Video: Councillor Peter Barnes said people are worried but nothing is certain yet
If new proposals for boundary changes go ahead, Gedling may be disappearing as a voting constituency with current MP Vernon Coaker potentially losing his seat in Parliament.
Councillor Peter Barnes (Lab) is the portfolio holder for Environment at Gedling Borough Council. He wanted to reassure people that Gedling would only be ‘vanishing’ from an electoral point of view and that the council would remain in place to continue its work in the ward.
the vision is to make it the best park in the East Midlands
He said: “The constituency boundaries will be different, they are only changing the political boundary in Gedling borough but Gedling Borough Council will stay and it is just the electoral situation that may change. There is still a lot of mileage in that at the moment.”
In more positive news for Gedling, residents of the area are being urged to vote for Gedling Country Park to be named one of the top ten green spaces in the country.
Councillor Barnes said: “I think the vision is to make it the best park in the East Midlands but that’s probably stretching it a little bit. We want very very high standards and the best facilities for the people in Gedling and the surrounding visitors.
“It’s important for the youngsters and the older people who want to get some exercise. You can jog round, you can walk round, you can do various activities around the park and it keeps the people of Gedling Borough fit and healthy.”
There are a number of amenities set to appear at the park in the near future, including a place for visitors to stop and have a bite to eat.
“At this point in time, we’ve just got planning permission for a 6-seater restaurant with all the facilities with that you would expect,” added Councillor Barnes.
“We’ve got a children’s play area on the way which should be done later on this year.”
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the pit closing and work is currently being done to try and get all the miners that are still alive to come and take some interest in the park.
Councillor Barnes said: “We want to do as much as we possibly can to remember the miners who worked on this site because we think they’ve done a tremendous job and I’m sure they would be more than pleased to see what we’ve got at the country park at this time.”
