Westminster Park Residents Association

A celebration marking the 80th anniversary of Westminster Park will take place next month, bringing together the communities and clubs that use the popular green space and commemorating the vital role public parks play.

On Saturday 9 May, 1–4pm, all are welcome at the park for a free event featuring taster sessions, demonstrations and displays from clubs and organisations, alongside music and refreshments.

Activities include Glan Aber Tennis Club, Westminster Park FC and a cricket match, plus stands from Chester Zoo on nature recovery and representatives from Cheshire West and Chester Council’s greenspaces team. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the park’s nine-hole golf club and the croquet club.

Made possible through funding from His Grace, The Duke of Westminster, the event marks eight decades since the Grosvenor family gifted a 999-year lease of the land off Hough Green to the community as a public park for sport and recreation.

To recognise the essential role the park has played in promoting physical and mental well-being, strengthening communities and enhancing the environment, The Duke and Duchess of Westminster will attend the event, where they will meet members of the park community and unveil a commemorative plaque as well as newly planted trees on the park’s nature trails.

Niall Macfadyen of the Friends of Westminster Park, which works with the local authority to improve and develop the park, said: “It’s a truly special place that has provided countless benefits to the local community for generations, while always continuing to adapt to meet today’s needs. We wanted to mark this significant milestone by bringing people together and showcasing the wide range of clubs and organisations that enjoy Westminster Park. Our thanks go to everyone working hard to deliver what will be a fantastic event.”

Ahead of the event, the Friends of Westminster Park are inviting people of all ages to share photos and memories to help build a social history of the park. Images and stories can be shared via the Friends of Westminster Park Facebook page or emailed to parkhistory@macfadyen.net.

Westminster Park holds Green Flag status, an international award recognising well-managed green spaces. Amenities include nature trails, play areas, an outdoor gym, running circuits, picnic benches and a BMX track.

Dear Residents

You are warmly invited to attend our AGM at the Westminster Park Community Centre at 8pm on Wednesday 22^nd April 2026.  The main business of the meeting is to inform you about the activities of WPRA during the year and to elect a committee for the coming 12 months.

In addition, this year we are being joined by Paul Fielder, Chester’s City Centre manager who will talk to us about the future development of Chester. There will also be an opportunity to ask him questions.

As you may be aware, I am standing down as chair of WPRA at this AGM after 7 years.  I joined the committee in 2015 as editor of the newsletter and have gained immense purpose and satisfaction from volunteering in my local community.  Our committee is dedicated to improving the social life and physical environment of our estate and surrounding area and here are some of our proud achievements over the last 11 years:

• run 20 quiz nights, 10 Christmas lights switch-on events, 3 summer fun days and many community tidy up mornings
• issued 43 editions of WP News, our quarterly community newsletter
• funded the installation of a defibrillator outside the B & W fish shop
• organised first aid sessions
• provided a support and medicines delivery service during Covid
• challenged planning applications and achieved meaningful changes to them
• worked with our councillors, Council officers and the Wrexham Road house builders to address issues arising from ongoing building at Kings Moat
• bought planters by the shops and funded new planting twice a year
• provided a photocopier for public use in the pharmacy

The members of our committee all have different skills and experience and support and encourage each other.  Recently however, a number of members have retired and we are in need of reinvigoration.  Perhaps you have recently retired from full time work and are looking for a local volunteering opportunity?  Maybe you see things that need attention in the local area and wonder why nobody is doing anything about it?

As John F. Kennedy said, “If not us, who?  If not now, when?”  Our area continues to face challenges and needs to have a collective voice to address them.  Please consider volunteering to join us.   Nomination forms are available on our website or you can volunteer at the AGM.

I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 22^nd April.

Best regards

Jennifer Crew

Enc: Agenda for 2026 AGM, Minutes of 2025 AGM, Financial Reports, Nomination form

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Redrow recently held a short consultation over new plans to build 160 houses on Greenbelt land south of Kings Moat Village.  The farmland stretches between the Park & Ride on Wrexham Road to the east and Lache Lane to the west.  At present the plans show pedestrian and emergency access points onto Lache Lane with the main entrance off the Park & Ride roundabout.

WPRA has objected to these plans on the basis that: a) the site is Greenbelt and therefore designed to prevent urban sprawl, b) Cheshire West and Chester Council are midway through developing the next Local Plan involving identifying new sites for housebuilding and it should not be assumed that this will be one of them, c) the local infrastructure has not yet been developed to absorb the extra people from Kings Moat, particularly in relation to medical services.

The full submission can be found here:

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Here is a copy of the WPRA response sent to CWaC’s Planning Department 27.8.25

Should you wish to respond in a similar way, we are happy for you to adopt our wording if appropriate.

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