beautiful Bury Knowle Park grass areas. In answer to my enquiry I was informed
the two bases were being put in for the table tennis tables to be permanently
located.
Claims by an Oxford City parks officer that the Friends of Bury Knowle Park
were consulted are simply not right. The Friends group did consult at their
AGM over a location for the chess table and chairs, (paid by for by local Cllrs
Ruth Wilkinson and David Rundle), but not as to the location or installation of
these ugly rectangles of concrete for the ping pong tables. Indeed the Friends
of Bury Knowle had been informed that the table tennis tables would be moved
around the grass area of the park so the grass was not worn in one place.
Over the last few years our park has seen some wonderful imaginative wood play
equipment installed, along with sand and rock play areas. The park grounds men
have done a wonderful job maintaining trees and grass in the park along with
volunteers who have helped plant shrubs and the silver birch trees in the
children’s play area (I can tell you that was hard work over 2 days!)
So, I am very disappointed that the city council has, without consultation,
installed concrete slabs again in a park that has strove to remove the 1960s
concrete look. It was suggested to me this afternoon that the concrete won’t
look so out of place once painted. What! Surely the lesson about painting a
colour on after installation rather than mixing the colour in first have been
learnt in Headington – just look at the bus lanes that were once red! A quick
search on the Internet shows that there are other environmental friendly bases
that could have been considered for the ping pong tables.