FRIENDS of Platt Fields, one of the most active groups involved with the well-being of a Manchester park, have special reasons for wanting to see the 90-acre open space in Fallowfield in its finest form for the Commonwealth Games.

They have relocated the fountain from Piccadilly Gardens to the park and it will be the centrepiece of extensive new plantings in what they have dubbed Jubilee Gardens. They want the Queen to open it while she is in Manchester for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games.

Platt Fields, two miles from the city centre, is Manchester's premier events park, with numerous facilities including a boating lake, bowling greens, tennis, crazy golf, the Platt Hall Costume Gallery and Shakespearean gardens. The annual Manchester Show will open less than a fortnight after the Commonwealth Games.

Acquired by the city in 1908, its history dates back to the 12th Century and Platt Hall was reputedly the home of Lt Col Charles Worsley, Manchester's first MP and one of Oliver Cromwell's most trusted officers. Parliamentarians of the modern era, however, described it as "tired in some parts" after a visit.

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