Another year past and no sign of the restoration ever been finished

Another year has gone by and The Queens Park Restoration that was conceived in 2005 is far from completed. For years we have had lies from the council about the project, last years friends mins said in December the path would be done in March now they are saying its next spring. The council stated that Burma Island would be done by last xmas but nothing has been done. Promises were made to control dogs in the park by enforcing owners to keep them on a lead this hasn’t happened.

The park is a public danger with all the paths apart from the main ones in a dangerous state and not accusable to disabled and mothers with prams. When it freezes at week ends there are no wardens to grit paths and they become skating rinks. The main lighting was removed from the main drive so any event after dark are dangerous, The gardeners workshops are full of asbestos but they still have to work in there against all H&S rules.

Of all the money spent so far the Bowling hut , Café, Clock, lodges have all had to be re done due to problems with the first restoration and this is the only work been done in the park in the last years. There should be an enquiry why the restoration has to be redone why was it passed in the first place if it wasn’t done right. The once pride of Crewe has become a disgrace if you leave the main paths you are in constant danger from broken paths and other dangers.

There is no real leadership in the park and very few staff to even keep the place going there was always a experienced head gardener who had vision and knowledge to keep the park maintained but this is sadly lacking. If the park was at Macclesfield I am sure it would have all been done by now Crewe has become the poor relation.

When will it be finished is a major question Coronation walk once one of the main attraction of the park with its roses, stream, water fall and pets is now just a tip and no even on the radar to be restored. The sad bit is its not big money to restore it. If only volunteers would see sense and concentrate on it a lot could be done they mess about with it then don’t touch it for another few months by which time it’s a jungle again. If they worked on it all the time then it could be made presentable. All the beds are full of weeds and self seeded trees growing and the once lawns are now a meadow. It a very important corridor in the park as it’s the only place birds can get a drink as they cant drink from the lake as its to deep. If it was restored it would increase the wildlife in the park but the wildlife group leader has stated shes not interested in birds only her swans.

Why the people of Crewe are not up in arms over this one cant understand I started the website in 2009 and it was supposed to be a 1 year job to restore it 7 years later we are still no further forward in fact its getting worse as the gardens are now down to a few men before there lots of them. They are just fighting fires and unable to do any improvements to the park. Walk round the outside of the park and you can count the number of self seeded sycamores and it runs into hundreds something volunteers could do but there is no direction from anyone and they all do their own thing often destroying things through ignorance.

I have in the past had experts down and they have studied what wants doing and given detail right down to the plants needed but the council have ignored this, the lake were there are post should have plants in for wildlife and to oxygenate the lake but this has never been done even though it was in the plans.

The park has become a private members club and one of the most complained out thing at one time you could hire bowls and have a game now its just for the select few members. The fishing is used only by a handful of people on a regular basis. Often you cant go to the toilet in the park as the café is closed, you then have to put up with dogs running about free as no one stops them.

I shall continue to record events in the park as a historical record of the restoration I started out with hope of a quick restoration and it never turned out that way it was once a Jewell in the Crown with well kept lawns and lots of flower now its like a deserted bomb site, if you only use the main paths it looks ok but venture off the main paths into the mud and you can see but if your disabled or have a pram you cant get there.

Above the cafe on a wet day the  wood is soaked and covered with green slime and like a skating rink. Why because there are no gutters and all the water runs onto the wood and it has all got to be replaced

Above the new path up to the bridge they cant even get that right as you can see it floods and when it freezes it dangerous how hard is it the get the levels right?

Burma island no work has been done on this island

The path to the bridge if your disabled you have no chance below the path or lack of it at the bottom of the lake

Goosanders in the Queens Park

A few Robins about giving it a xmas feel this one giving us a tune

The swans are getting white now the females more so than the males. Concerns this week as to how they have been tamed and if you dont know and feed them they eat out of your hand problem was one women had a baby with her and they frightened the mother as she thought they were attacking the baby. If they one do it for food if you have a baby it can happen they attack by accident

Goosanders in the park starting with one then today Mondays we had four of them. These handsome diving ducks are a member of the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. A largely freshwater bird, the goosander first bred in the UK in 1871. It built up numbers in Scotland and then since 1970 it has spread across northern England into Wales, reaching south-west England. Its love of salmon and trout has brought it into conflict with fishermen. It is gregarious, forming into flocks of several thousand in some parts of Europe

Rose in November

Nothing happening in the park but as its so mild there is a rose still out by the monkey hut lots of trees haven't lost their leaves yet very rare for this time of year

The grebe is still on the lake and has been there a few weeks now so fishing must be good as they eat mainly fish

Winter In the Queens Park

The cycle rack by the playing fields that was put in in the summer is having all the tarmac redone that didn't last very long did it

For remembrance day some new plants have been planted at the Gulf War memorial to remember those that gave their lives

Even  in November there are some nice winter colours  in the park its very late this year with such a mild November some trees are only just loosing their leaves

When is a Wildlife Group not a Wildlife Group?

When is a wildlife group not a wildlife group? That is a good question as the Queens Park wildlife group doesnt in fact seem to be there for wildlife. The leader of the group was asked if she would be helping the birds of the park through the winter by providing nuts bird feeders etc its reported that on Face Book she replied that the birds can go and fly away and get food but the swans cant eat without me.

If its a proper wildlife group then it should be working for all wildlife from hedgehogs squirrels and all the birds in the park isnt it the point of a wildlife group to try and get as much wildlife in the park as possible by providing the right environment for them to flourish. Not to just concentrate on swans as that then makes them a swan group not a wildlife group and by using the wrong name and suggesting they are for all wildlife the may be obtaining money and support under false pretences.

The group has become controversial and many of the original group have left due to the aggressive nature of the leader  and the fact despite being told by many people that  feeding the swans by hand with a dog with you is putting them in danger as we witnessed this week when a dog off the lead went up to them and they thought it was food. Experts have said they will think a dog is friendly now and will learn to late that they kill lots of swans. The same is true of people as a lot of swans end up on the Xmas table and these are so simple to catch but the leader refuses to listen. She sees the swans as HER pets not as wildlife who need to learn to survive in the wild all wildlife hospitals etc keep human contact to the minimum for any sort of wildlife that will go back in the wild. The leader refuses to listen to even experts with years of experience and is putting them in danger.

There are a great deal of people who feed the wildlife in the park and have for years but these have now been split with a gang like culture of if your in my gang you dont speak to others. The Face book page is now a closed group so its activities can be done in secret and anyone disagreeing with the leader are quickly axed  and her gang wont speak to them. Several people have complained about the leader aggressive nature telling them off for feeding the swans

 

The Mandarin has stayed around for a few weeks not sure if this is classed wildlife by the group or not

Above the park has a new gate as a car smashed through railings opposite Tipkinder how it managed to do that we dont know

Reporter J White

A ‘Bonfire and Firework Spectacular’ took place on Wednesday 5^th November 2014 at Queens Park in Crewe. The event was organised by Crewe and Nantwich Lions Club https://www.facebook.com/CreweAndNantwichLionsClub . The fireworks were supplied and choreographed by Blitz Fireworks - http://www.blitzfireworks.com/ - of Crewe. The gates opened at 5pm, the bonfire was lit at 7pm and the fireworks started shortly after 8pm. There were also amusement rides and refreshments. The event was enjoyed by thousands of people. All funds raised are distributed by Crewe and Nantwich Lions Club into the local community to help local groups and charities.

Winter Colour in The Queens Park

Lots of nice winter colour which as its so mild should be Autumn colour. You would expect most trees to have lost their leaves by now but there hanging on but changing almost daily

One of the most colourful is this tree by Tipkinder end and below the pampus grass by Princess Di s plaque is still doing well

The Friends AGM took place recently were members are voted in for yet another 3 years as no one else turns up they all vote each other in yet again. I did find this interesting and I quote

This time last year the Chair stated we would be starting the paths; it is disappointing this has not happened, however the budget is there and waiting to go -- the only delay is ongoing consultation with English Heritage and our Planning officers –this should be resolved soon. Hopefully, the work will start on site before Spring next year.

It tell us the old old story time again last year they said it would be done in spring then they said it would be August now its next year will it ever get done? Last year they stated that Burma Island would be done by Xmas 18 months later nothing has happened its the same story with Coronation Walk no sign of that being done will the park ever be finished after all these years you could have built a new one.

Restoring The Restorations Again

In 2011 the £650,000 bowling hut was finished built from scratch and brand new. Now after just 2 years the renovation is having to be renovated all the panelling on the hut has had to be replaced. People should be asking serious question why after £7million has been spent on the park they are having to renovate a brand new hut? If you buy a kettle or tv a lot come with over 2 years warranty wouldn't you expect a hut at this price to have an even longer one?  

The next renovation of a renovation is the cafe as the veranda will have to be replaced again after a 2 year period. Why was it signed off as a completed job if it was going to fall apart after such a short space of time. I get lots of complaints about the hut as its a lot of money to spend on a few individual's as its cant be used by the general public as it used to be. At one time you could go an rent bowls and have a game now the hut is standing empty for most of the week. The council seem to like paying money out for small select groups instead of getting the park paths etc restored. The fishing is the same only a few anglers use the lake on a regular basis but they get money spent on them and the general public have to walk around on dangerous paths. The paths they promised would be done in April this year and we are still waiting for them to even start when they do it will be the worse time in winter when it makes it very hard to do.  

Total Waste of Time

The park now has all sort of volunteer groups including ANTS, Wildlife, Fishing and Friends. The whole scheme is just chaos and these groups dont seem to understand what they are doing is a waste of time. The ANTS have turned up lots of times and done stuff which is a total waste of peoples time. Above they tidied the lodge garden and in the process removed some old rare plants as they have no knowledge. But time and time again they make the same mistakes they cleaned it and thats it as you can see above the weeds are back so all the time they spent cleaning is just a waste of time. They do the same in coronation walk    they tidy it up then never go back for a month or so in which time its its a wilderness again so their time is wasted, the gulf war they planted bushes and left them to die and the border full of weeds.

If they came in every time and just kept 3 areas clean it would stay clean and be improved not revert to a wilderness they could renovate one area and then they could come back and show we have done that as it is when they come back its just wild again as it was before they started. If they are not going to do it properly then leaving it rough for wildlife is a better option.

All these groups are getting out of hand and potentially dangerous along with people from Facebook groups they have resorted to threats and harassment of park users  with people threatening OAP’s not very brave of them if they need to pick on OAP this has been harassment in the internet and physical death threats in the park . There have been several allegation of the wildlife group harassing people in the park and these are women who have visited the park daily for over 6 years feeding the wildlife and now get harassed by  the group. There is still great concern by swan experts  that they are taming the swans and treating them like pets not wildlife hand feeding them with a dog present so they have no fear until one kills them. Even though people who have many years experience of swans  have said they may not survive as they are becoming humanised these people continue to put their lives in danger. All these groups seem to develop a Hitler complex refusing to listen to anyone and harassing them with new laws coming out these troll can get a 2 year prison sentance

A large tree felled by the band stand this week

A grebe back on site and has been around for a week

Autumn Colour in The Queens Park

At this time of the year very little is going on in the park but there is some lovely colours from the trees and the colours change almost daily and well worth a look

Total Madness

Regular reads will remember in the summer that we had a lot of fish dyeing in the lake due to lack of oxygen in the water. Of the last couple of week they have installed aeration devices  and this week on Monday they went live you need at least 6 to full oxygenate the lake but only 2 have been installed no doubt cost several thousand pounds to but fit and install all for the benefit of the fish and fishermen. Above you can see the one near Tipkinder working a treat.

At the other end of the lake were there is fishing we see one floating and not turned on WHY? According to reliable information the reason is the fishermen have complained and dont want it on as it scares the fish. They didnt think to complain before all the money was spent and they were installed! Speaking to several fishermen who fish were they use these they say they are great and the fish love them and it makes for better fishing. As they only went live on Monday they have not even given them a chance to see if if they have any effect.

This is total madness and waste of public money and who do these fishermen think they are?   The groups in the park are getting out of hand as they all think they are Capt Mannering There has been complaints today by lots of people of harassment by the Wildlife group members who are abusing people who feed the wildlife they are described as little Hitlers and all the groups have the same attitude. The Wildlife group are to plant on the islands but the correct way to do this is to analyse the soil before you start to test for PH etc before you can choose suitable plants but the yare not doing any of this and will they know how far apart to put plants to match growth height etc  

Before and after renovations

Sunday saw the park full of bike of every size age and type from penny farthings to modern bikes, Dr bike was there doing free repairs for all bikes

 

After over 5 years and 7 million pounds of renovation parts of the park are still a tip. Its been that long people wont remember what it used to be like above is Coronation Walk today un kept and full of weeds and no water fall. Below is how nice it used to look before they started renovating it which is better? The park is being destroyed and made worse than ever

Wildlife habitat destroyed by the ANTS

A new ram has gone in on the island at the bottom of the lake so the moorhen's can get on to the island with their young. For  along time they nest by the little bridge in the bamboo along with rabbits but this has all been destroyed by the ANTS cleaning it up. Its in borders so cant go far and it doesnt grow to big but they saw fit to totally destroy it. in the same area there are 10 self seeded trees that want pulling out and the borders with bushes are full of weeds but they have left them. The whole problem is people come into the park think they are doing good but in fact they are destroying it. They removed very old plants form the lodge garden that were rare totally wiping them out. The groups in the park dont have a master plan to work to and just step on others toes due to lack of communication.  The ANTS put up bird boxes many in the wrong place facing the wrong way as they dont know what birds go into which area they dont know what box to put were and put them facing to wrong way the chicks can get to hot if in direct sunlight.

Would you take your car to a garage that let untrained volunteers repair it no you wouldnt as they could wreck the car in the same way these people know very little about gardening and wildlife and just destroy everything. What is needed is groups to work together and to get trained supervision of these events. In the same way the wildlife group are feeding the swans in the wrong way and they could suffer as they are now to use to humans and when they leave they may well suffer as they seek out humans all of which arnt nice people  

Autumn is on its way

One of the first trees to change with the onset of Autumn is this one in the park and its started changing colour and dropping leave so its on its way you do get some nice colours over the next few week as the trees change

Two new power box have gone in this week by the lake ready for the new aeration scheme to  pump oxygen into the water as the fish were dying due to lake of oxygen they will float on the surface and be like mini fountains and have to be anchored down or the spin out of control. This should have been done as part of the restoration but wasnt done

A few Robins are collecting in the park just like Xmas. The cygnet no3 has been returned this week from the RSPCA after it had the fishing line in its mouth. The swans are now learning to flap their wings and normally the parents will chase them off but as dad is alone its more likely they will stay and dad will go and find a new mate return and then drive them off

More Cygnets hooked in fishing line

Last week saw 2 cygnets and a duck caught in fishing line the picture above show what came from one cygnets mouth and the duck is now in Stapley. So despite everyone best efforts this is not working. The problem is that people are going down all day feeding the swans which is good but its how you feed them that is causing the problems. They are now so tame they eat out of anyone's hand and this how they are being fed. People are doing this out of ignorance and think its very good but swans are wild life not pets. As they are so used to humans they think this is how they get food so they see fishermen and head over for food and as a result get caught in line. No Canada gees have been hooked as they are not hand fed.

This presents another problem its ok for the duck, squirrels etc to get very used to humans as they often stay in the park for life  but swans the father will sooner or later drive them away and they will leave and find new homes but believing food will come from humans so they will go to any one and of coarse some people arnt nice and may catch them for dinner or get hooked in more fishing line.

The problem is the hand feeding this must now stop they can be fed from the bridge or have food placed on the ground for them but humans must back off so they find food by natural foraging if this doesn't happen they will leave and be unable to survive in the wild. Problem is people now wont see that and they will eventually suffer as a result. All wildlife sanctuaries try to keep human contact to the minimum if creature are to return to the wild

above the power supply for the lake aeration is now in and this will bring more oxygen to the lake for fish wildlife etc  as fish have been dying due to lack of oxygen it was part of the original plan along with plants to help but never got done