Bradford Moor Park had its grand opening on Saturday November 20 for residents of the area.

The park has been a haven for locals over the past two years; the green space offering them clarity and an opportunity to leave their homes.

Since 2019, a group called Friends of Bradford Moor Park, have been working hard to make the park a place of pride for the local community.

Naz Kauser, who started the group, has worked with members of the group to tidy up the park and make it a safer space.

Naz said: “Saturday was a really positive day; we saw people coming together and saw some of our hard work pay off.

“For the first time in 40 years boats returned to the lake, everyone enjoyed them and asked for them to become a permanent feature.

“The boats were a real hit with locals and Facebook members, they really transformed the park.

“It’s taken a long time, but this grand opening was worth the wait.”

It took the group three months to clean out the lake, where they found dead rats, a gun from World War One and debris.

Volunteers waded out into the pond to clean it.

“Seeing the boats back out on the pond was really good and we hope to bring them back.”

Over three hundred people attended the grand opening with speeches from Naz, Better Start, Volunteers from the ladies walking group and Kersten England, Chief Executive of Bradford City Council.

Earlier last month the park had gym facilities put in place for community use, which were funded by Bradford City Council and a play area by Better Start.

Naz said: “When we initially wanted to start work on the park, we collated surveys from residents on what they wanted from this park.

“Our slogan is ‘our park, our pride’ and we really do want people to be proud of their area and benefit from it.

“Over the pandemic, we saw how much people needed the park and we wanted to help make it better.

“We’ve worked really hard and we’re proud of what we have achieved.”

West Yorkshire police were holding a stall at the park, where they were distributing safety equipment and anti- theft devices.

“Friends of Bradford Moor Park have a number of projects lined up for the park, including a community garden.”

For more information visit the Friends of Bradford Moor Park Facebook page.