KING GEORGE V PARK
King George V Park, Crocketford
Crocketford Community Initiative is responsible, on behalf of the village, for the insurance and maintenance of the park. The King George’s Fields Foundation was set up in 1936 as a memorial to King George V. Crocketford was very fortunate to be one of the communities granted this facility which belongs to the people of Crocketford.
The field, which became the George V Park, was sold to the village trustees in November 1940 for £100. This transaction meant they were given a grant by the King George’s Field Foundation once the field had been made into a playing field and recreation ground for the use of the inhabitants of Crocketford and the surrounding district. The size of the park is 4 acres and twenty seven poles. The stone walls surrounding the park are the responsibility of the various landowners surrounding the park except for the walls on either side of the gate at the entrance to the park.
The park is well used and is a good resource for the village. In recent years, a number of improvements have been made. More trees have been planted in the park. There are trees around the perimeter and C.C.I. was given a donation of £250 from the owners of Brooklands to purchase fruit trees and these trees are doing well. The Woodland Trust also gave us a mixture of trees to plant in the park including Silver Birch, Cherry and Rowan. The ones that have thrived are doing reasonably well. The ground at the top of the park is full of stones which makes it difficult for the roots to spread. Daffodil bulbs have also been planted round the park.
DGHP (Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership) gave C.C.I. a grant of £1000 to improve the environment for the benefit of the people in the village. A recycled picnic table was purchased and is in the park near the play equipment. Planters were also purchased and are in a plot near a group of houses.
A small estate of new houses is currently being built in the village (Ottersburn). Since there wasn’t a suitable site for a play area, the Company gave the community, through the Council, £65,000 to buy play equipment to add to the swings and climbing frame that were already in the park. After consultation with C.C.I., new equipment was purchased and installed in the park. The equipment is suitable for a wide age range and there are now 11 pieces of equipment and people come from all round the area to use the park.
In December 2016, an application was submitted to Tesco Bags of Help to fund improvements to the park. This resulted in a grant from Groundwork for £1000. This money was used to buy two new recycled benches, two heavy duty strimmers and a wooden bench from the Scottish Wildlife Trust. Two old benches were given a new lease of life thanks to the money and the hard work of a member of the village.
The park is regularly maintained by C.C.I. Trevor the tractor, driven by a member of C.C.I., maintains the grass while Council workers maintain the play area. The park is used by a lot of dog owners. They come to exercise their dogs and are very welcome as long as they are responsible owners and clean up after their dogs.
C.C.I. work hard to ensure the village park is a good resource for the village.
