THIS week at the council we received the news that our heritage lottery fund bid to refurbish Riversley Park has unfortunately been unsuccessful. The bid, which the council were led to believe by the funders had a strong possibility of success, fell at the final hurdle. The bid we put forward included a whole new masterplan for the park which was approved by the council after a very positive public consultation. The plan would have seen the park restored very much to its origins and put a strong emphasis on the use of the River Anker, which personally I don’t think we have made as much of as we should have over recent years. It was actually good to see that our play rangers have been able to introduce children to canoeing and rafting activities on the river during the Easter break and I hope we see the river become a more prominent feature in years to come. The bid means that the groundwork has been done for us to apply for other outside funding to make the park masterplan a reality. However, there are pressing issues affecting the park that have been held up because of the current bid, none more so than the children’s playground. The current playground is tired and certainly not befitting of one of the two premier parks in the borough. It is also sited in a questionable position for the times in which we live. As a council we now intend to focus on the play area and bring it up to a decent standard in such a way that our children can go along and use the play facilities in a more pleasant environment. I certainly hope that we can progress this as soon as possible. Finally, I would like to mention a very special event taking place on Friday, May 1. At approximately 3.30pm, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will be marching through Nuneaton town centre. I will be there and hope that as many people as possible turn out to welcome these courageous men and women to our borough. | 
