There was a meeting at Magpie Lodge in the park in January, to share some updates about the work planned to improve Forest Lane Park. I wanted to share some of that here.

As set out in a previous post, Newham Council has been awarded National Lottery Heritage Funding to improve the park, and in particular to reinstate a statue in memory of Lucel Tate. Currently we are working with an organisation called Arkwood to run community engagement, to develop plans, and this will lead on to the next stage of applying for the funding to make the improvements.

If you are interested in the park, I would strongly suggest you visit the project page on Newham Co Create. (Newham Co Create is a site for tonnes of consultation and participation, and there is a page at the top ‘projects’ where you can read through all manner of different things going on that you could take part in.)

https://newhamco-create.co.uk/en/projects/forest-lane-park

The event in the Lodge in January was a summary of the engagement work done so far, with tours of the park available too.

Forest Lane Park is a really special place, with (as the project web page says), a unique social history.  It has transitioned from a field enclosed by hedges that was used for agriculture, to an Industrial School for orphans and abandoned children, to a hospital and then maternity hospital, to the park you see today. The Forest Lane Park Restoration Project aims to celebrate this history, restore much of the original landscape, enhance accessibility and biodiversity, and introduce new elements designed by the community. Central to the project is honouring the work of local activist Lucel Tate, who worked in the maternity hospital in the 1970s.’

I am often struck by how little known the park is. I periodically meet people who live relatively close but are not necessarily aware of the park, particularly of the green space at the back. (I have to admit I used the playground on Forest Lane very regularly when my children were small without necessarily knowing about the ponds or the grassed area.) As well as it’s history, it is a special place for biodiversity, and I am really pleased to think of improvements being made that will celebrate what we love about the park, make it more accessible, as well as celebrating and recognising its history.

The pictures here are ones I took on my phone, but the plans and work thus far are all summarised in a PDF document that is available on the Newham Co Create link above. I have also put a copy here:

Do sign up on the Co Create website to stay informed about the project, or email Arkwood on ForestLanePark@arkwoodltd.co.uk or, as ever, drop Liz and me a line.