“On the 30th March 1984, when the Town Council completed the purchase of the major part of Bickerley Village Green, the purchase price of £17,500 was a lot of money,” said Councillor Brian Terry, Chairman of Ringwood Town Council’s Recreation, Leisure and Open Spaces Committee, “but here we are twenty five years on and on the 6th August 2009 celebrating exactly twenty five years of the designation of the Bickerley as a village green. We think the investment has proved its worth.
Over the years, particularly since the land has been owned by the Council, the Bickerley has been used for countless fairs, circuses and local Festival and Carnival activities, as well as being a very important green area right on the edge of the town centre.
Over the period since the Town Council’s acquisition of the land and its designation as a village green, enhancements have continued, particularly to give better access to the Castleman Trail and further improvements are planned for the end of this year at the western end of the village green to give disabled access to the Millstream, and much better views across the water meadows to the south.
We hope that Ringwood residents will continue to enjoy the village green for many, many years to come and it will continue to be regarded as a great asset to our town,” added Councillor Terry. |
