Rowney Green Park

In April 2022, the Rowney Green Peace Hall Trustees took over the stewardship of the Rowney Green Playing Fields and Pavilion (now renamed the Park and Green Barn) on behalf of the villagers according to a 15-year lease agreement with the Alvechurch Parish Council that runs from 1st April 2022.

A large number of village volunteers, led by the Park Group (a sub-group of the village hall Trustees), now devote considerable time and effort to the running and maintenance of the playground and fields. Many villagers have commented on the enormous amount of work that has been carried out in the park to tidy it, improve it and make it a tremendous facility available for all to use. These improvements have included:

  • Purchase of a lawnmower to cut the grass on a regular basis.
  • Removing overlapping trees and brambles all around the boundary of the park.
  • Removal of the leylandii trees which had become very large and whose roots were damaging the tennis court surfaces.
  • Planting of fruit trees in an enclosed area where the leylandii previously were.
  • Cleaning, painting and replacing some elements of the children’s play area.
  • Purchase and installation of a circular bench around the existing oak tree next to the green barn.
  • Replacing one of the tennis nets and repairing the netting around the tennis courts.
  • Making safe the steps leading to the tennis courts.

None of the improvements would have been possible without the efforts of a regular Saturday morning working group led by Pete Jeffs

In addition, in an initiative led by Jill Wallis, the Green Barn has been transformed into a wonderful and inviting area. Improvements include:

  • Installing a second ladies’ toilet.
  • Creating a kitchen area and populating it with kitchen equipment.
  • Populating the main area with chairs and tables which were a generous gift from a local company.

It costs around £5000 per year to run and maintain the park. Whilst some grants are available, the bulk of the money to run and maintain the park comes from the community. Proceeds from the annual village fete, the 100 club and other generous gifts from villagers have all helped to put and keep the project onto a firm financial footing.

The park group and the village hall trustees are always keen to hear your comments and thoughts on the park.

Early History of the Park

The playing field came into being when in 1949 a compulsory purchase order allowed Worcestershire County Council to purchase the land on behalf of Alvechurch Parish Council for the sum of £250 (being its value as agricultural land). The Parish Council took out a sixty-year loan with the County Council to pay for the field.

Part was ploughed and seeded for a playing area, but the cutting of the grass became an insuperable problem. It was, in fact, cut once a year only – by kind co-operation of local farmers at hay making time.

It was not until the post war generation of children grew to its teens that a serious need for a football pitch particularly arose and the consequent need for regular mowing of the field. In 1963 a Local Parish Councillor begged a scrap set of 3 gang mowers from a nearby works sports club. At the same time a Pavilion was given to the football club by a local resident. For many years the playing field was cared for by the Tarver family in association with the Rowney Green football club.

On the occasion of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II a clump of conifer trees was planted in the N. corner.