The Friends of West Hunsbury Parks was formed as a group in 2009. At that time the Country Park in particular was blighted by anti social behaviour, and a week did not pass without a burnt out car appearing  within it. It was full of litter, looked very neglected and consequently had a reputation which did not encourage people to visit. In the following ten years the Friends have worked with the Borough Council and other outside organisations to turn it into a Park which is now well used by people from all areas of Northampton. We are looking to recruit another two members to help us in our work.

Our Parks are not premier town centre parks, which means that like many of the parks on the outskirts of the town the limited funding available for parks and open spaces does not always reach us. This means that one of our primary functions is to find funding to improve the visitor experience, and highlight the important archaeological and historical history of the Country Park, and the bio-diversity to be found in both our Parks. All our projects are carried out with the permission of Northampton Borough Council. We carry out practical work within the Parks in liaison with idverde who are the park management contractor. Together with them we are developing our relationship with the local Primary School so that local children become involved with life within the Park, and learn to respect the environment and wildlife within it. We also act as a liaison point between park users and the Borough and Parish Councils.

We now have an excellent café in the Country Park which draws more people into the Park, and has become very much part of the local community thanks to Colin and his staff.

It is important that the Friends group continues to work with the Borough Council and the Parish Council to maintain and develop our beautiful Parks. We are looking for two people to join the group which is made up of up to eight members. We have a constitution, and meet once a month at Parsons Mead Community Hub. These are chaired meetings but are very relaxed with plenty of laughter, tea and biscuits, but important decisions are made!

If you enjoy visiting the Parks and want to be involved in preserving and developing them for the community, please contact us. At the moment we meet in the afternoon, but it would be good to have some young blood, and we could adapt meeting times accordingly if necessary. If you are interested in joining us, please contact us via our website, our Facebook page, or directly to mavis.wilmshurst@gmail.com. to arrange a meeting with us. This will give us the opportunity to tell you exactly what we have achieved and our future plans. It will also give you the chance to tell us what you think you can offer the group.

We are so lucky to have two beautiful Parks in West Hunsbury. Come and help us retain them for future generations!