IT has been great over these last few weeks, hasn't it? Retail shops are back open on high streets and hospitality has been able to operate once again, albeit only outdoors.

One venue that has been 'reaping the rewards' of the restrictions easing is the newly-built memorial garden at the Horsfall Community Stadium.

It is proving to be a quite a hit for residents around the BD6 area, as well as those associated with tennants Bradford (Park Avenue), West Bowling A.R.L.F.C and Bradford Airedale AC.

Volunteers from Avenue and West Bowling were super busy during the most recent lockdown transforming what was a disused area of land into a warm, welcoming place to socialise.

A number of benches have plaques of remembrance nailed on and a similar gesture can be made by all three users of the ground for £25 on an incoming brick wall.

Cemetery Road, where the stadium is situated, can often be a nightmare to park on. Rest assured though, Horsfall’s car park behind the Odsal end is now fully lit and ready for use.

Neil Fawcett, of the Park Avenue Development Fund Committee, said: “It has been very busy.
“We are only allowed 30 in at the minute because of Covid regulations.

“When there are no games on, we have got the front bit as well, in front of the clubhouse. We will have another four benches out there.

“The plaques are half and half, remembering both Avenue and West Bowling fans. We have got to know the Bowling lads now, so it is really good.”

West Bowling’s David Brook added: “The link-up has been brilliant because we now have a clubhouse, somewhere we can call home which is something West Bowling has been crying out for.

“The land out the back was overgrown, unusable, hilly, full of shrubs and bushes, and we always said it would be nice to create a beer garden there.

“With it being located where it is, opposite the cemetery, we thought it was only fair if we called it a memorial garden.

“We have got a great volunteer base at West Bowling. We have also had support from the BPA Development Fund especially Pete Sowden who was down every weekend getting his hands dirty, shovelling mud, and spreading sand.

“We have got a lot of tradesmen within the club. I am no builder by any stretch of the imagination, I am an engineer, but we are all practical people, so just working together has made it so much easier.

“It is already reaping the rewards because we are full, taking into consideration social distancing.

“Now we are moving further out of lockdown and the season is starting, it should be great.

“You even get dog walkers going up cemetery road going to the park or the cemetery. It is for the public to use; it is not a private members club.”

If you would like to sponsor one of the bricks on the memorial wall, contact the BPA Development Fund by emailing bpadevtfund@gmail.com