Facelift for premier town park is urged

Improvements including a new gateway, fencing, footpaths and landscaping are set to be made to Cannock Park if district councillors give the go-ahead at a planning meeting being held tomorrow.

The aim is to create a new visual focus and improve the park for users. The plans include replacing a dilapidated fence on the Stafford Road side, and there will be landscaping works including new footpaths.

There are also a number of trees proposed to strengthen the boundary planting next to Stafford Road.

The fencing plans relate to an area by the children's play area. There is currently a 1.6 metre high vertical steel bar fence which is in need of replacing.

This runs to the front of the site adjacent to Stafford Road and if the plans are given the go-ahead this will be replaced by a 1.8 metre high steel fence which will run alongside the park to the leisure centre.

Within the fence will be a new gate with the words Cannock Park as well as the leaping stag of Cannock Chase Council.

The fence and the gates will be powder-coated black to match the gate and fence at the Park Road entrance.

The existing network of paths within the park have been built over a long period of time and several duplicate each other.The new pathways within the park will be centred around a sweeping arc. The proposals also include create tree-lined boulevards within the park.

The Friends of Cannock Park Association have made an objection. They are concerned about the use of the new gates as vehicular access and that a dangerous gradient will be created behind the new gates.

The Cannock Park plans go before the council planning control committee tomorrow at 3pm.