Community
The Hurst Park estate is a great place to live - and we want to make it even better. It's a friendly neighbourhood, with plenty of young families and professionals as well as older people. Recently, and especially during the Covid19 pandemic, many of us have enjoyed initiatives designed to strengthen our community, including events such as a history trail, advent windows, and community activities such as gardening. We also put together a support programme for people self-isolating. We plan to continue projects like the ones below. Please contact us if you have an idea or would like to get involved in making something happen in future.
December 2020, 21, 22, 23
Advent Windows
Almost 80 homes all over the estate took part in our fabulously creative advent trail in December 2020, providing a much-needed lift at a dark time of the year. Different windows were lit each night from 1st December onwards, with all 79 windows beautifully lit on Christmas Eve. Let's hope even more people take part in future years!
May 2021
History Trail
Following a hugely popular online talk by Jim Smith and Rachel Aucott, we organised a history trail in May 2021, highlighting some of the interesting aspects of the estate discovered by Jim and Rachel in the course of their research. We produced 18 posters about features such as the windmill that once stood in Hurst Park Avenue and the tennis racquet factory in Mulberry Close, the refugees that lived in Leys Avenue and a famous economist in Leys Road. We invited residents to join in and conduct their own research. We hope to make this an annual event.
You can find Jim and Rachel's website about the history of the estate here.
March 2021
Hurst Park Concert Party
What a talented bunch of musicians we have in the estate! Two violinists, two pianists, a marimba player, a folk duo, a salsa band, a flautist and French horn player entertained us all in the first Hurst Park estate concert party, held online in March 2020.
November 2020
Quiz Night
Nine teams from around the estate took part in the first (and so far only) Hurst Park Online Quiz. Questions were set by HPERA chair Andrew Milbourn (with a little help from Highfield resident Robert Ziegler who set the music round).
