WYRE FOREST district council have acted after ‘inappropriate’ comments were made on a social media post revealing a new Kidderminster park was to be after a community champion.
The new Talbot Park and green space on Worcester Street is set to be opened to the public in the spring and will be named after Charles Talbot MBE, a former mayor who served the community for nearly 60 years.
News of the park itself has been met with a mixed reception, prompting some residents to express their views on the project in the comments to a Facebook post revealing the park would be named after Charles.
Wyre Forest District Council then moved to disable the comments on the post and publish a statement on Facebook.
The post said: “We know there are different views about the park, and we do welcome feedback, but this post is specifically about celebrating Charles Talbot’s life and the decision to name the park in his honour.
“ We don’t think it’s appropriate for those wider conversations to take place here.
“We appreciate your understanding.”
Charles served on Wyre Forest District Council for three years between 1976 and 1979 and was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2017 for services to the community.
His many achievements include founding the Youth Centre, which earned him an MBE, being a founder Trustee of the Museum of Carpet, being involved in the campaign to create a Town Council for Kidderminster and his long involvement with twinning with Husum.
The new park directly links up the youth centre on Bromsgrove Street, which Charles was instrumental in building when he was Mayor of Kidderminster in 1965/66 and was a founding trustee until his death.
Jean Talbot, Charles’s widow, said: “We feel honoured that Charles’s life-long contribution and dedication to Kidderminster is being recognised in this way.
“The family has contributed to professional life and public service in Kidderminster with seven mayors spanning seven generations.
“We hope this park, this green space planted with trees, providing a new link through the centre of the town, will become a place of rest and relaxation, enjoyed by all for many generations to come.”
