Northampton Borough Council transferred Blacky More open space, Penvale Park, and Grangewood Park, to East Hunsbury Parish Council in March 2021.

As part of the transfer arrangement it was agreed that idVerde would continue to maintain the parks and open spaces under the contract in place with NBC (later West Northamptonshire Council).

The parish council are commissioning works where required, and have already put in place a schedule for risk assessing and surveying trees and play equipment in the parks.

Natural Flood Mitigation

We are sure that many residents have noticed the works underway in Penvale Park. These works began in January 2024 to create natural flood mitigation measures which will help with the risk of surface water flooding. They are part of a package of measures designed to build resilience against flooding in our parish.

The works carried out so far, include the creation of an earth bund to aid with water storage, and some reprofiling which will direct water into the brook. The path has been slightly moved and raised creating a dry and firm surface to walk on.

The nature of the works means that the park is now very muddy but come spring we will be able to grass seed the reprofiled area so that it can be walked, played, and sat on!

Further works to come

As we get into Spring, further works will be carried out to dig out the brook , and leaky dams will be constructed to slow the flow of water in the brook – helping to build resilience against flooding.

There will be drainage works carried out to direct water that collects in the middle of the park into the brook, and the path works will be extended to provide a better surface for walkers.

Once the main scope of the works are complete we will be looking to carry out planting and seed sowing, making the bund a butterfly bank to encourage more pollinators in the park. This element of the project will be organised by RAIN with local schools and volunteers taking part.

We are also looking at ways to direct the water behind Penn Gardens, and have applied for some extra funding for works that would help with this.

Find out more

Risk of surface water flooding is an issue for our community. To find out more about flood resilience take a look at the RAIN website -https://rainnorthants.co.uk/