| I'm very pleased to welcome this evening's guest speaker, Mark Logan, |
| who's going to tell us about the recent transformation of Minster Park. |
| Over to you, Mark. |
| Thank you. |
| I'm sure you're all familiar with Minster Park. |
| It's been a feature of the city for well over a century, |
| and has been the responsibility of the city council for most of that time. |
| What perhaps isn't so well known is the origin of the park: |
| unlike many public parks that started in private ownership, |
| as the garden of a large house, for instance, |
| Minster was some waste land, |
| which people living nearby started planting with flowers in 1892. |
| It was unclear who actually owned the land, |
| and this wasn't settled until 20 years later, |
| when the council took possession of it. |
| You may have noticed the statue near one of the entrances. |
| It's of Diane Gosforth, |
| who played a key role in the history of the park. |
| Once the council had become the legal owner, |
| it planned to sell the land for housing. |
| Many local people wanted it to remain a place that everyone could go to, |
| to enjoy the fresh air and natural environment - |
| remember, the park is in a densely populated residential area. |
| Diane Gosforth was one of those people, |
| and she organised petitions and demonstrations, |
| which eventually made the council change its mind about the future of the land. |
| Soon after this the First World War broke out, in 1914, |
| and most of the park was dug up and planted with vegetables, |
| which were sold locally. |
| At one stage, the army considered taking it over for troop exercises |
| and got as far as contacting the city council, |
| then decided the park was too small to be of use. |
| There were occasional public meetings during the war, |
| in an area that had been retained as grass. |
| After the war, the park was turned back more or less to how it had been before 1914, |
| and continued almost unchanged until recently. |
| Plans for transforming it were drawn up at various times, |
| most recently in 2013, |
| though they were revised in 2015, |
| before any work had started. |
| The changes finally got going in 2016, |
| and were finished on schedule last year. |
| OK, let me tell you about some of the changes that have been made |
| and some things that have been retained. |
| If you look at this map, |
| you'll see the familiar outline of the park, |
| with the river forming the northern boundary, |
| and a gate in each of the other three walls. |
| The statue of Diane Gosforth has been moved: |
| it used to be close to the south gate, |
| but it's now immediately to the north of the lily pond, |
| almost in the centre of the park, which makes it much more visible. |
| There's a new area of wooden sculptures, which are on the river bank, |
| where the path from the east gate makes a sharp bend. |
| There are two areas that are particularly intended for children. |
| The playground has been enlarged and improved, |
| and that's between the river and the path that leads from the pond to the river. |
| Then there's a new maze, a circular series of paths, separated by low hedges. |
| That's near the west gate - |
| you go north from there towards the river and then turn left to reach it. |
| There have been tennis courts in the park for many years, |
| and they've been doubled, from four to eight. |
| They're still in the south-west corner of the park, |
| where there's a right-angle bend in the path. |
| Something else I'd like to mention is the new fitness area. |
| This is right next to the lily pond on the same side as the west gate. |
| Now, as you're all gardeners, |
| I'm sure you'll like to hear about the plants that have been chosen for the park. |