About the Friends

History of the Friends of Shrewsbury Park

The group was formed on 13th March 2006 at a meeting held in Shrewsbury House.  A Management Committee was elected at that meeting, and we have since met regularly to discuss the issues concerning the Park.

Management Committee

The Management Committee consists of:

  • Kris Inglis (Chair)
  • Sandra Bauer (Treasurer)
  • Iris White (Membership Secretary)
  • Zena Marshall, Ron Senkus, John Rastall, Alan Deacon and Roy Williams

Our first meeting

The first meeting of the Friends of Shrewsbury Park (FSP) took place on 13th March 2006, when the Management Committee were elected, and the following issues were identified:

  • Security (stopping vehicle access)
  • Rubbish (need for more bins)

The Committee drew up an Action Plan to deal with these issues, and discussed ways of improving the Park. The Committee meet at each other’s houses during the year and keep people informed at Public meetings

Achievements

Since 2008 the Friends of Shrewsbury Park have:

  • Obtained funding from Veolia Trust to improve security to Dothill/Garland Road entrance (we installed a kissing gate to stop motorcycles access) and install drainage along part of pathway
  • Built and put up 6 bat boxes
  • Built and put up 13 bird boxes
  • With the help of Interfaith, we reinstated the path through the former Nature Reserve (thank you to all who helped)
  • Met with the Council Parks Department and local Councillors and got six new benches – ongoing
  • Obtained four new rubbish bins – ongoing
  • Had aggregate laid on Dothill to make the path easier
  • Organised an annual Summer Festival since 2008
  • Organised regular clean-up days
  • Held public meetings
  • Have actively recruited more than 400 members (have stalls at other events)
  • Produced regular newsletters – now using other media
  • Dug a soakaway in Dothill to stop the large puddle that was causing access problems
  • Planted native bulbs supplied by Parks Dept, RBG
  • Liased with RBG to get fencing renewed, including a gate, to provide access from the Clothworkers Estate 2016
  • Fundraised and obtained grants for a drinking water fountain installed near car park entrance 2017
  • Worked with 10th Royal Eltham Scouts to plant a hedgerow and bulbs along the railings across from Dallin Road 2018
  • Helped Beaver and Cub Scouts to get permission from Parks Dept to use an outdoor space for some of their activities 2019
  • Supported annual Yogathon for Greenpeace 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Fundraised to install a picnic table on a natural base on the edge of top field 2019

Membership

We now have over 400 members. The geographical spread of our membership indicates local interest and support as well as the bond felt by past residents, especially those who loved the park as children.  The majority give postal addresses in SE18, coming from Shooters Hill and Plumstead.

Not all members live in the local area, however, or even in London. Our membership’s geographical range has an impressive span from Australia to New York City. (See June Clark’s article “More than a Park” in newsletter no 3.) Modern technology has helped make this possible: over 350 members have given their email addresses, saving us much expense and time. If you have an email address and haven’t told us OR haven’t received members’ email since March, please let us know on werfsp@gmail.com).

We want our membership to grow, and we invite you to join us. Subscriptions are now free and open to everyone who appreciates and wants to preserve the wonderful treasure and beauty and peace that is Shrewsbury Park.

Friends of Shrewsbury Park Constitution

You can download a copy of the Friends’ constitution here (Word document, 35kb).

Privacy Policy – new

This policy describes how and why Friends of Shrewsbury Park uses your personal information, how we protect your privacy when doing so, and your rights and choices regarding this information. We promise to respect any of your personal information which is under our control and to keep it safe. We aim to be clear when we collect your information about what we will do with it.

We are a small voluntary group with relationships with hundreds of local supporters and volunteers who care about Shrewsbury Park. Our use of personal information allows us to make better decisions, fundraise more efficiently and, ultimately, helps us to reach our goal of increasing the number of people using the park and putting on great events to celebrate it.

This policy is effective from 25 May 2018.

How we collect information about you
We can sign you up at a park event by asking you to complete a short registration form, or you can sign up securely on our website.

What personal information we collect
We ask for minimal details – usually a name, email address and home address so that we can let you know about our events. This is not classifed as sensitive data under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations).

How we use your information
We will typically use the information you give us to tell you about what is going on in the park, and reporting back on what the management committee are doing.

How we keep your information safe
We do not store lists on personal computers and use secure email client software which is carefully passworded to avoid hackers.

Want to stop hearing from us?
You can unsubscribe from the mailing list using a link we add to the bottom of most of our emails, or you can contact us at werfsp@gmail.com with the heading ‘unsubscribe’.

Sharing your information with other organisations
We do not share your information with other organisations.

Formed in 2006, the Friends of Shrewsbury Park encourage the use of Shrewsbury Park and support the development of facilities for recreation, education and amenities for local people and to encourage a sense of community around the park.