Craven District Council Budget Consultation 2019/20 – Have your say!

Craven District Council want to hear your views about how they spend Your money. As FOAP we have made a Committee response, which we have shared with you below.

But we would encourage you all to fill in the questionnaire as individual residents too and have your say, and if you feel that Aireville Park is important as we do, please let them know, and feel free to use our response for any inspiration.

The survey takes less than 15 mins to complete and the deadline for responses is midnight Sunday 14th October 2018 and is available to view here

 

As the Friends of Aireville Park (FOAP) we appreciate that the council faces continued cuts and financial pressures but we would like to clearly state that FOAP are a small group of volunteers who juggle this role alongside family commitments and other paid employment and would not take on the responsibility of landowner or service provider for Aireville Park. Frankly, we do not have the relevant resources, experience or skills to replace the number of Craven District Council Officers and departments that currently cover Aireville Park.

We can continue to support the Council and fund raise toward the capital costs of improving Aireville Park and would like to see a continued commitment and financial forecasting from the Council within this budget to cover the ongoing revenue and maintenance costs of both existing and any new assets. Including the new play area, that was identified by, and delivered as part of the agreed Aireville Park master plan.

As we have highlighted with previous consultation responses to the Draft Local Plan and previous budgets, Craven District Council now have an agreed Master Plan for the park, developed after widespread stakeholder consultation. With increased development proposed, and here prioritised, for the District we want to ensure that as well as improvements to the park for local people there are sufficient resources for these to be managed in a sustainable way so that any increased pressures in the future from a growing population does not have a negative impact on the park. Aireville Park is a key community asset for the people of Skipton and the surrounding area and also provides an amenity for visitors and tourists from further afield. The new play area will greatly enhance this offer and attract even more visitors. It is an important green space, free and accessible to all, that provides an important health and well-being function for our community.

We hope you will take these comments in to consideration as part of the budget consultation

 

The Santa Fun Run

It’s that time of year again. There’s a chill in the air, it’s getting dark early and it’s beginning to feel a bit like Christmas. Time to sign up for the Skipton Santa Fun Run! You’ve heard of the Skipton parkrun? Well the Santa Fun Run is a 5k park-town-canal-park run – with bells on. For one day only (Sunday 26th November, 11am) the route is closed to traffic and the town is a jostling blur of red and white Santas.

The entry fee (£8 for children/£12 for adults) covers the cost of your very own Santa suit, plus a donation to the Rotary Club’s chosen charities. Any sponsorship you raise on top of that can go to the charity of your choice. We would DEARLY LOVE you to choose to support the exciting new playground planned at Aireville park, where the Fun Run begins and ends. A team of us will be running for Friends of Aireville Park and we invite YOU to join us. Failing that, why not SPONSOR us. Our target is £1,400 to pay for a double set of toddler swings.

Here’s a link to our local giving website:
https://localgiving.org/fundraising/foapsantafunrun

We look forward seeing you on the day; either cheering us on, or wearing your own Santa suit.

 

parkrun

I’ve just completed my first parkrun! I’m not trying to boast, I just want to shout out what a fabulous resource we have on our doorstep in Aireville Park.

Every Saturday at 9am, rain or shine, a host of cheery volunteers conjure up a bit of feel-good community magic. All you need is to register online (just for your first time), print out your barcode, put on your trainers and head to the park.

The friendly race director explains the course, celebrates personal achievements (whether it’s 10 completed park runs or 200), welcomes first timers and tourists (from Edinburgh and Essex this week), then sends you on your way.

On my own, I’d never have completed four circuits of the park. In a group of over 170 runners I was buoyed along and determined. Yes I was lapped by a man pushing a buggy and someone twenty years my senior (to mention just a few), but completing the course without walking was my own personal achievement.

I returned home with glowing cheeks and a healthy appetite. An hour later, an email pinged through stating my race time,  finishing position and an age graded score – the perfect incentive to make me do it again and beat my own record. The parkrun is FREE and available to all ages and abilities. I heartily recommend it!

Yarndale 2017

 

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We would like to say a great big thank you to the wonderful Skipton Ukulele Band who raised £400 for the new play area whilst playing at Yarndale this year!

We hope you enjoyed the wonderful yarn bombing in the Park and all the fantastic woolly wonders up at the Auction Mart. It inspired one of our volunteers to write this little poem. Enjoy!

I heard a yarn about a dale,
Still flecked with sheep and draped in mists,
Where mills stand tall to tell a tale
Of weavers’ woes and carders’ trysts.

Now lampposts dressed in woollen art
Line up where once the loomers laughed
And guide us to an auction mart,
Its cattle pens crammed full with craft.

Our Park needs your vote!

 

Great news!

We have been shortlisted for the Skipton Tesco Bags of Help initiative that is funded by the 5p carrier bag charge. We are in with a chance of being awarded between £1000-£4000. With the previous Bags of Help award we received we paid for the new zip wire.

So if you would like to see some more new amazing play equipment in our Park get down to Tesco and vote FOAP!

 

Skipton Building Society hold cake sale for new Children’s Play Area

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all the wonderful cake loving staff at Skipton Building Society’s head office raised a fantastic £182 towards our fundraising campaign for the new children’s play area in the park. Our amazing Friends of Aireville Park volunteers and Skipton Building Society Staff donated cakes, biscuits and flapjacks for the sale.

Claire Spencer, from Skipton Building Society, said

“It’d great that the Society is able to support local community groups fundraising events like the Friends of Aireville Park and help them raise funds to deliver worthwhile projects that bring benefits to the local area”

Andrew Hearn, Friends of Aireville Park Treasurer added

“We’ve had lots of grassroots support from the Skipton community and it’s great to get the support of local businesses as we continue with our fundraising campaign. Especially prominent Skipton based employers such as Skipton Building Society. We are approaching the £20,000 mark and every bit counts as we work towards that £100,000 target.”

If you would like to make a donation towards the new play area then visit:  https://localgiving.org/charity/friendsofairevillepark/

Alternatively, if you would like to volunteer some time for future events or help with the fundraising in any way, then email: friendsofairevillepark@gmail.com

Skipton Gala in Aireville Park

This weekend sees the return of the Skipton Gala, a procession that begins in Westmoreland Street at 1pm through the High Street and all the way to Aireville Park.

“For over a century Skipton Gala has been supporting the community by raising money for local organisations and charities”

We are very proud to be supporting the Skipton Charities Gala committee by helping to collect donations for them, who support many groups in our area.

We will be wearing our Friends of Aireville Park t-shirts. Do come and say hello if you see us, ask us about the park and, if you can, leave a donation.

Friends of Aireville Park AGM

Please come along to our AGM                                                         Thursday 25th May – 7pm – CDC Offices, Bellevue Square.
All welcome to join us for a review of last year and an update of our exciting plans for the year ahead.

Join us for a Community Get-Together

We are planning a big picnic lunch for all in the park on Saturday 17th June.

We’d love to see our friends, their friends, and new friends in the park. We are meeting at noon by the bandstand.  Bring a pinic rug and food to share.  We will bring some games and hopefully some musical friends.

#GreatGetTogether

A new playpark!

It’s official! Our fundraising efforts are underway.

If you would like to make a donation to help our efforts, please visit our local giving page.

You can get in touch with us by email, facebook or follow us on twitter. You can also subscribe to this website by clicking on the button in the menu to get notified of our latest news and events.

Download our poster: Fundraising-March-2017