll keep you updated here, so do check back regularly for details and pictures 🙂

20240108 Railings 10   20240108 Railings 5

23.01.2024

Due to the bad weather, the volunteering session due to take place tomorrow, 24th January, will be cancelled. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but we’re hoping for better conditions and temperatures next week 🙂

16.01.2024

Due to the expected temperatures, tomorrow’s volunteering session at Memorial Park on the 17th January 2024 is now cancelled.

Please stay safe and warm during the cold weather.

Thank you for your understanding, regular volunteer sessions shall resume next week on Wednesday 24th January 2024 (weather permitting) ❄️

15.01.2024

The next volunteer session will take place in Memorial Park this Wednesday, 17th January!

This week the PROSPECTS team will be continuing with the removal of Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel from Round Wood to help  improve the local biodiversity of the site. The details for the volunteer session are below. It’s pretty cold this week, so please remember to wrap up warm again ❄️

Time: 10am – 1pm

Meeting point: Meet at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.

Google Maps link HERE

What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner

What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.

Facilities: There are no toilets on site.

Weather Forecast: Temperature around 1-3°, light snow and light winds, 6-7 mph winds, 35-39% chance of precipitation.

Accessibility: Steep inclines throughout the site, boggy and undulating terrain throughout the woodland. 

 

09.01.2024

Tomorrow, our Memorial Park volunteers will learn how to identify trees in the winter season along with learning some facts about our native trees. All details are below – remember to wrap up warm as it’s been pretty chilly this week! ❄️

Time: 10am – 2pm

Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PU. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.

Google Maps link HERE

What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner

What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.

Facilities: There are no toilets on site.

Weather Forecast: Temperature around 4-6°, light cloud and a gentle breeze, 10-12 mph winds, 0% chance of precipitation.

Accessibility: Steep inclines throughout the site, boggy and undulating terrain throughout the woodland. 

04.01.2024

There will be another community planting session taking place this Saturday, 6th Jan from 10am – 2pm. Every bulb planted will help make the park and even better place to visit. Hope to see you there!

Memorial Park Community Bulb Planting Facebook 6Jan

22.12.2023

As we approach Christmas, we thought we’d give you a quick reminder about who will be on site over the next few weeks. You’ll see the team from Farefence  – they have started to install the new railings off Allsprings Drive, and hope to resume these works early in the new year. Following this, we will have a team from Wade Group starting work to rebuild the low stone wall around the rear of the memorial garden and picking up other works around the park including installation of signage, interpretation and furniture 🙂

20231221 Railings 8

12.12. 2023

This week’s Wednesday volunteering session will be continuing with the removal of the invasive non-native Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel to help improve the Biological Heritage Site, Round Wood.  All details are below 🙂

Wednesday 13th December

Time: 10am – 1pm

Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.

Google Maps link HERE

What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner

What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.

Facilities: There are no toilets on site.

Weather Forecast: Temperature around 5-6°, sunny intervals and a gentle breeze, 7-8 mph winds, 0% chance of precipitation.

Accessibility: well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland. 

04.12.2023

Here are the details for Wednesday’s Memorial Park volunteering session 🙂

This week, volunteers can learn how to carry out a Woodland Condition Assessment and the value these surveys can have for informing future management decisions. Everything you need to know is below and, as always, you can email Brandon Cherry from Prospects if you have any questions.

Date: Wednesday, 6th December

Time: 10am – 2pm

Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.

Google Maps link HERE

What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner

What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing e.g., warm hat and gloves, extra thick socks and scarves etc, and bring plenty of water and a warm drink. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.

Facilities: There are no toilets on site.

Weather Forecast: Temperature around 1-3°, Light rain and a gentle breeze, 5-9 mph winds, 0% chance of precipitation.

Accessibility: well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland. 

03.12.2023

Thank you to all the volunteers who joined in the community planting session on Saturday! The group planted wildflower bulbs including Ramsons, English Bluebells, Wood Anemone, Lesser Celandine and Snowdrops. The bulbs were planted in an area set aside for ‘rewilding’ to hopefully encourage pollinators to the area.

Thanks to everyone who came along and lent a hand, your efforts were greatly appreciated 🙂

Community Planting 1

 

Community Planting 2

28.11.2023

There will be no Wednesday volunteer session running in the park this week. However, If you’re free on Saturday, 2nd December, between 10am and 2pm you can join the team from Prospects for a community planting session at Memorial Park 🙂

The group will meet at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. All equipment will be provided, but please do make sure you wear warm clothes and suitable footwear.

This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your families to help improve local biodiversity, and we really hope to see you there!

If you have any questions, please email Brandon Cherry from Prospects, and he will be happy to help.

Memorial Park Community Bulb Planting 2DEC

21.11.2023

Reminder…there will be another opportunity to take part in a volunteering session at Memorial Park tomorrow, 22nd November! This week, the team will be continuing with the removal of Rhododendron and Cherry Laurel inside Round Wood. All details are below, and if you have any questions, please email Brandon Cherry from Prospects, and he will be happy to help.

Time: 10am – 4pm

Meeting point: We will be meeting at the park entrance on Church Lane, BB6 7PR. Staff will be in orange hi-vis. There is on-street parking available.

Google Maps link HERE

What3Words Location: commutes.finders.jetliner

What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy steel-toe boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing, and bring plenty of water. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.

Facilities: There are no toilets on site.

Weather Forecast: Temperature around 10-11°, Light rain and a moderate breeze, 13-17 mph winds, 23-54% chance of precipitation.

Accessibility: well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines, unseen trips in the woodland. 

14.11.2023

Memorial Park Volunteering Opportunities!

The first memorial park volunteering session will take place this Wednesday, 15th November, between between 10am and 1pm. This session will focus on removing Rhododendron from the Biological Heritage Site, Roundwood.

The next sessions will be on Wednesday, 22nd November and they will run from 10am – 4pm. On this date there will be one woodland management training session and one Rhododendron bashing session.

All details for TOMORROW are below, but if you have any questions please email Brandon Cherry from Prospects, and he will be happy to help.

Date: 15th November, 2023

Meeting point: We will be meeting on Church Lane, Great Harwood, BB6 7PR. There is on-street parking available. Staff will be in orange hi-vis.

Google Maps link HERE

What3Words Location: nasal.albatross.shun

What to wear/bring: please wear sturdy steel-toe capped boots, long sleeves and trousers for brambles and nettles, weather appropriate clothing, and bring plenty of water. Gloves and other PPE will be provided. You will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments.

Facilities: There are no toilets on site.

Weather Forecast: Temperature around 9°, light rain showers and a moderate breeze, wind speeds between 15-16 mph, 25-29% chance of precipitation.

Accessibility: Well laid paths throughout the site, steep inclines present. Woodland is quite boggy.

20220711 Gt Harwood 48

05.10.2023

Despite the awful weather, the contractors from Wade Group have still made a good start at Great Harwood Memorial Park. If you’re visiting while the team are on site, please do take extra care.

As always, we’ll keep you updated on progress here – so do check back for regular updates!

20231004 Memorial Garden 11 20231004 Memorial Garden 12

26.09.2023

Contractors from Wade Group will begin work at Great Harwood Memorial Park on 2nd October, 2023. The works will be phased to avoid disruption to the site over Remembrance Sunday, with the path surfacing works being carried out first, followed by the walling and coping works after Remembrance Sunday.

The works include upgrading the existing paths and edging around the memorial garden, resurfacing around the base of the Memorial itself with new sandstone flags and edging, rebuilding the low wall to the rear of the Memorial Garden and installing a new coping to the top of the wall and replacing the missing copings to each side of the stone steps leading away from the Memorial.

It’s fantastic to get work started on site, and there are a lot more exciting updates to come – changes on site, activities, events and celebrations! We’ll keep you updated as things move forward. The project has been made possible thanks to funding from the teams at National Lottery Heritage Fund, Hyndburn Borough Council, the Levelling Up Fund and Lancashire Environmental Fund 🙂

Memorial steps before

19.09.2023

As part of this project, we’d love to work with an artist to create banners and interpretation panel artwork for the park. All of the details are available here: Artist Brief for Great Harwood Memorial Park Project

The deadline for tenders is 6th October, 2023 at 2pm.

24.07.2023

Exciting conversations with staff from St. Bartholomew’s Primary School, and a team from Accrington Library about the history of Great Harwood Memorial Park. We love uncovering more details about the people and places close by, and can’t wait to get local children more involved after the school holidays.

Until then… here are some great pictures which have been reproduced courtesy of Lancashire County Libraries. The first shows the original War Memorial in the park being unveiled by Mrs. Omerod and Major General Sir Neil Malcolm on 2nd October 1926. The second and third are extracts from the unveiling and dedication ceremony that took place on 29th May 1949, after the names of soldiers fallen in World War II were added.

Order of Proceedings Ceremony Image rotated

Order of Proceedings Document 1 Order of Proceedings Document 2

06.06.2023

Since the funding for the project has been confirmed, we’ve been finalising plans for all of the works and activities that will take place during the project to improve Great Harwood Memorial Park.

Over the next 8-10 months, you’ll see a lot of changes on site including replacing damaged boundary railings, repairs to the war memorial itself and improvements to the memorial gardens, repairs to the old stone tree pits, tree management works, path upgrades, the installation of a new boardwalk, more bins / seating and tables, and even the installation of a bird box camera!

Community based activities to help people learn more about the history of the park, and opportunities to get hand on and volunteer with planting and other events will also be shared as the project progresses.

It’s taken us a little while to get here, but now we can’t wait to get started. We’ll share regular updates here, so do keep checking back for information 🙂

IMG 2868 IMG 2871

07.12.2022

Great news – the project team have now secured the funding needed for the Great Harwood Memorial Park improvements! The project has been made possible thanks to support from both Hyndburn Borough Council and Lancashire County Council, and the wonderful funding teams at Lancashire Environment Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

You can read more about it in the latest article published by the Lancashire Telegraph Great Harwood Park Get’s Makeover, and we’ll keep you updated on 2023 plans and progress as it happens too.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us get the project to this stage 🙂

IMG 0776

 

08.06.2022

Thanks to everyone for their support with the project and consultations so far. We’re currently applying to, and speaking with, funders about securing the monies needed to make the improvements happen. We’ll let you know when we have more news, so do keep checking back here for updates!

14.12.2020

Just a reminder that there’s still time to let us have your thoughts and ideas for Great Harwood Memorial park. Click on the images below to enlarge the sketch design and take a look or click here to complete the survey. Thank you for your feedback!

Basic leaflet Page 1 03.12.20 e1607946481335 300x212 1  Memorial Park 300x212 1

23.11.2020 – For survey click here

As you know, Proffitts – Investing in Communities are working with Friends of Memorial Park and Hyndburn Borough Council to try and attract investment in to the memorial park. We’ve already had some conversations with local residents and have attached a sketch design with some ideas for improvements (click on the image to enlarge). Suggestions include:-
  • Improve and repair the war memorial
  • Improve the garden area surrounding the war memorial including repairs to boundary walls and features and better sensory planting
  • Woodland Management
  • Upgrading paths to improve accessibility
  • Upgrading / improving site boundaries
  • Installing interpretation boards with local history details displayed

 Memorial Park 300x212 1

(Click to enlarge image)

As part of the physical improvement project, the group would also explore the history of the park through activities with local residents who can share their memories of the gardens and memorial, and children who can find out more about local history and heritage.

Once the site improvements have been made, the aim is to increase footfall in the park by offering an events and activity programme for the wider community on an ongoing basis.

However, before we move forward with this, we’d like to give you the opportunity to share your thoughts and feedback about the plans with us. You can do this by clicking on the link here: Great Harwood Memorial Park Survey

The survey is very short and should only take a couple of minutes to complete. Thank you for your time.

1.02.2020

We are pleased to announce we have been given permission to work with Friends of Memorial Park and Hyndburn Borough Council to try and attract investment into the memorial park. The work will focus on improving accessibility and the history of the memorial park and of the war memorial within the park as well as memories of local people of Great Harwood. The aim of the project is also to work with the Friends Group, Hyndburn Borough Council and the community to raise funds to improve the park. Specifically:

  • The garden area surrounding the war memorial. This might include an awareness raising project with local children and/or war histories of local families, repairs to boundary walls and features; repairs to the memorial itself and better sensory planting (low maintenance)
  • Increase colour in the park through low maintenance planting such as bulbs, wildflowers and shrubs; not flower beds
  • Woodland management and upgrading paths – improving accessibility
  • Upgrade/improve site boundaries
  • Assess possibility of bringing stone outbuilding into use as learning resource for kids and community
  • Increase footfall in the park with events and activity programme
  • Create opportunities to engage with local senior citizens centre and Townfield House
  • Interpret history of the park through activities, permanent displays and online material

DSC01747 pointy 300x225 1 great h mem