Community & Business
14 April, 2022
Bethnal Green Park looking good
Bethnal Green Park in the south eastern sector of Clifton is looking good after the recent rain and the growth of trees planted within the last decade.
The park, at the corner of Cemetery Road and Victoria Street, was pretty much a paddock ten years ago, but it took a step forward a few years later when a community working bee resulted in a number of trees and shrubs being planted on the site.
The working bee took place on National Tree Day in July, 2017, when local staff from Toowoomba Regional Council were on hand to assist the many volunteers who rolled up.
Unfortunately not all of the plantings survived as a serious dry spell leading into the full-on drought took its toll.
However, Toowoomba Regional Council parks and gardens staff have planted new trees and shrubs at the site over time and right now, the area looks more like a parkland.
The Council created a Master Plan for the Bethnal Green Park in 2012 however it is expected to be several decades before it is fully implemented.
The Plan includes such things as pedestrian path-ways, a reflective garden, a children’s playground, barbecues, picnic shelters and toilets along with a large open space area which could be used for future sporting activity.
Council has considered the dog off-leash area in Clifton being relocated
from Clifton Recreation Reserve to Bethnal Green, however this would require additional funding that has not been set aside in current plans.
In recent years, the Regional Council has also sought community feedback on the proposal through informal street meetings and via the Clifton and Districts Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In each case the ideas submitted have been noted and some may be incorporated into the park design.
Currently, the park is used by locals for exercise and for walking their dogs.
The ten-acre site was granted to the former Clifton Shire Council by Mr Arthur Barlow on the understanding that it would be developed as a community park.
