OneGuyFromBarlick

The uplighters are very good and, being LED's, very cheap to run. As I've said further up, the bottom end of Park Street has opened up nicely and the new railings will top it off. It's good to see it being used and, contrary to previous comments, I have seen no sign of it being used as a dog toilet, skateboard park or fast cycle path...

We have had an issue with some people not cleaning up after their dogs, Kev. Part of the work still to be done is to install new bins, which may help to address this problem.

When all the work is finished, I hope we can get a new sign on the railings by the entrance(s?) explaining the history of the gardens and that they are there as a memorial. This may affect the degree of respect shown by those visiting or passing through.

David Whipp wrote:We have had an issue with some people not cleaning up after their dogs, Kev. Part of the work still to be done is to install new bins, which may help to address this problem.

When all the work is finished, I hope we can get a new sign on the railings by the entrance(s?) explaining the history of the gardens and that they are there as a memorial. This may affect the degree of respect shown by those visiting or passing through.

Ah! Must have been cleaned up before I had a look. Some people have no respect for anything. If they can't clean up after it they shouldn't have it.

I'll have to take more regular walks through there and see if I can catch the ignorant pond life who are responsible.

Sadly there are a few in our midst who regard respect as a negative attitude, unless of course they are treated in a likewise manner, then it is a different matter entirely. I will shortly be posting an example of this in "what grabbed your attention today"!!

Colin Braithwaite with the refurbished gates for the Memorial Gardens which have been refitted this morning.

In the background, his team are digging out the worn concrete steps which are being replaced with stone.

The contractors are aiming to complete their work on Wednesday this week.

I hope they are not going to use that polished stone that was put round the toilets in the Pioneer car park. Deadly if there is a bit of lichen on them or ice.

The new steps are diamond cut, Stanley.

Afraid it's a case of can't do right for doing wrong with stone flags; there are comments about the unevenness of second hand flags causing people to trip...

That's not the flags usually but the way they are laid. Wonderful how me managed with natural stone flags for so long....

The new steps.

New railings installed instead of the rendered wall at the Mosley Street entrance to the Memorial Gardens.

The last job for the contractors is resurfacing the paths, which is due to take place over the next couple of days, but will depend on the weather.

That's a major improvement and a good security feature as well because it increases exposure and visibility of the garden. One of the tings I learned at Ellenroad was that traffic and visibility were the best security factors when you are protecting a site. Same thing applies to domestic premises, high hedges round a garden give cover for miscreants.

This is the same view as my last post showing the appearance of the wall before work began.

Several people have made positive comments about the improvement.

The issues about opening up that corner that Stanley mentions were part of the reason for creating the new access.

Love the gates and railings, I know it's very 'run of the mill' for you lot but it looks so nice. We have a bit of it around my way and every time I see it I think 'It looks so English, I love it.'

The funny thing Cathy is that we lost a lot of our railings during WW2 when they were taken for the war effort and many were not replaced.

Planting work started at the Memorial Gardens on Friday, with students from West Craven High School helping Barnoldswick in Bloom volunteers to plant six specimen trees in the new bed at the back.

And very nice it looks, too. Well done all round.

Mass planting at Barnoldswick’s Memorial Gardens is one of the activities at a Community Action Day organised by the town’s Bloom group this Sunday (22nd February). Residents are invited to help with the planting, as well as join in litter picking and tidying work around the town.

The community planting at the Memorial Gardens is part of the major renewal of the gardens in preparations for this year’s 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The gardens were originally created to commemorate those who lost their lives during the war. Thousands of plants are to go in to new beds at the gardens.

Volunteers can meet up at 10am at the Rainhall Centre, or join the team during the day at the Memorial Gardens on Kelbrook Road. Hot drinks and soup will be served to those taking part during the day.

Nice!

Some of the people involved with the planting at the Memorial Gardens yesterday.

Altogether, 25 people took part in Barnoldswick in Bloom's Community Action Day (another team were litter picking).

The first couple of hours were dry, but by the time we finished, it was sleeting and getting up to blow a gale. (You can see the rain on the camera lens...).

It was a lousy day for it. This is real dedication and everybody involved deserves a vote of thanks. Initiatives like this raise the profile of the town and reflect well on all involved. Any complaints from the usual suspects?

Have only heard praise for the work at the gardens. There's plenty more to do, so lots of opportunities for folk to get their hands dirty...

Litter picking has become something of a phenomenon, with passersby and social media friends joining in the scouring and scavenging.

I have a small personal rule, pick one piece of litter every day. That means I can walk past the rest with a clear conscience! If everyone did the same it would make a difference.... I slip the street sweeper driver the price of a drink occasionally. Amazing what a difference it makes to the back street. I always get a wave.....

I can no longer bend down to pick up litter( even have to pass on any coinage below 20p).

Whyperion wrote:I can no longer bend down to pick up litter

Ah ah! All our litter pickers are provided with proper litter picking sticks; bending down not generally involved.

(You'd probably struggle to pick up a 20p piece though.)

The Barnoldswick in Bloom project at the Memorial Gardens has run into a bit of trouble.

The planting scheme drawn up included keeping the mature ivy that covers the ugly back wall of the gardens (and the garages behind). As well as screening the grotty wall, the ivy provides food for pollinators at a lean time of year for them and is good for nesting birds.

However, during the scheme, the ivy growing onto the top of the garages has been removed. This has caused the ivy to start pulling away from the wall. This leaning ivy prevented most of the planting work in the rear bed at the gardens at the recent planting day.



It's been decided to cut the ivy off level with the wall top and try to pin back the remaining ivy to the wall. All being well, this work will be carried out in the next few days.

Meanwhile, the bloom team are hoping to get on with planting elsewhere in the gardens when conditions are dry enough. Anyone interested in helping with this work, please can you post here or message me?