Source: FOOTYMAD
Victoria Park to become mini zoo
Pendle Council have announced that Nelson FC's former ground is to be turned into an animal attraction. "Little Wembley", as it is of course known to locals, has remained virtually untouched since then chairman Alan Pickering announced last July that Nelson Football Club were pulling out the the Vodkat North West Counties League. It has since been in the council's thoughts as to what to do with the ground, and official Albert Higginbotham today outlned what should turn out to be an exciting new venture: "It has long been in our plans to bring the spark back into the gem that was Victoria Park, and with the availability of the adjoining Nelson football ground, we felt there was an opportunity waiting to happen. "Many options were suggested, but we have decided that we are going to build a bridge across the river at the southern edge of the park, onto the ground, which will be converted into 'Animal Kingdom'. "We see it as a similar venture to 'Animal World' (right) which is run successfully at Moss Bank Park in Bolton, and we intend to setup plenty of enclosures with a wide variety of interesting animals. "To retain links to the footballing past of the venue, we will be including an area for a few donkeys, although the rumours that among the names decided for them are Daz, Bez, Sheapy and Sparky, are definitely wide of the mark". Work is expected to start on the tranformation later on this summer, with the council looking to have the venue ready for opening in the summer of 2013. While it certainly sounds to be an exciting venture, which could well bring extra vistors back to the underused park, it will certainly court some controversy in certain quarters, and we wait to see what unfolds over the coming months.
