Telford Town Park improvements delayed by summer heatwave

Improvements planned for Telford Town Park have been delayed by up to six months following this summer’s heatwave - but volunteers behind them remain determined to get the work completed.

The Friends of Telford Town Park (FOTTP) have been working across the award-winning park, including plans to revamp the sensory garden, improvements around the Glade area, the North Bank, the Grange Pool and The Crannog, as well as hosting educational talks.

However, the extreme summer conditions made it difficult to carry out some of the planned work safely and effectively, meaning several projects may now not be completed until spring 2027.

Adrian Smith, chairman of FOTTP, said the delays were frustrating but the volunteers have still managed to complete some important work and it has not dampened their enthusiasm.

He said: “Of course it’s frustrating when you have plans and you have to put them on hold, but we’re not giving up. These are projects we’re really passionate about and we want to make sure we do them properly rather than rush them.

“The heat this summer has had a real impact on what we’ve been able to do, but we’ve still made progress - getting the path around Grange Pool back to its original width is a really positive step because it means wheelchair users can access it more easily.

“We’ve also had a bumper crop of vegetables from our polytunnel so we’ve been able to donate cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and more to the Sunshine Bakery in Madeley.

“The revamp of the sensory garden is also almost complete, a lot of work has gone into ensuring there are sounds, smells and colours there, getting the stream flowing again and bringing some of the park’s features back to life - we are now just working on the grass area.

“We’re working on replacing posts in the learning zone and will be pleased when we’re finally able to host educational talks there, as well as able to ensure the Grange area is rewilded for insects and the North Bank is suitable for lizards, with water flowing in the stream, there is a lot to look forward to.

“We’re also very conscious that this is a community park, so we welcome any new volunteers to help us complete this work to our revised target and we’d love to hear what people think about the fish sculpture in the Maxell gardens - should we restore what’s there or give it a new lease of life with some paint?”

The friends had planned to paint the fish sculpture but will soon ask the public if they would prefer for the metal there to be fixed.

A project to repair the much-loved mosaic wall was also hit by delays as the existing tiles were so fragile that they were literally falling off in their hands as work began. So the group is now considering the best way forward.

The friends say they continued to work behind the scenes wherever possible throughout the heatwaves, preparing for the next stages of the projects, so they are now ready to hit the ground running again and their ambition for Telford Town Park remains as strong as ever.

The volunteers have recently completed a project to reopen the dipping pools at the Withy Pool in the Town Park and created a forest school area by the Grange Pool, as well as replaced the Crannog bridge.

The group is also investigating ways to raise money to replace the wooden walkway in the Japanese Garden in the Maxell Gardens and has almost completed a revamp of the sensory garden in the Chelsea Gardens.

There are 25 members of FOTTP, and gardening sessions are held each week on a Wednesday morning and once a month on a Saturday morning.