The Walker Trust
The trustees of the Walker Ground have all been involved with the Ground for more than 20 years and have played sports for one of our Ground user clubs. The current trustee body consists of:-
Richard Heighton (Chairman) – a former chairman of Southgate Squash & Racketball Club, Richard has represented the Club on a regular basis for over 25 years. Joining the trustee body nearly four years ago, he became chairman in April 2008.
Sandy White – Sandy started playing hockey at the Ground 65 years ago and has been a trustee for more than 30 years.
Peter Dodd – Peter also played hockey at the Ground in 1954 and has been a trustee for 25 years.
Nick Salt – Nick is also an ex-chairman of Southgate Squash & Racketball Club and Oakhill Tigers Football Club. He has been a supporter of the Walker Ground for more than 30 years. Nick is a very competitive sportsman and has used his considerable experience and expertise as a business administrator and manager on behalf of the Walker Ground for the last 3 years.
Gerald Wingrove – Gerald joined Southgate Cricket Club in 1976 and played squash in the 80s. He joined the trustee body in 2006.
We have vacancies for new trustees and would be interested to hear from anyone willing to get involved in running the ground.
Over the last three years, the Ground’s staff and many volunteers have worked hard to secure the future of the Ground and lay the foundation for much needed improvements in facilities and an increase in sporting use. The trustees aim to provide an environment in which all Ground users work together for the good of the Ground as a whole. An example of this is the annual fireworks event, which relies on over 50 volunteers from our various user clubs. Money raised from this and other events is used to maintain and improve our facilities.
The 2008/09 winter saw the return of rugby to the Ground for the first time in 100 years. Southgate Rugby Club have quickly established themselves as an important and enthusiastic Ground user club and we hope they will prosper at the Ground. Other notable developments include new football clubs, enlarged five-a-side tournament, Middlesex CC returning after a 1 year absence, a new roof to the main pavilion/squash courts, new goal posts, upgraded squash courts, refurbished “Adelaide” room and long overdue attention to many trees on the Ground.
We support our user clubs in their efforts to achieve England Sport Club Mark status.
Working in partnership with our clubs, we have successfully applied for various grants and partnership funding – we would like to register our thanks to ASDA Community Foundation, Arthur Ashby Trust, Football Foundation, Capital Radio Help A London Child, Awards For All, local Councils Enfield and Barnet, ProActive London, Palmers Green High School and relevant National Governing Sporting Bodies.
Unfortunately recent news at the Ground is dominated by two problems, which were completely outside our control. Our 18 year old boiler sprang a leak depriving the main pavilion of hot water and our main changing rooms flooded as the winter snow melted. Well informed opinion blamed the flooded changing rooms on a rising water table delaying the discovery of a leaking pipe. We apologise to all the users who have been affected by these problems, which should be resolved during the course of the next two weeks.
We hope to upgrade the tennis court surfaces to provide a better surface for both tennis and netball for the Weld Lawn Tennis Club and other users such as Palmers Green High School. We still have a funding gap in terms of the most desirable surface, however, we are in discussions with interested parties to try and raise the necessary funds. Please refer to our Charity link on front page.
Looking forward, we have a team of 40 volunteers (organised by Vickie Prow / Lorna Empson – SSRC members) attending the Ground on Thursday, 14th May. We hope to achieve a significant upgrade in terms of decorating within the pavilion and clearing/tidying around the Ground. If anyone wishes to assist or support the volunteers with a refreshing evening drink, please contact Vickie or Lorna and arrange to attend.
