I DON’T think for one minute it is ‘drug dealing’ or ‘drug use’ that has driven people out of Devonshire Park.

Yes, there is evidence of some from time to time, as there is in many places.

Our social lives have become more and more private for all sorts of reasons – we commute to work, rather than work locally; we work all hours; we communicate with each other in private ways, such as social media; children and young people are driven to school; we use cars for the smallest of journeys.

Devonshire Park is a beautiful example of a late Victorian social space, where people enjoyed a gentle parade on a Sunday, dressed in their best, to be seen and to see.

It is a park on a steep slope, so not suitable for sports, other than the levelled area alongside Cliffe Street. It is densely planted, so no vistas suitable for concerts. However, the bird life, the variety of trees and its calm naturalness can be enjoyed by all.

School children, dog walkers and those going about their lives use the park daily, and park wardens tell us the park is one of the most peaceful and least ‘dangerous’ in the area.

Friends of Devonshire Park arranged for a series of ten Lunchtime Tree Walks between September 2016 and February 2017, and these have been a great success, attracting at least 150 people during the nine walks to date.

The Friends have produced a tree identification and history of the park leaflet, available form the library or from us.

We are in the process of evaluating this project and thinking about what to do next to encourage people to love our park a little more, and to think about what they might like to see in the park in coming years.

We have a partner working on a story trail with children from Our Lady of Victories Primary School. If there is interest, we’ll put on a children’s tree walk with activities in summer. There is a children’s story leaflet to come.

What is needed is people to volunteer to encourage activities in the park.

We could work with Bradford Council parks department to plant bulbs, think about grafting or budding fruit trees, or grow edible herbs or plants following the example of Todmorden’s Incredible Edible and Saltiare’s Veg on the Edge projects. Perhaps, in the longer-term, we could work with the council to renew the children’s play area.

Please don’t wait for politicians to decide. Public parks came about because ordinary working people demanded green spaces when they first moved to mill towns and cities from rural areas. We need to work with our politicians to maintain our green spaces and make them relevant for the lives we lead today.

See Facebook, Friends of Devonshire Park, or e-mail devonshireparkkly@gmail.com.

KATE TOCH Friends of Devonshire Park