MEADOWPARK, BRAINTREE: The Official Opening

Meadow Park was launched the way it means to go on with a splendid buffet lunch, following the official opening ceremony performed by local MP, Brooks Newmark with the assistance of Stephen Everington, chief executive of Hallmark Developments. Over 100 guests, purchasers and friends - many of them soon-to-be residents exchanged gossip and news in the John Ray Pavilion to the soothing background tones of the Hot Jazz Quartet.

David Finch, chairman of Braintree Council congratulated Hallmark on the boost given to Braintree by Meadow Park and Stephen Everington in turn thanked the District Council for the support given over the development. Jean Grice, head of cultural services on the District Council, presented a painting of butterflies in memory of local celebrity John Ray, the 17th century botanist who first classified some 18,000 flowering plants and after whom the Pavilion is named, and Malcolm Bryan, chairman of the John Ray Trust, arrived in costume accompanied by Trust secretary Janet Turner also in costume. A rainy morning turned into a sunny afternoon and the guests were able to wander round, visiting the newly completed show homes and getting a real idea of what it will be like to live in Meadow Park in the future.