Barnet Council is hosting a free celebration of its £6.2million regeneration of Silkstream, Colindale Park and Montrose Playing Fields – part of its wider investment programme for green spaces and leisure.
Fun day coming up to celebrate our new parks
The event, which takes place on Saturday 25 June, will include inflatables, music, food, sports demonstrations, competitions, giveaways and much more. It will run from 12noon-4pm across all three of the popular parks.
Councillor Alan Schneiderman, Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, said: “We can’t wait to welcome everyone to this fun-packed and exciting event. There will be something for everyone to enjoy – whether you’re bringing the family, coming with your friends, or just strolling through.
“We’re proud to have invested so much in these parks. They provide huge green recreational spaces for residents and visitors to enjoy in an urban part of the borough. These areas are also for wildlife, great play and sports areas for children and adults, lovely open spaces to walk through, and provide cleaner air for us all. Please do come and enjoy everything they have to offer.”
New facilities installed by the council in Montrose Playing Fields include two new tennis courts, a basketball court, skate park, outdoor gym, parkour area, playground, and tennis tables. There is also a recently opened Hub building that includes a café, changing rooms, public toilets and multi-use studio for children’s parties, mother-and-toddler groups and other events.
This comes on top of the £6.5million Unitas Barnet Youth Zone in Montrose – funded with £4.2million from the council, alongside contributions from OnSide Youth Zones and other generous donors.
New facilities in nearby Silkstream Park include a playground, bridges criss-crossing the Silk Stream Brook, a wetland area to help stop flooding, and a wildlife-spotting area crossing it.
What’s more, the council has funded safety measures for Montrose Avenue – which runs between the two parks – to slow down traffic. These include a new speed table and zebra crossing for pedestrians and cyclists.
Improvements to Colindale Park have helped create a thriving green lung in the centre of an urban environment that’s undergone huge regeneration in recent years. New facilities include a play area – with its own pretend volcano – as well as an outdoor gym, fixed chess tables, amphitheatre for events, fruit trees, wildlife areas, and more.
Works at the parks were funded primarily from developer contributions to infrastructure in the borough. Other contributions include £324,000 from the Mayor of London’s Green Capital grant, nearly £80,000 from the Environment Agency Water Environment Improvement Fund, and £113,000 from the London Marathon Trust.