Anne Meadows, Mayor of Brighton and Hove, seen here with Tony Benton, Chair of Friends of Preston Park, today opened the new petanque terrain in Preston Park. The terrain was laid by City Parks in response to the wishes of park users, as collected in the survey conducted by the Friends in 2010.
The Mayor said:
“Today we are opening this petanqe terrain for all residents of Brighton and Hove. The council is always keen to provide new opportunities for residents to exercise and enjoy the outdoors. When it was decided to decommission the bowling green that used to stand here, we wanted to replace it with another sporting facility.
At the same time the newly formed Friends of Preston Park were asked what should replace the bowling green. Rather than just provide solutions that suited their individual needs, the friends group went to great lengths to consult the whole community via a questionnaire, and the most popular option was a petanque terrain, which the council were only too happy to provide, so great thanks for this should go to the friends group. By throwing this first boule, I declare the terrain open.”
The terrain will be open for play between April and September and anyone is welcome to play. Boules can be borrowed for free from the Cubby Hole at The Women’s Bowls Pavilion, on payment of a £20 deposit.