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Western Park, Leicester

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Coordinates: 52°38′06″N 1°10′34″W / 52.635°N 1.176°W / 52.635; -1.176
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Western Park meadow with trees on a cloudy day.
Western Park northern view from the tennis courts.

Western Park is a park and surrounding suburb located in West End of Leicester. It is also a ward of the City of Leicester whose population at the 2011 census was 10,609.[1]

The park itself was bought for £30,000 in 1897 and at 178 acres (0.72 km2) is the biggest in Leicester.[2][3] While the park has a "blend of meadows, mature woods and hedgerows"[4] the park also contains a large number of sporting facilities including a BMX track, a skate ramp, a baseball field, two bowling greens, five football pitches, six cricket pitches (all with associated changing facilities) and six tennis courts.[4] 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.[5] 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[6] the former park warden's lodge was home to the environmental charity Groundworks Leicester & Leicestershire,[7] 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.[8] The Eco House and the neighbouring recycling centre were part of the larger Groundwork UK network.[9]

A voluntary group, The Friends of Western Park, works with the city council to "improve the park for everyone".[10][11]

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.[12] St. Anne's Parish Church,[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

Council Election result, 2011

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Western Park (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Susan Barton 1,295
Labour George Coles 1,214
Liberal Democrats Peter Coley 973
Conservative James Smyth 753
Liberal Democrats Stuart Emmerson 627
Conservative Jacob Wilkinson 616
Green Alexander Scott 350
UKIP Carol Young 129
UKIP Kevin Young 93
Liberal Sarah Euston 76
Turnout 3,338
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing

Council Election result, 2007

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Source:[16]

Western Park (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Roger Blackmore 1,297 24%
Liberal Democrats Peter Coley 1,198 22%
Labour Neil Clayon 609 11%
Labour Peter Mason 600 11%
Conservative Frances Ashlin 544 10%
Conservative Julian John 515 9%
Green Christopher Seal 358 7%
Green Brian Fewster 353 6%
Turnout 2,871
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Council By Election result, 1992

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Western Park (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Peter Coley 1,011 38.2% +22.2
Conservative David Dalby 859 32.5% −9.6
Labour Paul Bodell 731 27.6% −10.8%
Green Geoff Forse 46 1.7% −1.7
Majority 152 5.7%
Turnout 2648 31.2%
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing +15.9

Council Election result, 1983

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Western Park (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stewart Hill 2,179
Conservative Sydney Phipps 2,152
Labour David Collins 1,328
Labour Eric Taylor 1,220
SDP Phillip Meadhurst 479
SDP Lisa Brown 493
Green Christopher Seal 358
Turnout 4,090 44.6%
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ "Western Park, 2011". UK Census Data. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  2. ^ "The History of Western Park". Leicester City Council. Archived from the original on 18 June 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  3. ^ "General Information". Friends of Western Park. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Western Park, Hinckley Road". Leicester City Council. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  5. ^ "The history of Westfields Tennis Club". Westfields Tennis Club - Leicester. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  6. ^ Mair, Vibeka (8 May 2013). "Groundwork Leicester and Leicestershire closes down". Civil Society Media. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  7. ^ "About Us". Groundwork Leicester & Leicestershire. Archived from the original on 1 April 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  8. ^ "EcoHouse". Groundwork Leicester and Leicestershire. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Welcome". Groundwork Leicester & Leicestershire. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Friends of Western Park". Leicester City Council. Archived from the original on 1 September 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Home". Friends of Western Park. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Welcome: About Us". Dovelands Primary School. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  13. ^ "St Anne's Parish Church". A Church Near You. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Home". Westfields Tennis Club - Leicester. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Performance Inspection & Ofsted Report". Christ The King Catholic Voluntary Academy. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Detailed Results for Western Park ward". Leicester City Council. 2007. Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
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52°38′06″N 1°10′34″W / 52.635°N 1.176°W / 52.635; -1.176

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