RUDHEATH residents are welcoming King Charles to the throne with a bumper three-day community celebration.

Saturday, May 6, will see St John’s Playing Field transformed into a village showground for ‘Picnic in the Park’, with food stall, a bouncy castle, painting and baking competitions, and a village sports day arena.

Sunday, May 7, will see two football matches kicking-off at 10.30am and 2pm. The afternoon match is a celebrity game with Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars, with demonstrations from local a cheerleading group, a boxing club, and a hula hoop fitness expert in between.  

The national Big Help Out takes place on Monday, May 8, a chance for people to get involved in volunteering in their local communities, so residents are encouraged to return to the playing fields to lend a hand with the clear-up and do some park maintenance. 

Northwich town councillor, Olwyn Dean, who is coordinating the event for the Friends of Griffiths Park, said: “Before I started promoting it, people were asking whether there would be anything in the community for the coronation, so I suppose there must be an appetite.

“I’m not sure people will be going overboard about like I remember in the 70s with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

“Society has changed, but there’s very much a feeling that we need to bring the community together for any reason, and the coronation is a good a reason as any.

“There’ll be fun for everyone, whether they’re a toddler who wants to run a race or grandad who wants to get involved in the tug o’ war.

“I haven’t been told who the celebrities are for the football match. Apparently, it’s a secret.”

St John’s Playing Fields are currently under threat from a housing development, and Rudheath Parish Council, which manages the field as a community resource, received a letter this week from landowner NPL’s lawyers telling them to vacate by the end of this year.

Campaigners against the development have been doing all they can to demonstrate the field's value community resource, and events like the coronation celebration could prove useful.

Cllr Dean added: “I think the coronation celebration is a good thing in terms of the campaign because one thing NPL put forward was that the field wasn’t used, but it is used.

“We don’t make a lot of fuss about it normally, and I think that’s the point. We haven’t made enough fuss. We’ve just got on and done things.

“We need to be much more obvious about what we’re doing, and that’s what we’re trying to do this year: to prove the field is a valuable part of the community.”

Businesses and charities who want to book a stall should contact Cllr Dean on 07886 964 369, or email: olwyndean@rudheathparishcouncil.org.uk