DESCRIBING the reaction of local residents to the 2018 devastation of the meadows at Blackwell, Darlington, and the development threat to the historic Blackwell Grange parkland, your columnist Peter Barron said: “Politicians need to listen.” (Echo, June 8).

Since then, there has been a great deal of very welcome and very valuable listening. Through our network of campaigns, interest groups, a community study and input from an eminent QC, a resolution regarding the preservation of the parkland has been drawn up. It calls for the removal of the historic parkland from the Draft Local Plan, for it to be made a conservation area, and for Blackwell Grange, a listed building, to sit within a defined protective curtilage without interruption, intrusion or disturbance from future development.

The vision is for “A New Park for Darlington”.

Unlike our other parks, Blackwell was created as a Georgian pleasure park. It is the last remaining of its kind in our town – the Parks of Piermont and Southend went many decades ago.

As the May local elections are upon us, the time has now come for clear answers from all the candidates who will be vying for our votes. No politician-speak. Will you, if elected:

  • support all three parts of our resolution?
  • support this shared vision for “A New Park for Darlington”?
  • support a collaborative initiative with interest groups to create, preserve and use this pleasure park?
  • Candidates, their agents and council leaders will be contacted shortly. We await their answers with interest.

Michael and Angela Green, Blackwell, Darlington.