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February 2025 Newsletter
Help to Save Old Park
Please tell us why you visit Old Park – where you go and what you do
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is selling Old Park, and "For Sale" signs have now gone up on the Sturry Road. This presents us with a unique opportunity to save this wonderful green space. However, time is of the essence as the MoD wishes to sell the site as quickly as possible, leaving us with very little time to act.
If we can prove that the site is used by the community for lawful recreational purposes, and has been used in this way recently, we stand a good chance of having the site designated as an Asset of Community Value (ACV). ACV status will give us at least six months in which to raise funds to buy the site.
This is where we need your help. If you visit Old Park for recreational purposes and have done so in the last five years, please send us a short email (a paragraph is ample) telling us how you use the site and why it is important to you.
We need to prove that people use the network of footpaths and open spaces on Old Park, and not just the cycle path and the two Public Rights of Way marked in red in the map below. All evidence since 2020 is valid as we have to prove current and recent usage. If you can add any dates and photographs to your statement, so much the better.
We are aiming to include at least 100 evidence statements with our application for ACV status. Please send your statement to: oldpark@gn.apc.org. Our deadline for evidence statements is Monday 10 March, but please send them as soon as possible.
Please Donate to Our Fundraising Target
The Friends of Old Park hope to raise enough money for the acquisition and management of Old Park for conservation and public recreation uses. We are working with partners to achieve this goal and to ensure that the site is protected into the future.
On 3 March 2025, we will be launching The Campaign to Save Old Park. We are seeking donations towards the initial fundraising goal of £100,000.
The money will be used in whatever way is necessary to secure the protection and conservation of Old Park for the future. It could be used as match funding which could play a crucial role in levering other monies to go to the purchase of the site. If other funds are found to purchase the site, the money we raise will go towards the costs of managing the site, protecting the wildlife and opening the area up for use by the local community.
If the bid for the acquisition and management of the site does not succeed, we pledge to return funds to donors who have given £25 and over. Donations of less than this amount will be used to help finance the campaign and the improvement of the site.
See the link below to our website for more details of how you can contribute.
Click Here to DonateInvitation to a talk, the Launch of the Campaign and our AGM, 6.30pm for 7.00pm on Monday 3 March at the Friends Meeting House
This event will be the occasion for the formal Launch of our Campaign to Save Old Park and for the AGM of the Friends of Old Park and Chequers Wood. It will begin with a talk by Alastair Key, Associate Professor of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge. which will underline the international importance of Old Park.
Contributions to the Newsletter
We welcome contributions in the form of writings, photos, and artwork. Please send your contributions to info@canterburyoldpark.org.uk.
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