Around three months ago, Betty Hussey looked out the window of her local bar and thought to herself what a disgraceful state the local park was in. Since the disbandment of the local community of owners some years ago, communal areas in the “Patricias” urbanization of Torreta III have been left neglected and thus have fallen into disrepair. Never one to sit back on her laurels, Betty wasn’t long in rounding up a team of willing volunteers who rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into the hard work of restoring the park.
Just three months down the line, and with a lot of work left to do, the park is already unrecognisable. Weeds have been noticeably reduced, the communal areas have been cleaned up and the overhanging trees have been neatly pruned.
We met Betty this week to find out how they managed to rally together and what they’ve achieved so far. Betty said, “It was like the third world, I looked out the window and said to myself ‘it’s a disgrace’ and decided there and then I had to do something.”

“We live here all year round,” continued Betty, “It’s so nice to be able to sit outside, in a nice environment, but with all the weeds and vegetation here, we were destroyed by ‘mozzies’.”
Not a lady you’d ever describe as shy and retiring, Betty rounded up a posse and began work on the once miserable park.
As soon as work began though, complaints started to emerge from a small pocket of residents trying to sabotage the group’s community spirit.
As it turns out though, the complaints were a blessing in disguise. Officials from the town hall contacted Betty and once she explained the situation to them properly, they were on site within 20 minutes to see what they could do to help. Betty told the CoastRider, “The Councillor for Parks, Eduardo Gil, was nothing short of brilliant. Also, Graham Knight has been acting as our liaison with the Parks Department and doing a lot of translating for us. Without the two of them, all this work would have been impossible.”
Betty and her posse have been keeping the town hall updated as work progresses. So far, the town hall provided skips and manual workers to prune the trees and generally tidy up.
Plans are also afoot to install a petanca lane or two, which residents are visibly excited about. Betty explained that fundraising is ongoing and every bit of work being done is organized as and when the next lot of funds are available. By providing manual work and skips, Betty reckons the Town Hall saved the residents as much as €500 in costs – an amount for which residents are extremely grateful.Since then, residents have dug out weed-beds, laid a plastic membrane and gravel and installed pretty solar lights.
The next step, as we said, is the petanca lane and perhaps even a club to follow that. Better use of the playground space will be made and the children’s play equipment will need to be replaced as the current set is rusted and quite dangerous.
All of this, of course, costs money.
Money which the residents have been raising through car boot sales outside Bar Patricia’s every Sunday in the blistering heat, as well as a number of fundraisers locally. The next events take place on July 12th in Bar Patricia’s – a “Pig Racing” fun day, and July 18th, also in Bar Patricia’s, a big open day for the park with BBQ, tombola and music.
Betty and the team are appealing to any businesses who can help with materials to help restore this park to its former glory to please come forward. “If a garden centre could donate chippings, or tools, or even some furniture; perhaps a bricolage could provide play equipment something we could use,” said the group. If a company wanted to sponsor some work or materials, perhaps a plaque could be erected for those who contributed – excellent publicity! Any local residents who want to get involved in the project can do so by calling Betty on 966 786 577. Workers are needed for the next phase of physical work and anyone with spare weedkiller lying around would be assured of a warm welcome! As we mentioned, the team raise money each Sunday outside Bar Patricia’s at a car boot sale, so items are always needed to raise money – donations can be made through Betty Hussey at the number above.