The community for users of Preston Park in Brighton, UK
Following the launch of the Rose Garden Appeal in February David Austin, the famous UK rose grower, has kindly agreed to match fund any money raised. Therefore we are aiming to reach a goal of £2,500 so that we can order roses this summer to plant in early 2024. We are counting on your generosity in order to restore and maintain the much loved integrity of the Rose Garden. Please donate using the Donate button.
The Rose Garden was designed in the 19th century. It was restored and replanted in 2001 with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and the current planting incorporates four thousand shrub-rose bushes selected for their smell and attractive bloom. With as many as one hundred different species it is a showcase for the famous rose breeder David Austin, who has supplied the park with roses for a number of years. When in full bloom, the scent and colour of the roses is magical, and visitors come from afar to see the city’s largest rose garden. However, over the years we have lost some of the plants and many are now aged and in need of replacement. It has been assessed that we need to replace 500 bushes as well as applying new fertiliser. The cost of the entire project is approximately £5,000. Therefore, Friends of Preston Park is launching an appeal to raise the necessary funds so that we can initiate the process of plant replacement and complete the garden overall. if you would like to contribute please do so using our donate button on this website.
Here are some pictures of empty beds which need new rose bushes
The entrance to the walled garden was overgrown and volunteers cleared the bramble and long grass, which were hiding the hellebores and bluebells. Dead trees were chopped off and ivy removed from the walls. The lavender alley is being progressively extended with the removal of bramble.
This week volunteers removed a large amount of weed and lilies from the Rotunda Pond, thus providing more space and light for pond wildlife. The newts will be entering their breeding season very shortly.
Public toilets are not just a convenience – they’re a necessity. Access to toilets and washing facilities is important for good public health and to prevent the spread of disease.
36 UTCF trees have been planted and 5 more have just been delivered. These trees add to the variety we already have in the park and they have been specially chosen to cope with the climatic changes that are taking place. You can admire the lovely avenue of hawthorns along Preston Road and dotted around the park are new magnolias, redwoods, black and white mulberries, a few catalpas, two Norway maples, a European beech and a chestnut, to mention but a few! A full list and a map will be published shortly to help with identification.
Friends of Preston Park’s display boards have had a long awaited renovation last week. The board near the Chalet Cafe suffered regular acts of vandalism and the wear and tear on the board near the Rotunda cafe made it difficult to see the information displayed. Both boards have now thick and strong polycarbonate covers and a QR code, which will provide more information about FoPP and what is happening in the park.
Brighton Council are proposing to close the toilets (including the disabled access toilet) at the Chalet Café, with effect from 1st April 2023.
This will have a major impact on all users of Preston Park. This is part of a wider programme of proposed public toilet closures across Brighton and Hove, including the closure of 14 disabled loos.
The Council committee that will make the decision is meeting on 17th January to discuss this issue. A petition has been set up set on the BHCC website.
We ask that you give your view on this by signing the petition.
https://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=870&RPID=58410632&HPID=58410632
We are ever so grateful to Brighton and Hove Food Partnership for donating FoPP a printer, which will help us reduce costs with posters and leaflets. This comes at a time when many charities and community groups are fighting with spiralling costs and the savings we will be making will enable us to invest more in plants and trees. Thank you to all members of the public and companies, whose generous donations help us continue taking an active role in the maintenance of the park and provide creative and fun events for children and adults.
We would like to report that The Rockery has once again sadly been vandalised. Whilst this behaviour is sporadic and not every day, it is frustrating and upsetting for those who not only work in the park but also for the volunteers and park dwellers who enjoy their surroundings without destroying them. Two young trees were snapped, the grass bank was used as a sledge run that has ruined the grass and, worst of all, the pond has been covered in twigs, branches, litter and anything that could be thrown onto the ice. However, what these people don’t seem to realise is that what they throw onto the ice will stay in the pond. Parents were seen encouraging their children to throw items onto the ice. This seems to happen whenever the pond ices up. We politely ask that they refrain from doing so. As demonstrated in the photo, the result of their actions is not a good one. Wildlife is also negatively impacted by their ill thought ‘fun’. Please respect the park. It belongs to us all.
