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Monday, August 18, 2008, 07:30
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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PERPLEXED: Joe Ford and dad Alan; above, the green award logo; below, how the Evening Telegraph reported the attack on Joe in late July
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