2004/5

2005/6

2006/7

2007/8

2008/9

Coronation Bench Update - 21 September 2008

We'd just like to say a quick thank you to Wayne Chaisty, who returned to the park on Friday 19 September to carry out repairs to the bench. Unfortunately it was  vandalised earlier this year and five leaves wrenched from the backrest of the bench. It must have taken quite an effort and why anyone would want to do this is a mystery. We'd also like to thank Marple Library, who came to our aid with materials to make some 'wet paint' signs and the people who stood guard to prevent students sitting on the bench while we went and got them!

Wayne is shown in the photo opposite replacing some of the missing leaves.

Apart from the vandalism the bench is wearing well but we will need to give it a rub down and a fresh coat of paint in the spring. If you'd like to be involved in this and other tasks to improve our park then please join the Friends' Task Days on the last Saturday of each month.

Coronation Bench Update - 15 October 2006

The Coronation Bench project is finally completed! The monitoring report has been sent to Stockport Council's Community Services section, who awarded the grant of £500 almost exactly 12 months ago, and has been acknowledged by them. Today the commemorative plaques explaining why the bench is there, and that it was made by Wayne Chaisty of Ironwood for Friends of Marple Memorial Park, have been fitted. Here are some shots of the new plaques before they were installed:

By coincidence, this postcard of Marple Park won on e-Bay recently appears to show the Coronation Tree as a young sapling, soon after it was planted.

Coronation Bench Update - 27 August 2006

The bench was installed by Wayne Chaisty and his colleague Steve today, and what a fantastic job they did. The bench looks absolutely superb and we only hope that the vandals leave it alone. As well as Wayne and Steve we were helped with the humping and shifting by Park Manager Adrian Ellis and his colleague from Parks and Recreation Dave Forber. All we need to do now is get the plaques made and the job is complete. It is almost exactly 12 months since we had this idea and started out with the on-line consultation, which helped us show that the community supported our grant application. So we'd just like to say thank you again to everyone who has supported this idea and helped us turn it into reality. Here are some picture taken during and after the installation.

Wayne is exhibiting some of his work in London during September and we wish him good luck with that and cannot recommend him highly enough, we are delighted with the job he has done for us.

Coronation Bench Update - 11 July 2006

For anyone wondering how things have been progressing with the Coronation Bench project, the answer is very well! Fabrication of the bench by Wayne Chaisty of Ironwood, on Stockport Road, is complete and following a trial fitting a few weeks ago we have now installed the foundations around the tree. The bench has now gone for painting - it turned out too big for Wayne's spray booth - and will hopefully be in place within the next few weeks. In the meantime, the photograph below will give you an idea how it's going to look, as Adrian Ellis, Park Manager (right), and Mark Whittaker of the Friends of Memorial Park pose with one half of the bench in situ.

Friends of Marple Memorial Park - Coronation Bench Consultation Results

In August 2005 we set up an on-line consultation to establish the level of support for the Friends' proposal to place a circular bench around the 'Coronation Tree' in Marple Memorial Park. This idea had developed after it came to the attention of the Friends Group that the oak tree next to the main path running through the park, and adjacent to the bowling green, was planted as part of the Queen's Coronation celebrations in 1953. It was ceremoniously planted by Councillor M. S. Arnfield JP (chairman of the Council) during a day-long pageant on Saturday 6th June, following the Coronation itself on Tuesday 2nd. A plaque was erected recording the event but at some point during the intervening years this has been lost.

The Coronation Tree

Introduction:
The Friends of Marple Memorial Park have carried out a consultation in order to ascertain the local public support for their proposals to install a specially designed, one-off, circular bench around the Coronation Tree in Marple Memorial Park.

The consultation took place in Marple and on the Friends' web site between Saturday 20th August and Friday 26th August 2005. A combined total of 48 replies were received during this period from both sources.

The Friends were told that Wendy Griffiths of Marple Library would not allow their bench consultation document on the counter at the library because they are applying for a grant from the council and it therefore "cuts across departments". This policy significantly restricted the opportunity to consult with the public. 

A copy of the on-line consultation questionnaire is enclosed. This was used to present the proposals on the web site and includes the questions asked of visitors. The manual form contained the same questions and a reduced explanation of the proposals. All copies received from both sources are enclosed with this application.

An analysis of the completed forms has been carried out and a table of the results with pie-chart graphs is also enclosed.

Analysis of the results:
A total of 48 people responded, 31.3% manually and 68.7% on-line.

91.7% of those who responded live within the Stockport area and 81.3% within Marple itself. The remaining 8.3% live outside of Stockport but have still shown an interest in the park. One of the people from outside Stockport - a great great grandson of John Carver, who gave the land for the park to the people of Marple - has responded positively to the questionnaire and also made a donation to the Friends Group.

91.7% of those who responded thought it was important or very important that it should be explained that the tree had been planted in 1953 to commemorate the Queen's Coronation. 6.3% thought that this wasn't important; however, all of those who responded in this way thought the bench was a good or a very good idea and supported the Friends making an application to the Council to pay for it. 2.1% (one person) didn't give a clear answer to this question.

79.2% thought that the bench was a very good idea and 18.8% a good idea, making an overwhelming 97.9% of people responding positively to this question. 2.1% (one person) did not think it was such a good idea because they thought a wooden bench would be more environmentally friendly than a metal one but they nevertheless supported the group applying for a Green Space Grant to pay for it.

None of the people who responded were negative in their supportive of the group applying for a grant, with 18.8% supportive and 81.2% very supportive.

In addition to the multiple-choice questions, the people who took part in the consultation were given the opportunity to make additional comments. The majority of comments were completely supportive of the Friends' proposals, although several were concerned about vandalism or graffiti. A couple would prefer the bench to be made of wood, although at least an equal number expressed positive thoughts about the proposal to use metal.

All completed questionnaires and comments received are included with this application.

Other points worthy of note are that two of the people who took part in the consultation are local councillors, who were both supportive. The Mayor of Stockport has also responded by e-mail and, although she has some concerns about litter, is also supportive of the proposals. A copy of this e-mail is included with the completed questionnaires.

Conclusion:
The Friends feel that nearly 50 replies to their consultation questionnaire in a one-week period is an exception response. It is particularly good in view of the fact they were denied the use of Marple Library as a venue to carry out the consultation.

With over 90% of the people who responded believing that it should be made clear why the tree is there; nearly 98% thinking that the special bench is a good idea; and 100% expressing support for the Friends applying for a Greenspace Development Grant to pay for it, the Friends consider that the consultation has demonstrated overwhelming support for their proposal to place a specially designed bench around the Coronation Tree in Marple Memorial Park.