Western Park, Leicester

β Western Park is a park and surrounding suburb located in West End of Leicester. It is also a ward of the City of Leicester whose population at the 2011 census was 10,609.[1]

The park itself was bought for £30,000 in 1897 and at 178 acres (0.72 km2)[2] is the biggest in Leicester.[3] While the park has a "blend of meadows, mature woods and hedgerows"[4] the park also contains a large number of sporting facilities including a bmx track, a skate ramp, a baseball field, 2 Bowling greens, 5 Football pitches, 6 Cricket pitches (all with associated changing facilities) and 6 Tennis courts.[5] Until the 1950s the Park's tennis courts, then located to the far west of the Park, were the home of Westcotes Church Tennis Club and then Westfields Lawn Tennis Club.[6] The club later moved to a site on the nearby Eastfield Road; the courts on Western Park are now open to the public.

Since 2008, the full-sized baseball field at the southwest end of park has been home to the Leicester Blue Sox Baseball Club. The Blue Sox have been British Baseball Federation national baseball champions in 2009 and 2012. The club has adult and youth teams and is open to players of all ages and abilities.

The former park warden's lodge is home to the environmental charity Groundworks Leicester & Leicestershire,[7] formerly known as Environ. This building is now called the "Eco House" after being converted as a show house, used to demonstrate ways of making homes more environmentally friendly. It is open to the public and holds one-off events as well as receiving visits from local schools.[8] The Eco House and the neighbouring recycling centre are parts of the larger Groundwork UK network.[9]

A voluntary group, The Friends of Western Park, works with the city council to "improve the park for everyone".[10][11]

The area of Leicester sharing the park's name is a generally affluent area to the South and East of the park. The suburb also contains Dovelands Primary School which caters for 550 3–11-year olds, including nursery school children.[12] St. Anne's Parish Church,[13] and the aforementioned Westfields Tennis Club. The club has four floodlit courts and caters to both children and adults from the local area and beyond.[14]

Council Election result, 2011

[15]
Western Park (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Susan Barton 1,295
Labour George Coles 1,214
Liberal Democrat Peter Coley 973
Conservative James Smyth 753
Liberal Democrat Stuart Emmerson 627
Conservative Jacob Wilkinson 616
Green Alexander Scott 350
UKIP Carol Young 129
UKIP Kevin Young 93
Liberal Sarah Euston 76
Turnout 3,338
Labour gain from {{{loser}}} Swing
Labour gain from {{{loser}}} Swing

Council Election result, 2007

[16]
Western Park (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Democrat Roger Blackmore 1,297 24%
Liberal Democrat Peter Coley 1,198 22%
Labour Neil Clayon 609 11%
Labour Peter Mason 600 11%
Conservative Frances Ashlin 544 10%
Conservative Julian John 515 9%
Green Christopher Seal 358 7%
Green Brian Fewster 353 6%
Turnout 2,871
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Liberal Democrat hold Swing

Council By Election result, 1992

[17]
Western Park (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Democrat Peter Coley 1,011 38.2% +22.2
Conservative David Dalby 859 32.5% -9.6
Labour Paul Bodell 731 27.6% -10.8%
Green Geoff Forse 46 1.7% -1.7
Majority 152 5.7%
Turnout 2648 31.2%
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative Swing +15.9

Council Election result, 1983

[18]
Western Park (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Stewart Hill 2,179
Conservative Sydney Phipps 2,152
Labour David Collins 1,328
Labour Eric Taylor 1,220
Social Democratic Phillip Meadhurst 479
Social Democratic Lisa Brown 493
Green Christopher Seal 358
Turnout 4,090 44.6%
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

References

Coordinates: 52°38′06″N 1°10′34″W / 52.635°N 1.176°W / 52.635; -1.176

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