Local riverside residents are organising a walk on Frenchwood Recreation Ground on Sunday 10th September beginning at 2.00 p.m.
We will meet at the Avenham Park end of the Old Tram Bridge and from there we will be walking alongside the River edge of Frenchwood Rec first before exploring the upper part.
We had hoped to have a picnic but the unreliable weather has persuaded us otherwise!!
The ramble is an opportunity for residents to enjoy another one of our green spaces which is under potential threat from the Riverworks “Vision”.
The Riverworks proposals for this area includes a scheme to build housing on Frenchwood Rec. This would be close to the Central Park Building Development which is proposed for the largest section of our green belt opposite Avenham-Miller Parks. The Riverworks Riverside East proposals includes a scheme to concrete the river banks from the Frenchwood area through to Lower Brockholes for boat moorings, to be used for the proposed water sports park which would be created by barraging the Ribble.
Frenchwood Rec, just to the right of Avenham & Miller Parks, has a blocked out section earmarked for housing on the Riverworks documents, as shown here on the Taylor Young/Preston City Council Masterplan.
Whilst this is not as huge a development as the so-called "Central Park" building development proposed for the Penwortham side, it's another chunk of our green space gone forever, a green space which currently provides a beautiful, tranquil spot for residents to enjoy on the Preston side of the river.
Concreting the river bank and building on green belt and flood plain will destroy valuable wildlife habitats and damage the integrity of this vital river valley ecosystem. It will also diminish our green spaces and our access to “space to breathe”, and be detrimental to our quality of life.
You can read more on our post Threat to Frenchwood Recreation Ground.
So come and show your appreciation for this area and join us for a Ramble on the Rec on Sunday 10th at 2pm. Bring your family and friends!