Consultation results

This report sets out a short summary of the detailed consultation that was carried out during the preparation of the Stage 1 Parks for People Lottery application to restore Walsall Arboretum.

Who have we spoken to?

As a starting point we looked back at the consultation that was carried out in 2001 to see what the key issues were then. We also undertook a comprehensive consultation exercise that included the following:

Establishing new web pages for the project with an on line survey which received 621 responses
Talking to people in the Arboretum – we spoke to 317 people
We wrote to 128 schools and received responses from 30 primary, secondary and special schools
We contacted 125 community based organisations and received responses from 38
We met with 8 community groups and user groups of the Arboretum
We held meetings and workshops with staff, elected members and the Arboretum User Group

What did people tell us?

Overall Walsall Arboretum is a popular and well loved green space and there is overwhelming support for its restoration. There are however some big issues to be addressed and a range of improvements to be made:

Big issues

A big concern across users and non users alike is the overall lack of facilities and poor quality of those facilities that are present. The Arboretum has the potential to be a park of regional importance but its current facilities do little to attract people from further a field.

One of the biggest barriers to use across all ages and groups is the current condition of the toilets in the Arboretum – they are rarely in use and are in poor condition. This impacts on schools use of the park as an educational venue and it also limits the length of time people stay in the park.

A third issue is the physical presence of site based staff – almost every survey highlighted the need for a greater visibility of staff. In some surveys this was linked to people’s perceptions of their own safety and the need for wardens to tackle incidences of anti social behaviour or inappropriate use of facilities. In other surveys it is linked to a desire to see more events and activities both for the general public and targeted to community groups and schools.

A further issue to be addressed is the lack of awareness of what the Arboretum can offer groups and schools. Whilst the capital funding may address the facilities there is also a need to look at marketing and educational materials.

Concerns were expressed about the lack of facilities for teenagers and young people. Some people also commented that young people hanging around in the park made them feel unsafe. There is currently limited provision for this age range.

A management issue to be resolved is the number of vehicle movements in the park – people felt that there were too many cars in the park. Linked to this is car parking, in general this was thought by some groups to be an issue.

Improvements

Not surprisingly the biggest improvements focus on the buildings in the park.

Toilets were identified as a weakness so there is a clear need to provide better quality facilities as part of the restoration project.

Across all groups there was a desire to see better catering facilities in the park and very often this was linked to the desire to see a new visitor or educational centre.

The third building project that was highlighted is the restoration and re-use of the boathouse. Currently it is semi-derelict and has not been used for several years. It is also a listed building so its restoration will be a key part of the project.

The issue of site based staff came through strongly as an improvement and this is clearly an area that needs further discussion.

Other improvements that were identified link to the big issues mentioned above; namely the need for better promotion of the park, the need for more events and activities and the need to consider provision for teenagers and young people.

What will we do now?

The Heritage Lottery Fund, Parks for People Stage 1 Application for the Arboretum was submitted in March 2007 and subsequently resubmitted with several revisions in September 2007. The application received a Stage 1 ‘pass’ in March 2008 and a lottery grant of £220,000 was awarded. Greenspace Services will utilise this grant to part fund a 12 month development period (April 2008- March 2009) during which a Stage 2 application will be prepared.

The Stage 2 application will be submitted in March 2009 and if all goes to plan the project will gain final approval from the Heritage Lottery Fund in the summer of that year. The resultant three year Arboretum Restoration Programme, which proposes a fundamental uplift to the park, its facilities, its management and maintenance and future development will be delivered autumn 2009- autumn 2012.

Stage 2 application

The Stage 2 application will consist of detailed plans and costings for all of the landscape and building work proposed within the Stage 1 masterplan. All of the supporting documents produced for the Stage 1 application will also be developed and finalised to meet the requirements of the Heritage Lottery Fund at Stage 2.

A public consultation programme is planned for September- November 2008 to build upon the initial project consultation, in order to ensure that the final proposals have the support of local people and park users.

Greenspace Services are recruiting a new Arboretum Project Manager to oversee the development of the project and a specialist consultancy team has recently been appointed to assist with the production of the Stage 2 application.

This team, consisting of landscape architects, building architects and a support team of sub contractors will work alongside Greenspace Services to develop the project and (subject to a successful Stage 2 application) will also oversee the delivery of the restoration programme.

The Stage 2 application will be submitted at the end of March 2009 and providing that it fulfils the requirements of both funders- the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund, £4.7m of grant funding will be secured to part fund the £7.9m Arboretum Restoration Programme.

Service Improvement

Since the submission of the Stage 1 application, we have made several improvements within the park and to the way we deliver services within the park, guided by a 10 year action plan which was produced as part of the Stage 1 application.

The proposed Restoration Programme and large scale capital improvements due to be delivered 2009-2012 are central to the delivery of the 10 year action plan, but we recognise that in order to achieve our vision for the Arboretum (see below), that improvements must begin straight away.

Arboretum Vision

‘To restore and enhance the highly valued historic park in the heart of the Arboretum Conservation Area, and to celebrate the cultural diversity of the commercial and residential community, promoting Civic pride and local identity in Walsall’.

View the Arboretum restoration masterplan

For further information on the Restoration Programme or to make a comment on the proposals please contact Louise Harris:

Contact us

Arboretum Top Lodge
Lichfield Street
Walsall
WS4 2BU

Telephone: 01922 654318
Email: harrislc@walsall.gov.uk