Alexandra Park Improvement

Historic Origins

May 2025 will mark the park’s 100th anniversary. The Wiblin family, acclaimed pork butchers and sausage makers, sold the pig pasture located behind their “Northern House” residence in South Parade to Oxford City Council in 1925. The pasture became Oxford’s first recreational park, and was named after King Edward VII’s wife, Alexandra, who died that year. As the city grew the council created parks to compensate for the loss of open space due to urbanization. A park at Bury Knowle, Headington soon followed in 1932 and Florence Park and Rosehill in 1934.

From the outset the park provided space for soccer, ladies’ hockey, basketball and tennis. Tennis became the major sport and its six hard and twelve public grass courts dominated the park such that the area became known as Alexandra Courts. The buildings at the Middle Way entrance were built by the Council to accommodate machinery and sports changing rooms. On the Park’s southern boundary, land was allocated for war time use during WWII.

Recent History

More recently, Premier Tennis and Norham Gardens Lawn Tennis Club (NGLTC ) began to manage the courts by agreement with Oxford City Council (OCC) and pay an annual fee for use of the courts at specified times.

A combination of organizations - civic, community and volunteer- have worked together to develop and maintain the quality of the courts. The other major sport facility in the park is the basketball court, which is the site of competitive tournaments during the summer.

With the passage of time, the park and its surroundings have altered considerably. The driveway serving the back of Northern House has become a car park. The number of grass courts has been reduced to six. There is no longer a refreshment kiosk. Its boundaries have been nibbled away by the business centre (Cochrane Centre, formerly Oliver and Gurdens cake factory) together with infill housing on the eastern boundary that has blocked the visual connection with Middle Way. Most recently there have been intrusive interventions to the park’s entrance on Middle Way and the sale of the public toilet on the park’s western edge in 2018. The park has been neglected in recent years due to the Council’s budgetary constraints. The effect of long-term national economic and political issues on the public realm can be seen in the decline of our local park’s buildings, surfacing, facilities and lack of planting, with considerable land allocated to car parking.

Participation of the community.

There was an earlier precedent for community participation to improve Alexandra Park in 2008 involving local parents who were concerned about the condition of the children’s playground. Working as a ‘Friends’ group, they raised funds and persuaded the Council to agree to meet the full cost of much needed repairs and improvements. Improvements to the children’s playground were successfully completed in 2009, demonstrating that remedial work on public places can be achieved with cooperation and teamwork between the public, the Council and private donors, but after the elapse of many years the improvements arising from their efforts are now in need of rejuvenation.

When the number of grass tennis courts was reduced from 12 to 6, the creation of the open grass field in 2017 by Oxford City Council provided the potential for a multi-purpose recreational public space. Raising awareness of the park’s potential as a recreational centre is vital to its long-term survival and maintenance. Involvement and a sense of guardianship by residents and users is crucial. Covid lockdowns in 2020-2021 have amply demonstrated the value of Alexandra Park’s open air and green space for people’s physical and mental well-being. SuStM and the APWG are calling for the reawakening of this teamwork, particularly now.

Current Park Improvement Plans

In 2019, following many months of hard work by local volunteer residents and City Council officers, the SuStM Neighbourhood Plan was completed and approved. A key policy in the SuStM plan covers Alexandra Park, setting out the vision for a small, aesthetically pleasing recreational green space catering to the felt needs of people of all ages. Recognizing that Alexandra Park is a valuable asset to the area, our aim is to encourage park users not only to pursue recreation but to find a place for reflection, socializing, enjoying fresh air and appreciating nature as the seasons change.

• creating a distinctive gateway to the park;

• removing conflict between cars and pedestrians and increasing pedestrian safety;

• repairing and maximizing the utility of the existing buildings near the park entrance;

• creating a new line of trees and an evergreen hedge between the driveway and the field;

• enhancing park visitors’ walking experience and awareness of nature with an avenue of trees;

• developing art appreciation with displays of work by local artists along the avenue; and

• adding seats for relaxation along the tree-lined avenue;

• securing and greening the boundaries and encouraging planting bio-diversity;

• improving the northern perimeter path used by dog-walkers with wildflower planting;

• Providing a path on the eastern boundary to create a perimeter walk for all to experience and appreciate the whole park.

• exploring the possibility of a link between the Park and the Public Library garden;

• enhancing the visual experience of the park with planting of a Sensory Garden for enjoyment of elderly and disabled visitors especially;

• establishing a nook area for expanding learning opportunities for nature and science awareness for adolescent children; and

• improving the children’s park area with picnic tables and safety surfacing under the swings.

 Funding

APWG has successfully gained funds from the first round of CIL applications. In January 2020 the Council planted six trees to begin a line for The Avenue. It also supplied and installed two picnic tables in the green field and a picnic table in the children’s play area. Bulbs funded by the Tennis Club were planted between the new trees by APWG.

Further funds have been obtained for resurfacing to eliminate muddy patches and badly worn ground at the entrance and within the children’s play area, at the entrance to the grass field, as well as for the planting of a further five trees to complete the line of trees.

Further improvements to follow are: installation of 3 traditional park seats; relocation of the unsightly green waste bin; surface improvements in heavily used muddy areas; and safety surfacing under the swings.

But there remains much to do. We welcome your active involvement in the regeneration of the historic green space in the heart of Summertown, thereby asserting and ensuring that the Park remains in public ownership, amidst property developers’ commercializing encroachment on land in Summertown. With your help, the vision for the park can become a reality by 2025.