N.B. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO WORK IN THE SPINNEY - FIND OUT MORE ON THE SPINNEY PAGE

This page has the latest on developments in and around Canons Park. The big project of the past few years has been the Park Restoration which is now complete, and now the Friends are moving on to new projects to keep up the momentum of improvements. Below are explanations of what has changed, and what is happening now and what will change in the future. The headlines are - A New Children's Playground now open; the award of a Green Flag to Canons Park; the ongoing Spinney Project, Bulb Planting, a new café for Summer 2009, and plans for the restoration of the Ha-Ha.

The Park Restoration Project is now completed. See the separate page on Park Restoration to find out what was done to improve the amenities and general attractiveness of the park. Nearly everyone agrees that more people now use the park than before thanks to the changes. Police Safer Neighbourhood teams have their base in the Lodge (the house just inside the park by the Donnefield Avenue entrance). This presence should enhance the feeling of security by park visitors. Following all these improvements, the park has been awarded the prestigious Green Flag Award. This is awarded by the Civic Trust on behalf of the government, and indicates that Canons Park has achieved national standards for parks and green spaces in 2009. The flag can be seen by the Whitchurch Lane entrance (see below).

The Friends are now moving on to further projects which will continue the efforts to upgrade aspects of the Park. One project already started involved Groundwork (West London) working under the umbrella of British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) overseeing work to manage the Spinney area of the park. Please see the Spinney page for more details and Works Pics for photos.The Spinney is the wooded area extending from Whitchurch Lane to the boundary of the School grounds along the east side of the park. We are always looking for local volunteers who would be willing to devote a few hours on a few days in 2010 and beyond to help in this work. The work will be designed to improve the woods in terms of biodiversity and to manage the mixture of young and old trees, clear intruding ivy, etc. No experience needed - we will show you what to do. The next two dates are Sunday 21st February and Sunday 14th March. If you would like to register your interest please e-mail using the link at the top right of each page.

Two other changes occurred in 2009, and both have proved very popular. One is the new Children's Playground - this is a major addition to the park's facilities, with a range of equipment suitable for children of differing ages. This can be found just inside the Donnefield Avenue entrance, close to the Police Safer Neighbourhood house.

The second change is the new café which began operating at the Bothy (single storey brick building not far from the walled garden) in summer 2009. It will continue to open from time to time (mainly weekends and school holidays if the weather is fine), and next summer will be back everyday. Do keep a look out if you want to buy tea, coffee, a cold drink, ice-cream, a cream tea, or hot or cold snacks. 
The café is run under the auspices of the Friends of Canons Park, and has become a popular meeting place for families, local residents and dog walkers. The staff at the café have even dished out plasters for grazed knees, provided water bowls for dogs, given out leaflets and information about the park, and looked after the disabled toilet.

There has been new planting of spring bulbs which should result in good displays in a year or two, and restoration of the ha-ha (concealed fence) on the south side of the mansion has begun. For more on the last item see the separate ha-ha page.