The Bradley Stoke Journal

Former international referee Paul Durkin was in town today to promote the new Ladbrokes betting shop that opened earlier in the week at the Willow Brook Centre.

Football fans looking to place bets on today’s FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Everton had the opportunity to chat with Mr Durkin about his experience of refereeing the Final back in 1998 when Arsenal and Newcastle United competed for the trophy.

Mr Durkin, who was England’s only referee at the 1998 FIFA World Cup Finals in France, retired in 2004 and now works as a referee assessor for the English FA.

The new Ladbrokes shop, which has a staff of five, opened its doors on Wednesday (27th May). Manager Lee Taylor says business has been brisk in the first few days, with opening promotions (including a free £2 bet) attracting plenty of punters.

Customers can also take part in a raffle for a football shirt signed by Ashley Cole, which is on display in the shop. The draw is expected to be made on Sunday evening and proceeds will go to a local charity.

The shop is open from 9am to 9:30pm Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 6pm on Sundays.

More Photos of Paul Durkin’s visit: album; slideshow.

Budget greetings card retailer Card Factory is to open an outlet soon at the Willow Brook Centre according to a low-key announcement on the centre’s official website.

The store guide on the website has been updated to show the new store occupying unit 6b, between the recently-opened Timpson shoe repair shop and the O2 mobile phone store.

The company, which sells greetings cards, gifts, plush items, novelties and gift wrap, has 480 stores nationwide and prides itself on delivering “quality products at value for money prices”.

A further announcement on the Willow Brook website confirms rumours (first revealed by The Journal in October 2008) that shoe retailer Brantano is to take a unit in the new Retail Terrace. Contrary to earlier indications, this will be in unit 5 rather than unit 2.

Brantano has been advertising jobs at its new Bradley Stoke store since February.  Animal superstore Pets at Home, which has also advertised vacancies, now looks likely to occupy unit 2.

Related Link: Jobs at the Willow Brook Centre (The Journal)

Construction of the new Beacon play park on the Jubilee Green, Savages Wood Road, finally got underway this week as contractors moved onto the site.

The park was originally expected to be finished by Easter, with an official opening planned for the Community Festival in June, but delays and setbacks have seen the projected completion date slip to the end of June.

Bradley Stoke Town Council (BSTC) now says the park will open on Friday 24th July, “after turf on site has had a chance to establish”.

A spokesperson for BSTC said:

“We are delighted the hard work of both councils and their partners are now coming to fruition”

“We will be announcing plans for events to coincide with the park’s opening in due course.”

The cost of building the park is understood to be around £160k, having risen by 45% since plans were first drawn up. The Big Lottery Fund is providing £55k with the remainder coming from South Gloucestershire Council and BSTC.

The latest plans show that the park will be roughly circular in shape and will incorporate three man-made mounds. A wooden bridge will link two of the mounds, while the third mound will incorporate a spiral path and a ‘phone tube’ linking two seating areas built into its sides.

Equipment in the park will include a climbing pole, rodeo board, exercise bikes and a rowing machine. Two slides and a sand pit will be provided for younger children, while teenagers will be given the opportunity to ‘design & build’ their own shelter.

Local residents have expressed concerns that the park will act as a magnet for vandalism and anti-social behaviour in the evenings and have unsuccessfully called for the park to be bounded by a fence, allowing it to be closed at night.

The scheme has already been targeted by vandals, who recently destroyed two trees that had been planted in February along the edge of the Savages Wood Road site.

Southern Brooks Community Partnership (SBCP) is setting up a ‘Friends of Jubilee Green’ group for people interested in supporting the play park project. Winsome Barrett Muir of SBCP says the group will plan events, promote the park, provide feedback, help with fundraising and gather and share information about the park. More information and contact details are available here [PDF, 79KB] on the SBCP website.

Latest plans of the play park (on the BSTC website):

• Jubilee Green Detail Layout [PDF, 100KB]
• Jubilee Green Drawing [PDF, 2.65MB]

The 2009 Bradley Stoke Community Festival is to feature local bands and dance groups at the Jubilee Centre Arena on Saturday 13th June.

Performances will start at 12:30pm and run through to a later than usual closing time of 8:30pm.

Musical styles on offer range from samba through Afro beat and jazz to 50s and 60s covers, while dance groups will showcase ballet, Bollywood and street dance.

The annual festival kicks off on Friday 12th June with a ‘Picnic in the Park’, coffee morning and table top sale at the Jubilee Centre.

Saturday 13th June sees the main arena events taking place at the Jubilee Centre together with a Community Fair, where local organisations and businesses will be showcasing their activities. Stalls at the fair, which are free of charge this year, can be reserved through Southern Brooks Community Partnership (SBCP).

Also taking place on Saturday is the McDonalds Football Open Day incorporating the annual Junior Football Tournament. England’s 1966 World Cup hero Sir Geoff Hurst, now McDonald’s Director of Football, will be on hand to offer tips and advice to the youngsters.

Starting from the Leisure Centre at 10am on Saturday is an organised walk around the Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve. Led by ecologist Rupert Higgins, the walk is intended to involve the wider community, especially those who might not have realised just how much they have on the doorstep.

Sunday 14th June features a number of sporting events, including the Bradley Stoke 10k Run (starting at 10am from the Jubilee Centre), a 6-a-side Cricket Tournament (from 1pm at Baileys Court Activity Centre) and the annual Skate Park Competition.

Also taking place on Sunday is an outdoor church service (11am at Baileys Court) followed by a family picnic.

The Town Council is advising visitors to events at the Jubilee Centre to park in the Willow Brook Centre as there is no public parking available at the Savages Wood Road venue.

More Information:

• Community Festival Venues (The Journal / Google Maps)
• Bradley Stoke 10k Race Route (The Journal / Google Maps)

Bradley Stoke’s first-ever betting shop is set to open its doors to the public this Wednesday at the town’s Willow Brook Centre.

Fitting-out of the interior of the new Ladbrokes store is now complete and the all-important satellite TV equipment has been installed. Twenty flat screen TVs will bring live odds and sporting action to the punters of Bradley Stoke.

A countdown poster in the window of the new store suggests an opening on Wednesday 27th May, although this has not yet been confirmed by official sources. The opening comes in good time for some major sporting events over the next few weeks including the Champions League Final (27th May), FA Cup Final (30th May) and The Derby (6th June).

Elsewhere in the Willow Brook Centre, there is confusion over anticipated tenants of the new Retail Terrace after signs were switched over on two of the units. ‘Under offer’ banners appeared four weeks ago on units 3 and 5 but now the signs have been switched to show units 2 and 5.

Marketing literature shows unit 2 as being under offer to Brantano and that company has recently advertised jobs for its new store. The only other company currently known to be currently recruiting is Pets at Home, leading to speculation that fashion group New Look (also shown in the marketing literature) may have pulled out.

Ladbrokes apart, the new retailers seem in no hurry to open their stores. The units remain as empty shells, no fitting-out having been started since building firm Bowmer and Kirkland completed construction at the end of April.