A FLORAL display of spring colour, a summer party in the park and a Halloween fundraising 3k run are some of the highlights residents can expect at the new look Winsford Town Park this year.

Cheshire West and Chester Council has helped the Friends of Winsford Town Park group to buy equipment and it is hard at work in the park to ensure it is looking good for these events.

The chairman of Friends of Winsford Town Park John Malam said: “We have received funds to purchase our display banners and our new high vis jackets branded with the Friends logo, and gardening tools which we are going to put to good use over the coming months. Cheshire West has been 100 per cent supportive.

“We are establishing bat and bird boxes with funds provided by Winsford Town Council, and on 29 June we will be hosting ‘Party in the Park’ to celebrate Town Park’s first birthday. Later in the year there is going to be a Halloween themed three kilometre family fun run in aid of the Neuromuscular Centre, which is based in Winsford – the Friends will be acting as marshals.

“We are working with Joanne Fawcett who is the lead horticulturist, who has given us a lot advice and instruction for her planting scheme. It is a prairie planting scheme based on the design work of renowned Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf. We are looking forward to how it is going to mature.

“The planting scheme is based around tall growing ornamental grasses and colourful members of the daisy family including asters and echinaceas. They are annual plants, and will die back in the autumn and return in the spring. An incredible 300,000 spring bulbs have been planted across Town Park – snowdrops, winter aconites, daffodils and bluebells will establish themselves and grow into drifts of colour over the coming years. There are lots of places where volunteers can help look after the planting scheme.”

Town Mayor, Cllr Gina Lewis, said: “It is a good thing that there are so many volunteers within our community who are willing to give their time and their energy and are now showing great intent in the Town Park."

Cllr Brian Clarke, cabinet member for economic development and infrastructure, said: “The council is fully supportive of the Friends of Winsford Town Park and its efforts to ensure it thrives this year and in the future. Winsford Town Park will be looking fantastic and colourful in the spring and summer and will look even better in the years ahead as the plants flourish and blossom.”

The Friends group is also taking part in the Great British Spring Clean and has registered with the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, organisers of this national initiative. The weekend litter pick is March 23-24 and the plan is to tidy up Winsford’s ‘grot spots’.

John said: “Litter is part of society but all we can be seen to be doing is setting an example, anybody can go along and pick up litter. The more people are seen to be doing it, the less likely it is for people to make waste and litter. It is important to engage with our younger people and our schools. You sow the seeds with younger people and it’s less likely that they are going to be our litterers in the future.

“In the short time the Friends group has been established, we’ve seen a growing number of residents coming together, forming bonds and friendships, and all keen to help Town Park. The key thing is the people: the park is the facility to engaging with a wide group of residents across Winsford, all ages and abilities. It is lovely to see people coming together and taking part.”

Anyone can join the Friends of Winsford Town Park group. For more information, visit its facebook page.