Parks For People
| West Midlands |
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West MidlandsApproved
Stage 1 Pass:
Gheluvelt Park, Worcester, Worcester City Council Contact Name: Richard Hopkins Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 01905 722564 The primary objective of the Gheluvelt Park project is to reverse the decline of an attractive and much valued park for expanded community use combined with a desire to see its social and cultural significance explained. The projects proposals will see a restoration of the park's key features, including a planting strategy aimed at improving horticultural standards, and will be developed alongside improved facilities for play, better access, and interpretation for visitors and residents alike. The comprehensive improvements of the park's physical character, in particular addressing unsympathetic additions combined with an enhanced programme of maintenance, will make it cleaner, safer and greener. The project will also see investment into an educational strategy matched to a long term commitment to educational activities. Due to a change in Project Managers the project had ground to a halt, however, the appointment of a new Project Manager has resulted in the renewal of the process and the project is now in early stages of implementation. A 6 month extension was requested and a decision is expected from the HLF soon. Lichfield: Beacon Park, Minster Pool and Gardens of Remembrance, Lichfield District Council Contact Name: Alison Richards Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 01543 308187 Beacon Park (including the Museum Gardens and Recreation Grounds), the Gardens of Remembrance and Minster Pool form a chain of well loved and well used parks immediately adjacent to the historic centre of Lichfield and dominated by views of the mediaeval Cathedral. What is known locally as Beacon Park comprises three areas; Beacon Park covering 27 hectares and occupying the estate parkland of Beacon House built in 1800. This open parkland provides opportunities for informal recreation, play, football and golf; the Museum Gardens opened in 1859, retain the air of classic early Victorian public park with statues, a fountain and formal bedding; the Recreation Grounds opened 30 years later in 1891 provides tennis and bowls and forms the transitional area between the formal Museum Gardens and the open parkland of Beacon Park. Framing iconic views of the Cathedral immediately to the north, Minster Pool and Walk is a formal area in the 'natural style' and is characterised by a large lake set in a landscape of mature trees and 18th century buildings. The Pool is of pre medieval origin however the serpentine form and walk along the southern boundary which still exists, were created in 1772 on the advice of Anna Seward, a friend of Humphrey Repton. The Garden of Remembrance found on the north bank of Minster Pool, was created in 1920 to commemorate those lost in the First World War. This garden provides a site for quiet contemplation, with striking views of Minster Pool and the Cathedral. The Mere at Ellesmere Heritage Project, Shropshire County Council Countryside Service Contact Name: Elaine Reynolds Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 01743 785 555 The Mere at Ellesmere Heritage Project will include landscape conservation work aimed at restoring the relict 19th century designed landscape features such as the Garden Terrace. Building conservation works will restore the key heritage buildings: the Boathouse Restaurant, the kiosk and 3 boat houses. Inappropriate 20th century additions will be removed. Access will be improved by creating better links, signage and information to help and enable the enjoyment of visitors. New facilities will be added to meet current user need and demand, including a 'youth area' and visitor/community centre. Interpretation will be delivered using three themes: natural landscape, wildlife and social history coupled with the provision of educational resources and support. The new post of Community Development Officer will be created, whose key role will be to develop volunteer opportunities, the creation of 'friends' groups and partnership working. War Memorial Park, Coventry County Council Contact Name: Ces Edwards Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 02476 832348 The War Memorial Park Project has the primary purpose of rejuvenating the neglected park back into beneficial use for the whole community through the process of restoring its historic buildings and features, revitalising its facilities and investing in its horticultural quality. Improvements to the park's physical character will make it cleaner, safer and greener which will be accompanied by an extensive programme of audience development, skills training and educational opportunities. The proposals seek to make the park more accessible both in physical terms but also increasing intellectual access is a key aim of the project. In order to meet the latter objective, the project has identified the following areas as being of key importance; Linking War Memorial Park to other strategic initiatives within the city and building upon Coventry's thematic identity of City of Peace and Reconciliation, Implementing an interpretation strategy to engage users with the park's social and historical significance and the importance of the natural environment, Providing an education/audience development plan, training and volunteering strategies which seek to connect a broad cross section of the community with the city's premier park. The physical improvements are intended to strengthen two principal character areas within the park and to develop a third. The proposal also plans to provide a formal parkland, providing a more intimate scale with quiet areas for contemplation contrasted with a vibrant play area for children and young people. An area for large scale events and activities that bring the whole community together and finally, to create an informal country park character, placing an emphasis on contact with nature and enhancing biodiversity. By strengthening these character zones, it is hoped that the restored and revitalised park will continue to appeal to its existing audience whilst developing new areas. Dartmouth Park, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Contact Name: John Satchwell Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 0121 569 4248 The main objective for the Dartmouth Park project is to establish the park as the premier park for West Bromwich. It will do so by trying to incorporate the conservation of the built and natural environment, the strengthening of connections between the park and the town centre in order to promote initial visits and encourage repeat visits and finally creating by a unified management team within the rejuvenated park. Investment within the park will focus upon restoration of the war memorial and associated avenue, developing the events plateau for audience development, reducing the overall impact of the maintenance depot on the park landscape, regenerating the northern slope by new tree and shrub planting, improving the existing play area bowl and restoring the central core through a new community building and performance space. It is hoped that a new water feature in the large lake will serve as a visitor focal point. The progress of the project is deemed as running smoothly and construction on the project is likely to begin late this year/early next year. Walsall Arboretum, Walsall, Walsall Borough Council Contact Name: Chris Holliday Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 01922 650339 The Arboretum is Walsall's premier park located within half a mile of Walsall Town Centre. Comprising of 170 acres it is one of the oldest parks in the borough; originally developed around two flooded limestone quarries and opened as a public park in 1874. Demand for recreation space from the expanding town led to the extension of the original core of the Arboretum, to create the current layout of the park. The formal historic core of the park houses several features including a Grade 2 listed Boathouse, the locally listed Clock Tower, two lakes, a bandstand and the Leckie Sons of Rest building-the original Pavilion Refreshment Room for the park. There is also sports provision in the form of tennis courts, a croquet lawn and bowling greens. The park extension offers a more informal landscape, which contains a children's play area and lido, a trim trail and a community garden which is currently been developed. Beyond the extension and the car park further sports provision is offered through the Golf Course and Cricket pitches. A brook which feeds the lake runs through the entire length of the park and the varying landscape offers the opportunity for a pleasant walk, to 'get away from it all', an essential 'breathing space' for local residents and people who work in Walsall Town Centre. As well as serving a wide local audience the Arboretum hosts a wide range of events and activities, including the annual Walsall Illuminations which attract visitors from West Midlands Region and further afield. Stage 1 passTelford Town Park, Telford and Wrekin Council Contact Name: Joanne Ridgway Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 01952 382 602 Telford Town Park covers 150 hectares of urban Park. It is a significant green space in the centre of Telford with a large number of communities surrounding it. The Park is popular, in particular amongst families due to its high quality and innovative play provision. It also has a reputation for hosting large scale events such as race for Life and Telford & Wrekin CultureFest. During the Industrial Revolution, its landscape was once a hive of activity, until the 1860's when the area was abandoned leaving behind derelict remains now reclaimed by nature. The area evolved over centuries and what we now know as Telford Town Park was established in the 1970's by Telford Development Corporation (TDC) the concept being to provide an area of open green space right in the heart of the 'new town'. The North of the Park consists of horticultural landscape features; the Chelsea, Heather, Maxell and Sensory Gardens. Facilities include; Play Areas, an Events Arena, Amphitheatre, Bandstand, Spout Farm House Visitor Information Centre. Wonderland, a visitor attraction for young children, is also located within the Park boundary. The South of the Park is of ecological and historical importance, hence its status as a Local Nature Reserve. The Reserve contains heritage features, pools and pit mounds, all remnants of the 1860's industries. The pit mounds evolved into small heathland and woodlands, hedgerows grew alongside the old canal and railway tracks and the quarries became pools. The Park is so valuable for wildlife that approximately 62 hectares is now designated as a Local Nature Reserve. Today the Park provides informal recreation use: local residents and regional visitors utilising the Park for recreational pursuits, namely dog walking, cycling, rambling /walking, orienteering, fishing, jogging, horse riding and play. Burslem Park, Burlsem, Stoke-on-Trent City Council Contact Name: Robin Belcher Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 01782 233772 At 22 acres Burslem Park is one of the largest registered Victorian Parks in the UK and is listed Grade II on English Heritage's Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. It was designed by Thomas Mawson on colliery waste land, 400m east of Burslem town centre in Stoke-on-Trent. The park opened in 1894 and is considered to be one of the best and earliest examples of Mawson's work in public parks in the country. The original layout remains largely unchanged and most of the key elements are still evident. At the centre of the park is a formal terrace garden containing a bandstand and a pavilion, constructed in the Elizabethan style. This area is enclosed by the remains of terracotta balustrading and also contains two shelters and the bases of two fountains. Sinuous paths lead into the wider park and to an attractive lake with rockwork and cascade, beyond which is the lodge located at the Moorland Road entrance. During the 1980s and 1990s the park suffered from a lack of investment and its facilities and infrastructure declined accordingly. However since the turn of this century the availability of resources has enabled various projects to be undertaken including the refurbishment of the lake and cascades, improvements to the tennis/ball courts, and the provision of a new play area and skate park. In addition, lighting has been installed along the main paths. Most recently, the site of the former aviary has been re-modelled as a seating area with a custom-designed mosaic depicting historical themes. Priory Park, Dudley, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Contact Name: Duncan Lowndes Contact Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Contact Number: 01384 815500 The regeneration of Priory Park is very much community-led. Since 2002, the Friends of Priory Park and the Green have successfully sought resources, for instance from the Liveability Fund, for new recreational facilities and they have galvanised the local community with events such as Christmas Carols and a Medieval Fair. Now, a partnership of the Friends and Dudley MBC proposes further improvements including the repair and consolidation of historic structures, improvements to walking surfaces and seating for better access, improved recreational provision and better facilities including new toilets and the hire of recreational equipment. Social benefits will include positive changes in management and maintenance, improved supervision of the park to promote better, a major horticultural training initiative for unemployed people, sports training for young people and group activities for health and well-being. The project will also lead to stronger links with the town centre and Dudley Castle placing Priory Park prominently in the Council's overall regeneration objectives, which include the improvement of the town centre through the Townscape Heritage Initiative, development for employment, and the linking of cultural sites to promote a visitor destination. |
