New ranger for Fleetwood waterfront

9:50pm Thursday 24th July 2008

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The transformation of Fleetwood's waterfront is moving on apace with the appointment of a Waterfront Ranger.

Keith Urwin's main role will be to involve local people in creating a scenic and well-used community park on land adjacent to Fleetwood Leisure Centre and Marine Gardens, as well as improvements to sand dune paths, picnic areas, conservation projects and maintenance along the seafront as far as Cleveleys.

Phase One of the scheme, which introduced a new bowling green area and structured pathways, was completed earlier this year by Wyre Borough Council, with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund.

Now a round of soft landscaping is starting in earnest followed by new children's play facilities, designs for which will be on show during a family fun day at Marine Hall on August 9.

The ultimate aim is to give the neighbourhood recreational facilities they can contribute to and take pride in.

It's a challenge that Keith is keen to get stuck into. He said: "Wildflowers were sown in a number of places, but weeds have started to take hold and we want people to know that what they see now is not the finished project.

“There's still a lot of planting to be done, as we're looking to put in mix of annual and perennial plants as well as trees and shrubs to make the park look as good as possible.

"We're also trying to encourage local groups to volunteer to help us bring everything up to scratch, not just with litter picking and weeding, but also tasks such as putting in new benches. We want them to be able to stand back and say 'I did that' .

"I will be speaking to people in the community such as schools, scout groups and Sure Start about how they can help us move some of the major improvements forward and the response has been positive.”

Keith is a self-employed landscape gardener who had been volunteering for Wyre's Countryside Ranger service since last September.

He hopes his appointment as Waterfront Ranger will show people that there is value in volunteering and that it can lead to permanent work "It shows prospective employers that you can be trusted to turn up on time and do a good job,” said Keith.

Anyone interested in becoming involved with the project should call 01253 863100 or contact Keith on 07980 705963.