ARBORETUM

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Arboretum Park has won a Green Flag Award acknowledging its safety despite police recently announcing they were having to step up patrols in the park after six attacks. The Civic Trust, which organises the Green Flag Award, said that while it could not guarantee award-winning parks would not suffer crime, it said it judged the spaces on what they did to try to make them safe. There have been many improvements since a major revamp was given the go-ahead in 2003 after Derby City Council won a £5.6m National Lottery grant.

The funding included £4.2m for entrances, a community building with a cafe, CCTV cameras, sports changing rooms and the refurbishment of listed buildings. A further £1.4m went towards employing rangers to look after the grounds and other maintenance costs. The revamp was aimed at enticing more visitors to the park. A spokeswoman for the trust said, "The judges commended the use of CCTV and good lighting. They commented that the clear sight lines and vistas give a sense of safety to the site, and are inviting." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Aug/08)

People in Normanton claim that they have been intimidated by down-and-outs in Arboretum Park, which recently underwent a £5.6m facelift. Residents of Rose Hill Street and Arboretum Square, both of which adjoin the park, say that they regularly find needles used to inject heroin. Despite the park being made an alcohol-free zone in August 2005, signs informing visitors of this have yet to be installed. As if signs will make any difference.

Derbyshire police said they had received six reports involving drinkers in the park in the last three weeks and that officers regularly visited the park as part of their patrols in the Normanton and Pear Tree areas. A spokesman said, "We're aware that there is a problem with people using areas of the park to take drugs and drink but we're not aware of it being a massive problem."

Steve Medlock, head of parks at Derby City Council, said signs had been delayed pending a change to the type of licence for events held by the park. City council leader Chris Williamson added, "I'm surprised to hear there are problems with drinking and needles in the park. We have rangers employed to keep the area clear of these things." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Aug/07)

As this issue of the Florentine Boar has been interpreted as a racial one, when it clearly is not, it has prompted me to set the matter straight. I did attend MECAC and the first item was the restoration of Arboretum Park. A paper was submitted which requested MECAC's recommendation from five options, including a replica of the original boar and a statue of John Loudon, who designed the Arboretum. I understand that the Friends of the Arboretum group had been given the same options and had chosen a statue of John Loudon.

At MECAC, a short but positive debate was held on the merits of all the options and, yes, reference was made that, according to Islam, a pig is believed to be unclean and that it might offend Muslims who use the park regularly. There was no threat implied or otherwise about the comment "it may not be there the next day". This was a comment made by two residents of Normanton to me to indicate how some people felt about the issue. I merely reported this to the committee.

MECAC also recommended a statue of John Loudon before I made the comment that has caused people to take offence, so this did not impact on the decision that had been reached by consensus. No other member of MECAC felt that my comments implied that, if the council was to go ahead and put the boar back, it would definitely be defaced or vandalised. People who know me know that I do not condone any form of law-breaking and that I would be the first to report any intelligence that criminal activity was to take place to the police.

I am pleased that this debate has encouraged the citizens of Derby to get more involved in local issues and, if there had not been any unnecessary racist undertones, this would have been an excellent debate. Personally, I would rather have a statue of John Loudon purely to better reflect the park's special history but, if the boar was the preferred option of the cabinet, it would not cause me any anguish. Councillor Suman Gupta

Derby City Council sent 1,200 questionnaires to householders, asking when they thought the old part of Arboretum Park, Normanton, should be opened, but only 64 completed questionnaires were received back. The park is currently open 24 hours. Parks funding officer Sue Phillips said, "We thought the response would have been better, but the responses we have had have all been quite positive. The preferred option is to open between 8am and 8pm during the summer, and between 8am and 6pm from September to March." The Rosehill recreation ground will not be locked and will remain open 24 hours.

The newly refurbished historic section of the Arboretum park will be shut after 6pm in the winter and 8pm during summer despite being fitted with new CCTV cameras. Derby City Council consulted residents and said more than half backed the move and the early closing would keep the park in "top condition". The security measures come as vandals attacked benches and walls in Matlock's Hall Leys Park, also in Derbyshire. Several were damaged and graffiti daubed across brand new seats ahead of the unveiling of a multi-million pound revamp.

An application to allow Derby City Council to close Arboretum Park at night is to be sent to the Government. The council wants to open the park between 8am and 8pm from April to October, and from 8am to 6pm from November to March. But the change requires an amendment in the by-laws, which will make it an offence for people to be in the park outside its opening hours.

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