Cllr Chris Bartlett was at the last development in Iris Brickfield Park on 4th Dec 2012 with the official opening of the boardwalk which had been supported by the City Council and the local Labour councillors in South Heaton. Over the past few years the Friends of Iris Brickfield have put a great deal of their time into the park to develop it into the nicer, safer and more interesting space that it is today. Without the dedicated time of volunteers and the support from organisations such as Groundworks the park space would not now have better children’s play equipment, an orchard and the return of a wide variety of wildlife. Labour councillors have supported the group which has encouraged better use of the space by local residents.
The new boardwalk gives access to the pond area where newts and fish can now be found. Other projects have included bat boxes and the planting of an elm tree as part of a national project to try and bring the tree species back into the UK, following the loss of the elms to disease in the 1970s.
Cllr Chris Bartlett said “It was a pleasure to be able to officially open the boardwalk and see the new elm tree planted. Many people have dedicated their time to work on the various projects and I hope many new ideas will come forward in the months to come”.