Background to the establishment of FOSP

The Old Station Park, which was only so called since 1985, was a derelict area left over from the demolishing of the old Hyndland station.

The site is owned by the City Council.

In 1985 a tarmac football pitch was laid on the cleared site and trees were planted which screened off the park from Hyndland Road. In recent years, the area became overgrown and unused, except by the occasional dog-walker; a few youngsters kicking a ball against a wall and illicit drinkers taking advantage of the hidden aspect of the area.

Far from being an oasis of green space for the amenity of residents, it was a magnet for anti-social behaviour and many residents were fearful to walk through the area, especially in the evening.

As a spin-off of a city Council consultation exercise on the use of public parks in the city, there was a proposal to have the park given over to a boys’ club for football training.

Given the demographics of the area and the recent provision of facilities for football at other nearby venues a public consultation exercise was initiated, based on evidence gathered by pupils of Hyndland Secondary School.

A public meeting was held in September 2007 in the school at which the students produced their findings. Broadly, these indicated that further information-gathering was required to provide a resource for the wider community.

That meeting agreed to establish a steering group to progress the matter.

There was no direct involvement by any elected member or of any business interests in that steering group.

The steering group’s attention was drawn to the existence of “Friends” groups which were formally recognised by the City Council so long as they were properly constituted and representative of the local community.

It was very clear that this was the road to follow to secure the confidence of the Council and the community and to ensure that every action of the group was strictly controlled by a written constitution and that there was accountability to the community and, in particular, members of the Friends group. This membership was, and is, open to all at no cost so that no person is disenfranchised by reason of lack of funds.

The Friends group was formally established in March 2008 and a committee was elected at a public meeting which was widely advertised and where every person attending had an equal vote.

Residents of all ages were elected, as was a prominent local business person who was approached by the steering group, and young people from the local secondary schools. All of this was an attempt to give a balance to the committee to avoid having a group with a narrow focus of vested interests.

Most of the committee did not know the others before coming together as FOSP.

In the interests of transparency and openness of dealings, it was agreed immediately that all minutes of meetings would automatically be sent to the local elected members and to the relevant officers of the council. It was later agreed to send copies to the local community council.

In addition, it was agreed that elected members and officers would be invited to attend all meetings of the group as a matter of right.

The result is that all decisions of FOSP are open to scrutiny. No decisions are taken other than by the committee. Neither elected members nor council officers are involved in committee decision-making, although they have all been extremely helpful in providing information and advice to assist the committee. .

The committee very quickly concluded that the park should be an amenity for all sections of the community.

This would have multiple beneficial effects.

These include provision of a green breathing space for the largely tenement dwellers of the area; the fostering of a sense of community by having communal meeting spaces; the reduction in mutual fear and suspicion between the generations by mixing together in a non-threatening environment; the informal supervision provided by an open space well used by local residents of all ages.

One of the major resources identified as desirable by communities in the parks survey across the city was the provision of café/tearoom facilities.

A nearby example of this is the Botanic Gardens. That has not proved possible on cost grounds.

Most people will be familiar with the current position there- a somewhat vulgar burger and ice-cream van which can hardly be said to enhance the setting of the gardens.

FOSP similarly expressed a desire for a café/ tearoom facility which would help to meet many of the aspirations of community cohesion expressed above.

The Council is not in a position to provide and manage such a facility.

It is understood that the provision of such facilities, where they exist in the city’s parks and public buildings, are all or mainly arms-length or commercial operations.

Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that the overwhelming majority of local residents approve of the changes to the top part of the park which can now safely be used by all.

These changes were funded by a mixture of Council funds allocated under the Director of Land Services delegated powers and the RES3 (amenity funds) which are essentially owned by the local community to provide amenity space,

This latter money comes from property developers, not from council tax.

There was thus no decision required from elected members to allocate funds to this project.

Having said that, the local elected members allocated funds via the Area Committee for the provision of high quality bench seating for the benefit of the community on the upper level of the park. These can be seen today in situ

The Friends intend to raise funds for further development of the park from sources other than the hard-pressed council tax.

FOSP will seek to respond at all times to legitimate criticism or concerns.

It is hoped that the above gives a sufficient short history of FOSP.

Colin Cox,

FOSP Project Team Leader