Park dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is opened at Daedalus Common

Residents can now access the new 40-acre park, in time for the Christmas holidays, following an unveiling by Fareham councillors.

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The area, formerly known as Daedalus Common, offers a large open space for cyclists, dog walkers and children making their journey to school.

Councillor Seán Woodward, leader of the council planted the memorial tree alongside Crofton Anne Dale Junior School pupils Brandon, seven, Iris, 10, Arrietty, nine, and Shiann, nine.

He said: ‘We’re going to plant a field maple in honour of The Queen, this will be added to the 21,000 trees which have already been planted on this site.

‘The Queen, as I'm sure many of you are aware, one of her wishes was for a green canopy across the United Kingdom - this is something we view as a council as extremely important, to provide as many trees as we can.

‘This is the mulch that has been gathered from all of the flowers which were left around the borough in honour of The Queen’s passing - they are going to form the base of this field maple which we hope will flourish over many years to come.

‘I am honoured to have planted the memorial tree today which I hope will serve as a permanent reminder to all those who felt compelled to leave condolence flowers as a tribute to her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

'We have this fantastic public facility which I know is going to be hugely used, at the most basic level it’s a safe route to school for children instead of going along the main road.’

The new park stretches across Gosport Road next to the Solent Airport at Daedalus.

The park features a network of walking and cycling paths, an area for dog exercising, a children’s play area and various habitats.

The new park was created by the National Grid, at a cost of £5m, as part of the planning application for the IFA2 interconnector cable.