Petition is launched in the battle to keep Barry the gardener at Worthington Park

A n online petition has been set up to fight to keep the council gardener at Sale’s Worthington Park.

One Trafford is said to be considering moving Barry Brookes out of Worthington Park to form a mobile team of three gardeners who work throughout the borough.

However the Friends of the Park are furious at the move and have decided to post the petition through Change.org to put their case to the Leader of the council, Cllr Sean Anstee.

The petition was started by Cllr Barry Brotherton in his role as the organiser of the Friends of Worthington Park’s Facebook page and website.

He said:”About 12 months ago the onsite gardener was withdrawn from Walkden Gardens and at that time we were told that he would be replaced by a 3 man team who would visit the Gardens one or twice a week and that the standard of maintenance would be maintained or even improved.

“Unfortunately that has not been the case and standards have declined significantly. The Friends of Worthington Park are convinced that the result would be similar should the gardener there be removed.

“Of course the Friends Group understand the financial situation of the Council. However, they doubt that the proposed mobile teams would be more cost effective than the present arrangement. At present the onsite gardener mows the bowling greens, empties the waste bins and opens and closes the public toilets. My understanding is that, in future, there will be separate teams coming in to the park to do all these jobs which are now done by one man.

“There is also no doubt that having an onsite gardener is a real deterrent to petty vandalism. Without the presence to the gardener I am sure that there will be more damage to the park with a resulting extra cost to the Council”

A spokesperson for the One Trafford Partnership said: “We are committed to maintaining a high standard within all our parks in the borough. Seven parks were awarded green flag status last year and Lostock Park has been put forward for green flag status in 2017.

“The maintenance of Worthington Park is currently being evaluated as part of a wider review of how grounds maintenance services are delivered across the borough.

“However, it is not our intention to carry out less maintenance within the park. The proposal is to carry out the maintenance with a mobile team of gardeners who carry a mixed set of skills which the park, along with other parks in the borough, can benefit from. Before any final decisions are made the proposal will be discussed with the Friends of Worthington Park Group.

The petition can be found at  https://www.change.org/…/trafford-metropolitan-borough…This lunchtime they had achieved over 350 of the 500 signatures they need to move the case forward.