THE city council have certainly pulled a Easter bunny out of a hat with the new £50,000 ‘pop-up’ temporary city park in the Greenmarket by the town hall.

This, rather than costing local taxpayer money, is in fact a miniscule refund of the UK annual ‘net contribution’ of around £9billion paid into the EU during our membership, being, as it is, funded from the European Regional Development Fund from a pot of £56million they have made available to English councils to welcome high street footfall and help ‘bring back better’ from the pandemic – the money was there for the asking, so let’s have it I say.

Five years ago I had campaigned through The Cumberland News to have the seriously dilapidated 15 year old bandstand removed, as it was an eyesore flapping about right next to our 17th century Town Hall and was delighted to see it go.

As Cllr Bowman hopes the current installation will stimulate ideas as to how the Greenmarket may be used in future, might I suggest that rather than have a traditional somewhat restrictive bandstand, a glazed freestanding cantilever structure by the gable of the Town Hall to provide shelter for entertainers with a raised large level paved area beneath, using stone sets similar to the very attractive new paved entrance to the Civic Centre, with benches up the existing slope, and perhaps one of the round ‘pop-up’ benches currently in place being adapted, so it could annually host our city Christmas tree.

Patrick Tracey
St Edmunds Park, Carlisle