THE congratulations heaped on Arboretum Park for winning an

award acknowledging its safety is an irony not lost on the

victims of crime who have walked through the green space.

Arboretum was England's first public park and was given to

Derby by Joseph Strutt in 1840 to provide a public space for

exercise and relaxation.

But its press has been less than positive of late.

The Evening Telegraph reported last month that police were

having to step up patrols in the park after six attacks.

Parks with a Green Flag Award should we welcoming, safe,

secure, clean, sustainable, well marketed and involve the

community.

So says the judging criteria, which also stipulates that the

park or green space must be a "secure place for all members of

the community to use or traverse" and that it must have "good

and safe access".

The Ford family of Normanton is of the opinion that

Arboretum Park falls short of that.

Joe Ford, 16, sustained a broken leg and facial injuries

after being attacked by a gang of youths in the park.

His father, Alan, 55, said he was disgusted and bewildered

at how the park could scoop the award.

"When I first heard about the award I thought it was someone

having a sick joke," said Mr Ford.

"The people living around the park are concerned that it's

becoming a no-go zone and, in my opinion, until the council is

capable of controlling that park it should be shut up."

But the Civic Trust, which organises the Green Flag Award,

said that while it could not guarantee award-winning parks

would not suffer crime, it said it judged the spaces on what

they did to try to make them safe.

There have been many improvements since a major revamp was

given the go-ahead in 2003 after Derby City Council won a £5.6m

National Lottery grant.

The funding included £4.2m for entrances, a community

building with a cafe, CCTV cameras, sports changing rooms and

the refurbishment of listed buildings.

A further £1.4m went towards employing rangers to look after

the grounds and other maintenance costs.

The revamp was aimed at enticing more visitors to the

park.

A spokeswoman for the trust said: "The judges commended the

use of CCTV and good lighting. They commented that the clear

sight lines and vistas give a sense of safety to the site, and

are inviting."

And in the report, the judges concluded: "It is a great site

and the investment will prove worthwhile as it has such a

strong community input.

"All credit to the manager and staff and partners for their

present and future efforts to come."

Mr Ford said he took issue with that. He said: "The CCTV

coverage of people going in and out of the park is not good

enough quality to get any proper information from.

"The camera in the area where my son was attacked was broken

for three months."

Steve Medlock, head of parks at Derby City Council, said the

attacks were not necessarily a park issue.

"When the judging took place in May was before the current

spate of unrest.

"It is a problem which has surfaced in the park but not only

in the park, it is going on in the area as a whole so from that

point of view it is not particularly a park issue."

He said efforts had been made to make the park safe.

"There are very few places in the park where people can hide

but if a gang of lads comes on to the park they are not

bothered about hiding."

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