Western Park is a park and surrounding suburb located in
West End of
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
. It is also a ward of the City of Leicester whose population at the 2011 census was 10,609.
The park itself was bought for £30,000 in 1897 and at is the biggest in Leicester. While the park has a "blend of meadows, mature woods and hedgerows"
the park also contains a large number of sporting facilities including a
BMX track
BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation.
History
BMX began during the earl ...
, a
skate ramp, a baseball field, two
bowling greens, five
football pitches, six
cricket pitches (all with associated changing facilities) and six tennis courts.
Until the 1950s the Park's tennis courts, then located to the far west of the Park, were the home of Westcotes Church Tennis Club and then Westfields Lawn Tennis Club. The club later moved to a site on the nearby Eastfield Road; the courts on Western Park are now open to the public.
Since 2008, the full-sized baseball field at the southwest end of park has been home to the Leicester Blue Sox Baseball Club. The Blue Sox have been British Baseball Federation national baseball champions in 2009 and 2012. The club has adult and youth teams and is open to players of all ages and abilities.
Until May 2013 the former park warden's lodge was home to the environmental charity Groundworks Leicester & Leicestershire, formerly known as Environ. This building was called the "Eco House" after being converted as a show house, used to demonstrate ways of making homes more environmentally friendly. It was open to the public and held one-off events as well as receiving visits from local schools. The Eco House and the neighbouring recycling centre were part of the larger
Groundwork UK
Groundwork UK is an environmental organisation in the United Kingdom. It is based in Birmingham and is a registered charity under English law.
History
In 1980, the Countryside Commission launched an initiative known as UFEX80. This was re-brande ...
network.
A voluntary group, The Friends of Western Park, works with the city council to "improve the park for everyone".
The area of Leicester sharing the park's name is a generally affluent area to the South and East of the park. The suburb also contains Dovelands Primary School which caters for 550
3–11-year olds, including nursery school children. St. Anne's Parish Church, and the aforementioned Westfields Tennis Club. The club has four floodlit courts and caters to both children and adults from the local area and beyond. Christ the King Roman Catholic primary school, rated "outstanding" by Ofsted hosts two sites, the infant site at the top of Western Park and the junior site further down on Glenfield Road.
Council Election result, 2011
Council Election result, 2007
Source:
Council By Election result, 1992
Council Election result, 1983
References
External links
Western Park Gazette– Full colour community magazine for homes and business in and around Leicester's Western Park
Dovelands Primary SchoolFriends of Western Park
Western Park @ Leicester City CouncilWestfields Lawn Tennis ClubLeicester Blue Sox Baseball Club
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Leicester
Parks and open spaces in Leicestershire
Baseball venues in the United Kingdom