20090509 Sport Ground (The kick-about field!) Inauguration

Today there were the official inauguration of the "Sport Ground". It is actually the revamped old kick-about field or basketball court. It was done with a grant from the Community Council Cleaner Greener Safer Award and the work organised by the charity "Groundwork Southwark. The local Kinglake Tenants & Residents Association won the bid for the renovation of the facility last year and the works have been completed in March-April.

It all bring to the fore a vexatious issue of the status of the ground. In one hand it is recorded as part of the Surrey Square Park in the Council maps but it is nay impossible to find someone that knows where or how to dip in the Council archives to find out deeds and appropriations.

In the meantime a modus vivendi where the maintenance is provided by the Kinglake Estate cleaning contractor but where the Park authority have decision on what can happen to it.

This is the second renovation. The first one was done long time ago (I doubt anyone remembers it) and if my memory serve me well was done using a grant obtained by Groundwork Southwark (this charity is part of the Groundwork group) that at the time formally rented the Surrey Square Park as a sort of contractor from Southwark Council.

In any case it was a simple (and mostly unattended) ceremony. The facility is actually by far the most used in the Park (or the area in general). It is an indication of the dichotomous relationship between social engagement and end users and especially youth!!

Newly elected local Councillor Martin Seaton was at hand and so neighbourhood police and briefly Community Wardens. The "Sport Ground" itself was actually well built and surely will be much used.

I also poppet in in the adjoining Wild Life Area. The works have resulted in some of the surviving bushes in the west side being cut down, still it is probably a good thing in the long run as I managed to have an higher fence put in place. This surely is bound to reduce one of the causes of disruption of the area: people retrieving their playing balls!!

At the moment it looks bare (but the shredded vegetations I asked the contractors to put down on the ground will, hopefully, give enough time to the bushes to regrow, in preference from ruderals. Also the strip of garden edging Albridge Street has been trimmed down and Julian is thinking to use it as an extension/link between the WLA and the main body of the park.

All together the Wild Life Area seem be able to cope with the amount of disturbance it has been subjected in the last couple of years, although dumping of rubbish is still a problem. Peter Wright the champion of Salisbury Row Park and an inspiration for us all, was also there paying a quick visit. A good day, all in all.