Step forward in bid for country park fund raising

Published on 22nd March 2007 in News

Friends of Oakhill announced this week that they have applied to become a company limited by guarantee in order to allow the group to raise further funds for the proposed Oakhill country park.

The application was put forward with the support of Goole Development Trust, and if successful will allow the group to raise funds for the proposed country park by applying for further grants and setting up a membership scheme.

At Monday's meeting of Goole Town Council, Cllr Kevin Flynn was elected as the Town Council's representative for Friends of Oakhill - a necessary move if the group is to establish itself as a company limited by guarantee, as the group's existing constitution requires that one seat on the management group is offered to Goole Town Council.

Friends of Oakhill is also working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC) and developers of the neighbouring Centreport site, to secure car parking and properly signed routes from Goole. These have been agreed in principle and work is in progress to ensure their delivery, although there is concern about ongoing delays caused by what Friends of Oakhill chairman Kester Dean has described as "tunnel vision on the provision of warehouses.".

"The Oakhill Country Park scheme should not always be the poor relation," said Cllr Dean.

"The country park is a good investment for the town and will probably last much longer than the warehouses. None of the money for the country park will be coming from local rates but Friends of Oakhill is working on getting a fair share of the government grants and business sponsorship that is used to fund similar projects elsewhere.

"A contribution has already been committed by Leeds property developer Stirling St James, which is a welcome start."

* The next Friends of Oakhill event is a Signs of Spring walk this Sunday, March 25, meeting at 10am at The Courtyard in Boothferry Road, Goole. The event is free; lifts are provided on a car-share basis.