Palmer Park chalk mines deemed stable so more park events to follow #rdg

Those with good memories will remember that I blogged a while ago about testing in Palmer Park, east Reading, to ascertain if work to stabilise old chalk mines had been successful. I followed this up recently and was delighted to hear that the problematic mines have been secured meaning we have the go-ahead for funfairs, car boot sales etc on the park again.

See below for the full response from the Parks team:

"Thank you for the below enquiry regarding the testing of ground at Palmer Park and the outcome of this.

I am pleased to advise that the testing returned positive results in terms of stability, with no significant underground voids detected.
 
It is our intention to now look to re-introduce to this area of the park a programme of annual event activity.

Our aim is to encourage a diverse range of recreational / leisure activities that meet the demands and expectations of local residents. We have for many years, following the discovery of the chalk mines and the ceasing of event activity on site, received calls from members of the public asking when events such as Fun Fair’s, Circus’s and Car Boot sales would return. Until now we have only been able to advise residents of other parks and areas of the town where these services can be accessed and unfortunately these have been some distance from Palmer Park / the east of Reading.
 
The area of the park tested was as the attached plan and this was carefully selected to ensure minimal disturbance to residents as a result of any future event activity.  The area is in the centre of the park backing on to the rail tracks and is visually screened from all surrounding residential properties in St. Bartholomew’s Road, Palmer Park Avenue, London Road & Wokingham Road.
 
Significant interest has been received from potential event partners and the opportunities provided by the site are extremely exciting.  The encouraging of commercial events activity within the park will also generate much needed income for the local authority and will assist in meeting budget savings targets.
 
We will ensure that ward councillors are fully appraised of all proposals as they take shape."