East Town Park wins prestigious Green Flag - Press release 1 August, 2008
The 30-acre East Town Park at Haverhill has been judged one of the best in the country. The park, managed by St Edmundsbury Borough Council, has won its first Green Flag, awarded by the Civic Trust.
Picnic area
Work to extend the picnic area in East Town Park was carried out in early spring 2007 by rangers and conservation volunteers, as a response to a customer survey. Three new tables were installed, bringing the total to seven, and includes one designed with space for wheelchair users. The good sized trees put in will provide shade, and the remainder of the area was landscaped with shrubs and climbers on the post and rail fencing.
Being bowl-shaped the centre of the picnic area provides a good viewpoint, and is also used for outdoor performances each year by various outdoor touring theatre companies. In 2008 we will be hosting 'Peter Pan' and 'The Sword in the Stone' in partnership with the Haverhill Town council.
Wasp spider
On Wednesday 20 September 2006, St Edmundsbury Borough Council's Biodiversity Strategy was given a boost when rangers discovered a Wasp Spider in East Town Park.
This stunning and quite large spider is a Mediterranean species that, until recently, was restricted to the south coast and only appeared in Suffolk in 2001. This individual is the first record for West Suffolk.
Together with the spider we have found two egg cocoons from which the young spiders hatch out next spring, if indeed the cocoon survives over the winter. This spider, although looking quite frightening, is harmless to humans as its main diet is grass hoppers. Finding this species here may be an indicator of global warming!
