I WOULD like to reply to three articles which were contained within the edition of the Citizen dated April 22, 1999.

I would firstly reply to JT of Lancaster. Within his letter he complains of the lack of maintenance to horticultural features. Can I fully agree with this point. Williamson Park used to have a three yearly schedule for pruning. This was lapsed after the start of the Lottery Grant application as we were aware that we needed to have a land management plan and for this reason we did not complete the normal pruning process.

We have received the land management plan and major works have been completed in the plan and we will be bringing these features back to their former glory. I wholly accept the criticism that the pruning will not be completed for a number of years but this is purely because the cycle has been disrupted.

May I secondly reply to the letter from Public Servant. All letters to the editor have been sent on Williamson Park headed paper which gives details of all of the board members and the officer involved, Charles Wilson. I was unaware that this was not general knowledge. The membership will probably change after the election and I will be happy to answer any questions in the near future. The tender for the restoration of the temple and for disabled access to the memorial was let as one package as we felt it was better value to join the two projects together. Both of these tenders required major architectural work and this was one of the most difficult tenders to be completed.

Within the final paragraph he asks why they were not put out to local businesses. It is Williamson Park's job to manage the project. We are a company dedicated to looking after the park and we cannot see that the work would have been done better and the tender process aims to get the best price. In reply to Black Sheep who questions me on the re-roofing of the pavilion cafe, may I remind him that the re-roofing of the pavilion cafe was part of the city council's contribution to the Millennium Bid. The reason we decided to re-roof the cafe was because it was in a poor and dangerous state. This meant the automatic tendering process did not automatically apply but the work went out to tender for the re-instalment of the woodwork and of the glass. In saying that I can assure you that the work was done within Lancaster city council's own procedures.

Cllr John Fearnley,

Board Chairman,

Williamsons Park.

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