APPENDIX 1 - Wrexham · Web view8.1 Wrexham’s first park, Bellevue Park, was created in the...

AGENDA ITEM NO. 5

REPORT TO: Executive Board

REPORT NO: CEnO/16/09

DATE: 16 June 2009

LEAD MEMBER: Councillor David A Bithell (Environment and Transport)

LEAD OFFICER: Chief Environment Officer

CONTACT OFFICER: Martin Howorth (Tel: 763142)

SUBJECT: Wrexham Parks Strategy

WARD: All

1. PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

To consider the Wrexham Parks Strategy following public consultation (Appendix 1).

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2.1 Wrexham’s Parks are very heavily used and their popularity continues to rise, close to three quarters of a million visits were made to the parks in the year 2007/8 (1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008). Attendance at the events programme at the parks was 32,000 people and over 5,000 children took part in environmental educational activities in the parks. People gave over 7,000 volunteer hours to the parks that year.

2.2 The purpose of developing a Parks Strategy is to develop a shared vision between Wrexham County Borough Council members, the local community and park users of what our parks should look like and how we will use them over the next 5 years. It was felt due to their size, complexity and competing demands placed upon them, a Parks Strategy was needed to guide their development.

2.3 Parks provide a great opportunity to help us become fitter and healthier, they are on the doorstep of most people in Wrexham, they are free and they are accessible. We know from surveys, once

people start to use the parks they become regular users. The challenge is to get the people who are not using them now, to start using them.

3 RECOMMENDATION

3.1 That Members approve the Wrexham Parks Strategy.

REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

To enable the strategic development and improvement of the parks network in Wrexham County Borough.

John BradburyChief Environment Officer

4. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

4.1 Wrexham has probably some of the best parks in Wales, if the Green Flag criteria is used (four Green Flag national awards are held for Alyn Waters Country Park, Ty Mawr Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Bellevue Park).The parks and open spaces are probably the most heavily used of Council facilities (People’s Voice Panel 2006).

4.2 This is the first Parks Strategy for Wrexham County Borough as the parks development has been guided through the Countryside Recreation Strategy (1993) and Countryside Strategy (2002) in the past. The strategy covers the period 2009 to 2014.

4.3 The Parks Strategy seeks to define the value of our parks and create a policy framework to enable us to protect, enhance and make the parks more accessible. It will help to ensure the parks enhance the quality and diversity of our wildlife and landscape. The strategy will help people to understand what role they can play in caring for their parks.

4.4 The Parks Strategy provides the framework and the Action Plan sets out how we will achieve the work

4.5 The management and delivery of the strategy will be through the Environment Department’s, Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Service, in partnership with other Wrexham County Borough Council Departments, Countryside Council For Wales, Community Councils, Friends Groups, community groups and other interested partners.

2

4.6 Aims of the strategy:- Aim – caring for the landscape and heritage Aim – protecting wildlife Aim – consulting and involving the community Aim – widening the use of the parks Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active Aim – providing information Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers Aim – developing staff and volunteers

4.7 Key recommendations arising out of the strategy are:-

Continue to encourage the development of Friends Groups of the parks and community involvement in the parks.

Work to secure grant aid for the improvement in facilities at Acton Park, Alyn Waters Country Park, Ty Mawr Country Park and Moss Valley

Country Park. Continue to make the parks more accessible for people with disabilities

and encourage a wider use of the parks by older people and women. Continue to reduce the amount of litter and dog fouling in the parks. Continue the successful events, volunteer and education programmes

led by parks staff. Review visitor centre information and white on brown signing to the

parks. 5. CONSULTATION

5.1 Consultation in the development of the strategy was undertaken with school children, children’s groups, Wrexham Access Forum (disability group), staff, volunteers and Friends Groups. Visitor surveys amongst park users and some non user survey work was undertaken. The Draft Strategy was put out for public consultation, this generated a press article, a Wrexham Evening Leader’s editorial comment and some detailed comments from members of the public, Community Councils, the Countryside Council For Wales, Wrexham County Borough Council Officers, Friends of the Parks and volunteer groups.

5.2 The consultation suggests the parks are highly valued by the people that use them, they enjoy the wildlife, the scenery, the quietness, the easy access and the good facilities in some of the parks. Dog fouling and litter (in some parks) seems to concern people and the need for better information and better facilities (in some parks). People consider the staff are helpful and friendly. The events programme and educational work is popular. The desire for Rangers at every park is another key feature of the group consultation work.

3

6. SCRUTINY COMMITTEE COMMENTS

6.1 Members of the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee received a presentation on the current situation of Wrexham’s Parks on 24 September 2008. This was followed by a site visit on 14 October 2008 to some parks as part of the fact finding stage of the strategy development. The initial Draft Parks Strategy was considered by the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee on 4 March 2009 and members approved the public consultation on the Parks Strategy. Members received the results of the public consultation at the meeting of the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee held on 13 May. Members thanked the Officers for their hard work and efforts, and were happy to recommend approval by the Executive Board.

7.0 IMPLICATIONS

7.1 Policy Framework – Parks support a number of national policies related to health, the environment and climate change, either directly or indirectly, such as Climbing Higher, the Welsh Assembly Strategy for Sport and Physical Activity, 2005 and The Environment Strategy for Wales, 2006 (the Welsh Assembly Strategy for the Environment). The Parks Strategy supports the Wrexham’s Community Strategy 2009 – 2020, Caring for our Health 2008- 2011, The Health, Social Care and Well-Being Strategy for Wrexham and the Children and Young People’s Plan 2008-11.

7.2 Budget – The majority of actions from the strategy will be delivered

through external grant aid, often in partnership with community groups or through the existing revenue budgets. There is no request for additional budget funding for the delivery of the strategy.

7.3 Legal – N/A.

7.4 Staffing –There are no staffing implications in the delivery of this strategy.

7.5 Equalities/Diversity – An Equality Impact Assessment has been carried out on the Parks Strategy and sent onto the Equality Manager.

BACKGROUND PAPERS LOCATION WEBSITE INFO.None

4

Appendix 1

Parks Strategy2009

5

Parks Strategy 2009

Contents

Executive SummaryVision Statement 1.0 Introduction2.0 Scope of the Strategy3.0 Strategic Context4.0 Why do we need parks? 5.0 Legislation6.0 Description of the Parks7.0 Ecological value of the parks8.0 Development of parks in Wrexham9.0 Park Distribution 10.0 Quality and standards of parks11.0 Performance Indicators12.0 Funding of the parks 13.0 Management of the Parks14.0 Park Management Skills15.0 Use of the Parks- Visitor Numbers 16.0 Use of the Parks- Visitors17.0 Use of the Parks- Community Involvement18.0 Use of the Parks-Events 19.0 Use of the Parks- Environmental Education20.0 Population and health21.0 - 25.0 Consultation 26.0 Summary of Consultation27.0 Aims of the strategy28.0 -36.0 Delivery of the strategy-Action Plan 40.0 Monitoring and Evaluation Appendices

6

Executive SummaryWrexham’s Parks are very heavily used and their popularity continues to rise, close to three quarters of a million visits were made to the parks in the year 2007/8 (1st April 2007 to 31st March 2008). Attendance at the events programme at the parks last year was 32,000 people and over 5,000 children took part in environmental educational activities in the parks. People gave over 7,000 volunteer hours to the parks that year. These figures show how well used the parks are and the quality of some of our parks is demonstrated by the four Green Flag national awards we hold for Alyn Waters Country Park, Ty Mawr Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Bellevue Park.

Wrexham has probably some of the best parks in Wales, if the Green Flag criteria is used and parks and open spaces are probably the most heavily used of Council facilities (People’s Voice Panel 2006).

Consultation shows us we still have work to do to improve the parks, dog fouling and litter in some parks remains a concern. There is a need to improve the quality of Acton Park and Moss Valley Country Park and we still need to improve the quality of the physical facilities to help disabled people better use the parks.

Parks provide a great opportunity to help us become fitter and healthier, they are on the doorstep of most people in Wrexham, they are free and they are accessible. We know from surveys, once people start to use the parks they become regular users. The challenge is to get the people who are not using them now, to start using them.

Parks also have a role as outdoor sports facilities, places to run and cycle or hold large events such as ‘Race For Life’.

We need to continue to improve the information we provide about parks, what each park has to offer and how to get there, remain basic needs that visitors say we need to improve upon.

The events, volunteer and educational programmes for visitors, adults and children, continues to be very popular and helps raise environmental awareness in the local community.

The growth in use of the parks means we need to increasingly consider the needs of wildlife and to improve the wildlife value of the parks through good management to encourage people to use the paths and leave some areas quieter.

We will not put in place dog control orders excluding dogs from the parks or require dogs on leads in the parks at the present, but this maybe reviewed in the future.

The play areas in the parks are some of the most popular in the County Borough and receive heavy wear and tear. We need to continue to invest in

7

the play areas and consider youth facilities in parks such as Acton, where there is space and an appropriate location can be agreed.

The Friends of the Parks are now developing across many of the parks, they have an important role in helping raise funds to support the parks and to provide advice on how we manage and develop the parks.

The challenge over the next five years will be to manage the parks network with a declining budget and rising expectations and visitor numbers.

8

Vision for our parks Wrexham’s parks will be clean, accessible places, havens for wildlife and safe for people to use. They will be well used both by local people and visitors and people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities will enjoy visiting them, whatever the season.

The Parks will be maintained to a high standard, protected from inappropriate development and will be for quiet enjoyment. Local people will feel a sense of ownership of their local park and will be involved in their management and care, whether as a friend of the park, park user, or as a volunteer.

The parks will be places for learning about wildlife and the environment, places to use to keep fit and healthy and places to escape the noise and bustle of life. The people of Wrexham will feel a sense of pride in their parks and be aware of the range of good quality facilities available to use and enjoy. Access to the parks will be free and people will be encouraged to walk, cycle or use public transport to get to the parks. Good quality information on what to see and do in the parks will be available in a variety of media.

9

1.0 Introduction 1.1 This is the first Parks Strategy for Wrexham County Borough as the parks development has been guided through the Countryside Recreation Strategy (1993) and Countryside Strategy (2002) in the past. The strategy covers the period 2009 to 2014.

1.2 The purpose of developing a Parks Strategy is to develop a shared vision between Wrexham County Borough Council members, the local community and park users of what our parks should look like and how we will use them over the next 5 years. It was felt due to their size, complexity and competing demands placed upon them, a Parks Strategy was needed to guide their development.

1.3 The Parks Strategy seeks to define the value of our parks and create a policy framework to enable us to protect, enhance and make the parks more accessible. It will help to ensure the parks enhance the quality and diversity of our wildlife and landscape. The strategy will help people to understand what role they can play in caring for their parks.

1.4 The Parks Strategy provides the framework and the Action Plan sets out how we will achieve the work. The park management plans translate the over all aims of the strategy into specific actions on the ground. Where grants are indicated as a source of revenue, a specific grant has not been allocated to each project as grants information becomes quickly dated. Any project requiring large funds would have to be supported though grant aid.

1.5 The strategy is non statutory, but is set within the framework of key national and local strategies and policies.

1.6 The management and delivery of the strategy will be through the Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Service, in partnership with other Wrexham County Borough Council Departments, Countryside Council For Wales, Community Councils, Friends Groups, community groups and other interested partners.

10

2.0 Scope and purpose of the Strategy2.1 The strategy considers the management and development of the 11 Urban Parks and Country Parks of Wrexham County Borough. These are:-

Alyn Waters Country Park Ty Mawr Country Park Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Park Minera Lead Mines Country Park Stryt Las Park Bonc yr Hafod Country Park Moss Valley Park Acton Park Ponciau Park Brynkinalt Park Bellevue Park.

2.2 All these parks are relatively large areas of open space, owned and managed by Wrexham County Borough Council, with fairly complex management needs, many of them have permanent staff based in the park. The strategy does not cover other areas of publicly managed informal open space.

2.3 There is a Wrexham County Borough Allotment Strategy (2007), Public Rights of Way Improvement Plan (2007), Tree Strategy (2008) and Outdoor Fixed Equipment Play Strategy (2009) and Play Strategy (2009). These strategies interlink with and support the Parks Strategy.

3.0 Strategic ContextNational Policy framework 3.1 Parks support a number of national policies related to health, the environment and climate change, either directly or indirectly. Some of the key strategies are outlined below.

3.2 Climbing Higher, the Welsh Assembly Strategy for Sport and Physical Activity, 20053.2.1 The Parks Strategy 2009 supports the aims of “Climbing Higher”, the Welsh Assembly Strategy for Sport and Physical Activity, 2005. Climbing Higher is a key document with stretching targets for the health of people living in Wales. The strategy focuses on improving the health of the nation through improving physical access to green space and sporting facilities and encouraging children and adults to take more exercise.

3.2.2 Relevant key targets are:-Target 2: All children of primary school age will participate in sport and physical activity for at least 60 minutes, five times a week. Target 10: The percentage of the people in Wales using the Welsh natural environment for outdoor activities will increase from 36% to 60%. Target 12: No one should live more than a six minute walk (300m) from their nearest natural greenspace.

11

3.2.3 The strategy aims to increase physical activity across all ages, gender and social groups and to realise the synergy between sport and the natural environment for the people of Wales.

3.3 The Environment Strategy for Wales, 2006 (the Welsh Assembly Strategy for the Environment) 3.3.1 The Environment Strategy sets out as a vision that by 2026, “we want to see our distinctive Welsh environment thriving and contributing to the economic and social well-being and health of all of the people of Wales”. The strategy sets out important principles and outcomes expected from us all, in particular:- “Individuals understand and are enabled to take responsibility for their environmental impact; changes are apparent in behaviour”. Indicators for this outcome include percentage of people taking actions to improve the environment and trends in the number of people taking part in environmental volunteering.

3.3.2 Another important principle within the strategy is “There will be sustainable, widespread and equitable access to the countryside and coast, which recognises the need for a balance between tranquil areas and areas supporting larger numbers of people and a range of activities. Damaging access will be discouraged”.

3.3.3 The strategy focuses on working to increase equality of opportunity in physical access by identifying and removing inappropriate barriers to access. The strategy also addresses the need to access green space by encouraging the retention or provision of green spaces in urban areas and supporting communities to take ownership of their local environment and making improvements to it. 3.4 Local Plans- Wrexham’s Community Strategy 2009 – 2020Wrexham’s community vision is set out in The Community Strategy for the Wrexham County, the Wrexham’s Community Strategy 2009 – 2020.

This strategy sets the framework for the key statutory plans, such as the Health, Social Care and Well-Being Strategy, the Local Development Plan and the Children and Young People’s Plan that will guide how Wrexham develops, how people’s health will be improved and protected and how children and young people will be cared for.The aims of the strategy are to make Wrexham County Borough a place that:-

Cares for people’s health – improving the health, social care and well-being of children, young people and adults.

Enables people to reach their full potential – providing excellent education, training and personal development opportunities and equipping people with the skills needed for work.

12

Values citizenship, community spirit and social responsibility – where people get on well together and respect each other, take responsibility for themselves and their actions and take pride in where they live.

Looks after its built and natural surroundings – protecting and enhancing the County Borough now and for future generations.

Is safe – with communities where people feel safe and secure and levels of local crime and anti-social behaviour are reducing.

Is economically prosperous – with reduced deprivation, where communities and businesses work together to create good economic opportunities now and in the future.

Of particular relevance to the Parks Strategy are the priorities:-

Respect and promote built and natural environments, parks and green-spaces for everyone to access and enjoy; keeping them well-kept and attractive.

Enable and encourage people to be active citizens and get involved in their local community.

Encourage the provision of a wide range of cultural, sporting and physical activity, heritage and shopping opportunities throughout the County Borough.

3.5 Caring for our Health 2008- 2011, The Health, Social Care and Well- Being Strategy for Wrexham 3.5.1 The overall vision for Caring for our Health 2008-2011 is:-To improve the health, social inclusion and well-being of children, youngpeople and adults. The strategy highlights some of the following key facts:-

Nutrition and obesity: more than half (54%) of adults living in Wales are reported as being overweight or obese. The percentage for Wrexham is 56.7%.

Circulatory disease: the proportion of people with circulatory illness in Wrexham is significantly higher than the Wales average (Wrexham ranks 7th in Wales).

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD): CHD mortality in Wrexham, is not only significantly higher than the rest of Wales but is the highest in Wales along with Caerphilly.

3.5.2 Encouraging people to become more active is an important part of the strategy and it notes ”Adults who are physically active have 20-30% reduced risk of premature death, and up to 50% reduced risk of developing major chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease,

13

stroke, diabetes and cancers”. Currently 52% of Wrexham adults are overweight or obese. 3.6 Children and Young People’s Plan 2008-113.6.1 The Children and Young People’s Plan (CYPP) has been developed by Wrexham’s Children and Young People’s Framework Partnership (CYPFWP). This partnership involves a range of organisations which deliver services to children, young people and their families in Wrexham. The strategy outlines 4 underlying principles, Be Healthy and Active, Safe from Harm, Learn and Achieve, Enjoy Participate and be Valued.Twelve aims flow from these underlying principles, the most relevant to this strategy are:-

3.6.2 Aim -Encourage and enable children and young people to be active.Strategic outcome - More children and young people are physically active on a regular basis, and more are walking and cycling to school safely.

3.6.3 Aim- Enable children and young people to grow and develop by participating in stimulating activities. Strategic outcome - More high quality leisure, sporting and cultural opportunities are easily accessible locally to children and young people, and more of them participate in these activities.More children and young people feel good about the places they play in, have easy access to quality play spaces within their own communities and use those spaces regularly.

3.6.4 Aim- Involve parents, carers, families, partners and communities in valuing and supporting education, skills and training for children and young people. Strategic outcome - The full range of the achievements of children and young people are widely valued, appropriately accredited and overtly celebrated. More parents, carers and communities value lifelong learning and are involved in supporting the learning and skills of children and young people at all stages.

3.7 Countryside Strategies3.7.1 A Countryside Recreation Strategy was written in 1993 to guide the development of Country Parks and other related countryside recreational facilities. The Wrexham Countryside Strategy (1997), a more ambitious plan in terms of its scope covered landscape, nature conservation, countryside access, environmental education, visitor management and community involvement. This was updated in 2002 and new targets set, country parks and some targets for the urban parks were included as part of the strategy.These countryside strategies have largely guided the development of the country parks over the last 16 years, enabling the parks to develop services, visitor facilities and improve the quality and care of the landscapes. The urban parks began a programme of restoration and improvement in 2000 with Bellevue Park, followed by the Ponciau Banks Park in 2008/9.

14

4.0 Why Do we need Parks ? There are many reasons for providing parks. Parks provide important homes for wildlife in our towns and villages. Parks improve the quality of the landscape, through their trees,

woodlands, open greenspace and good quality buildings. Parks provide help in reducing the effects of climate change through

reducing the effects of the heat in summer and flooding through absorbing heavy rainfall.

Parks can help absorb carbon dioxide and improve the quality of the local air, through the trees and woodland.

Parks provide wildlife habitats, rivers and ponds to enable them to be easily accessed and studied as part of environmental educational studies for schools and colleges and as locations for Foundation Phase Learning and Forest Schools experiences.

Parks provide freely accessible open space for improving health and fitness, through walking, cycling, riding and sporting activities.

Parks provide community facilities and a focus for community activities, such as fun days and carnivals.

Parks provide opportunities for volunteering and practical experience of nature and caring for animals.

Parks provide places for children to play, learn about nature and roam safely.

Parks provide safe routes to schools away from traffic. Parks provide a quiet greenspace for people to enjoy and relax in. Parks have a role in improving people’s mental health and well-being. Good quality greenspace can encourage businesses to locate in an area,

it adds value to houses in that place, it can boost tourism and economic regeneration.

Parks can provide a protective environment for the conservation and interpretation of landscapes of archaeological and historic value.

5.0 LegislationA variety of legislation guides the work of the parks staff, some of it is listed below:- National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 Countryside Act 1968 Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 Occupiers Liability Act 1957 and 1984 The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 Conservation (Natural Habitats & c) Regulations 1994 Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000

6.0 Description of Wrexham’s Parks6.1 Each of the parks are different, Ty Mawr Country Park is the only park with farm animals, situated between the Cefn Viaduct and the River Dee. The park has a visitor centre, shop and picnic facilities. The park is mainly unimproved meadows and grassland, with an all weather path network. Alyn Waters Country Park, a former sand and gravel quarry, is the largest of Wrexham’s

15

parks covering 400 acres across the Alyn Valley. The park is a mixture of woodland and grassland, with a visitor centre, education centre and café. The park has a large network of cycle routes. Ty Mawr Country Park will become part of the Poncysyllte Aqueduct Dee Valley World Heritage Buffer Zone, if designation is confirmed.

6.2 Nant Mill Visitor Centre and park has displays, a mole tunnel and good visitor centre facilities, such as toilets and picnic tables adjacent to the river Clywedog.

6.3 Bellevue Park, Acton Park and Ponciau Banks Park are more urban parks serving the large town population. The Ponciau Banks Park was refurbished in 2008/9 and provides good quality youth facilities, such as tennis courts, BMX track, skate park and play area. It also possesses bowling greens and a refurbished pavilion, suitable for events and activities. Bellevue Park also provides a high standard of facilities with tennis courts, bowling greens, football pitch, children’s play areas and keep fit equipment, adjacent to the path network.

6.4 Acton Park is a historic park land landscape, with a central lake, park land trees and path network, surrounded by a large urban population. There are tennis courts and a bowling green.

6.5 Bonc yr Hafod Country Park and Stryt Las Park are part of a site of special scientific interest, due to the presence of great crested newts. Bonc yr Hafod is a large former coal waste tip, now a community woodland. A good network of paths, suitable for walkers and horse-riders, provides access across the park.

6.6 Stryt las Park is partly owned by Wrexham County Borough Council, partly owned by North East Wales Wildlife Trust. There is a large lake managed through a weir system to control the water and a series of small ponds, within scrubland. A network of paths provides good access and a route between communities.

6.7 Moss Valley Country Park is a reclaimed colliery site, with grassland bordered by woodland providing a long narrow park between urban communities. The park is easily accessible and provides such facilities as a children’s play area, two lakes, one managed by a fishing club and a network of paths suitable for walking and cycling.

6.8 Minera Lead Mines Country Park is a reclaimed lead mining site with a mining museum and path network providing access down the Clywedog Valley.

6.9 Brynkinalt Country Park is a former colliery site. There are wooded and grassland areas and a network of paths. There are good views of the surrounding countryside from the top of the hill.

16

7.0 Ecological value of the parks 7.1 The parks represent substantial areas of publicly accessible woodland and wildlife habitats within the County Borough. Bonc Yr Hafod Country Park and Stryt Las Park are sites of special scientific interest, due to the presence of great crested newts. Alyn Waters Country Park covers 400 acres and forms an important semi natural habitat of woodland and grassland as part of the River Alyn corridor. Many species of flowers thrive on the poor quality soils of the former sand and gravel quarry. Ty Mawr Country Park contains grazed hay meadows along the river Dee floodplain, which are a fast disappearing habitat. Nant Mill and Minera Lead Mines contain populations of bats, which are protected species. Acton Park is a historical parkland landscape with some important older tree species. The parks represent significant wildlife habitats due to the combination of woodland, unimproved grassland, scrub habitats and water features. 8.0 Development of the Parks network8.1 Wrexham’s first park, Bellevue Park, was created in the Edwardian period and opened in 1910. The Ponciau Banks Park was brought into existence through the work of the international voluntary society for peace volunteers and the Rhos Miners Institute, using local coal miners and international volunteers in the Ponciau in the 1930’s. Acton Park is a historical parkland landscape created in the 18th century as part of the Foster Cunliffe Estate, but was not opened to the public until the 1950’s.

8.2 The majority of the remaining network of parks were created through land reclamation and the development of tourism facilities starting in the 1970’s, but mainly in the 1980’s.

8.3 Moss Valley Park was created through a major land reclamation scheme in the early 1970’s to remove coal mining scars. 8.4 Ty Mawr Country Park was created in 1984 as a by product of the purchase of the farmland to establish a football pitch in Cefn. The large landholding at Alyn Waters Country Park came into existence after the completion of sand and gravel quarrying followed by landfill activities in the 1980’s.

8.5 Nant Mill Visitor Centre and park (created 1989) and the Minera Lead Mines were large scale restoration projects which were part of a larger tourism development of the Clywedog Valley. The project involved restoring the derelict old mill and removal and containment of the lead mine waste at Minera Lead Mines to create a landscaped park. A visitor centre was established at Alyn Waters on the Gwersyllt side in 1995.

8.6 Stryt Las, Bonc yr Hafod and Brynkinalt were all coal mining sites restored through land reclamation work in the 1990’s.

17

9.0 Park Distribution 9.1 Wrexham’s parks are concentrated in the urban areas of Wrexham, approximately 87% of the population of Wrexham live within two miles of one of the main parks. Alyn Waters Country Park serves the community of Gwersyllt, Llay, Rossett and Gresford. Nant Mill Visitor Centre and park is located adjacent to Coedpoeth.

9.2 Minera Lead Mines Country Park is close to New Brighton, Gwynfryn and Minera. Moss Valley Park provides green space for Brynteg, New Broughton, Brymbo and Gatewen. Acton and Bellevue Park provide parks for the Town Centre. Bonc yr Hafod Country Park is accessible from Johnstown, Ruabon and Rhostyllen. Rhos. Pen y cae and the Ponciau have the Ponciau Banks Park and Stryt Las Park. Ty Mawr Country Park provides the park for the Cefn, Acrefair, Trevor and Plas Madoc area. Brynkinalt Park is in Chirk.

9.3 The areas not served by the main park network are the more rural communities of the Maelor and Ceiriog.

18

10.0 Quality and standards of parks10.1 The quality of the management and care of Wrexham’s parks has improved over the last 3 years, since the entry of some of the key parks into the Green Flag Awards and the Heritage Lottery funded park improvement work at Bellevue and the Ponciau Banks Park.

10.2 Wrexham currently has 4 Green Flag Award parks, these are Alyn Waters, Ty Mawr, Nant Mill and Bellevue Park. The Green Flag Award remains the key national indicator of the good management of parks. The standards required for a Green Flag park are high, both in terms of onsite management and commitment of staff and the need to back this up with a current management plan which provides the strategic direction and day to day management of park operations.

10.3 There are current management plans in operation for the parks at Ty Mawr, Alyn Waters, Nant Mill, Bellevue, Acton and Ponciau Banks. The park management plans will translate the broader aims of the strategy into action on the ground. The standard of care of the parks outside the Green Flag awards remains good, with work to keep the sites clean and cared for continuing by the Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Service.

11.0 Performance Indicators11.1 There are no national performance indicators for parks. Visitor, school, volunteer and event numbers are collected where possible to give an indication of usage of facilities and activities.

12.0 Funding of the Parks12.1 The funding of the development and improvement of parks comes from a variety of sources. Funding has been accessed through European sources, the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme, Countryside Council For Wales, Forestry Commission, directly from the Welsh Assembly Government, Lottery funds, such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Lottery. Funding has also been accessed through partners who can apply for funding which Local Authorities cannot apply for themselves, eg Groundwork Wrexham and Flintshire.

12.2 Funding through the developing Friends Groups is becoming more important to help support specific projects. Donations provide small amounts of money to help support work.

12.3 External grant funding has provided the money for the developments of the parks during the last two decades. Without this funding, much of the improvement of the parks, such as better paths, cycleways, visitor centre facilities, community arts projects, play areas, animal housing and conservation work would not take place, as there is not enough money in the revenue budgets for the parks to carry these projects out.

12.4 During 2007/8 Ty Mawr Country Park benefited from £20,000 funding for a new access for all trail, Bellevue Park in partnership with the Friends group obtained funding for a new fitness trail worth £15,000 and Alyn Waters

19

Country Park put in a route to help the Race for Life activity, all through the Welsh Assembly Active Lifestyles fund.

12.5 During 2008/9 funding of half a million pounds was obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the refurbishment of the Ponciau Banks Park. The Heritage Lottery Fund also gave £50,000 to support the cost of detailed conservation management and audience development plans for Acton Park. The Landfill Tax Credit Scheme provided funding of £35,000 for new youth facilities in the Ponciau. Nant Mill Visitor Centre received funding of £80,000 from European funds for a new education centre and £10,000 for the development in partnership with the Community Council of an environmental education garden.

12.6 The revenue cost of managing the 11 parks per year in 2009, is £450,000, which represents a cost of £3.44 per resident. Approximately a quarter of the cost of the management and care of the parks is supported through income generation and grant aid work.

12.7 An income of £67,702 was obtained in 2007/8 through the sale of refreshments and souvenirs in the Visitor Centres. This figure also includes the small amounts of income from grazing, fishing and flat rent. Grants of £43,272 to support staff in the conservation, environmental education and volunteer work in the parks were obtained from the Countryside Council For Wales.

13.0 Management of the Parks

Environment DepartmentChief Officer

Divisional Manager

Parks, Countryside and Rights Of Way Manager

Rights of Way Section

Definitive Map

Enforcement & Maintenance

Landscape Section

Allotments

Landscape Design

Play Areas & Open Spaces

Management of Council Trees

Arboricultural Section

Events

Parks Section

Country Parks

Urban Parks

Environmental Education

Community Development -

Volunteers

Community Development -

Volunteers

20

13.1 The management of the 11 parks sits within the Parks, Countryside and Rights of Way section of the Environment Department. The three visitor centres at Alyn Waters, Ty Mawr and Nant Mill are staffed by information assistants who provide information, refreshments, caretaking duties and cleaning work, as and when required. The centres are open and staffed 7 days a week from Easter until September and weekends only from September until Easter. Alyn Waters Education and Visitor Centre is open across the year.

13.2 There are 4 full-time Rangers, 3 part-time Rangers, 1 Animal Husbandry worker, 2 park officers, 3 park maintenance staff, 2 part-time information assistants, 1 full-time information assistant and two seasonal information assistants. The service and staff are managed by two Senior Parks and Countryside Officers, one covering the south parks and one covering the north parks. The overall management of the section is by the Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Manager (see Appendix B for staff structure).

13.3 Rangers, park officers and park maintenance staff provide the day to day care of the parks, lead the large environmental education and events programme, develop community partnerships, park sports and conservation work, encourage volunteers to be involved in the parks and support the friends groups. They also ensure the parks are clean and tidy, manage incidents and problems in the parks, provide information for visitors and develop the facilities of the parks. There are parks staff based at Alyn Waters Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Park, Ty Mawr Country Park, Bellevue Park and Ponciau Banks Park. The other half of the parks are managed through regular visits by staff.

14.0 Park Management Skills14.1 The management of the parks requires a diverse range of skills and an ability to adapt to different situations and problems:- Horticultural, grounds maintenance, estate, animal husbandry and

conservation skills visitor management skills presentational skills public event management and development skills interpretation and visitor information skills risk management and health and safety skills volunteer management skills environmental education skills people management skills community development skills grant application skills site management planning and recording skills

14.2 In addition to these skills the senior managers need:- staff management and training skills financial management skills complex grant application and management skills

21

public consultation and presentational skills strategic planning skills

15.0 Use of the Parks- Visitor Numbers 15.1 Measuring visitor use of the parks is very difficult due to the number of entrances to the parks. A variety of techniques are used, ranging from carrying out visitor counts over a period of time, to the use of vehicle counters and visitor centre counters. Visits to the visitor centres at Nant Mill, Ty Mawr and Alyn Waters have risen over the last 5 years from a figure of 90,910 for the 3 centres in the year 2003/4 to a figure of 204,788 in the year 2007/8.

010,00020,00030,00040,00050,00060,00070,00080,00090,000

No.

of V

isits

03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08

Year

Visits

Ty MawrAlyn WatersNant Mill

15.2 The largest rises have been seen by Alyn Waters Visitor Centre which has seen its usage rise from 16,172 visits in 2003/4 to 84,228 in 2007/8. Car park figures are also recorded at Ty Mawr Country Park and the two sides of Alyn Waters Country Park. Car park figures have risen from 38,820 in 2003/4 at Ty Mawr Country Park to 45,784 in 2007/8. Car park figures for the Gwersyllt and Llay side at Alyn Waters Country Park have risen from 82,850 in 2003/4 to 117,327 in 2007/8, making it the most popular country park in Wrexham by a large margin.

15.3 Figures for usage of the urban park of Bellevue have been recorded since 2005/6. They have shown a small increase from 325,935 to 348,560. The Ponciau Banks Park have been recorded recently as part of Heritage Lottery Fund work, using visitor counts by staff and consultants. Ponciau Banks Park had a figure of 25,665 people using it in 2006, before the park was refurbished. There are no visitor figures recorded for Acton Park, Brynkinalt Park, Minera Lead Mines Country Park, Stryt Las Park, Bonc yr Hafod Country Park or Moss Valley Country Park.

22

15.4 Taking the figures for the visitor centre use of Nant Mill, the car park figures for Ty Mawr and Alyn Waters and the Bellevue Park and Ponciau Banks Park visitor figures, this gives a total for 5 of the parks of 578,124 visits in 2007/8. It is highly likely if the counts were recorded for the other 6 parks the annual usage would be moving towards the three quarters of a million figure.

16.0 Use of the Parks- Visitors 16.1 The parks are used for a wide variety of reasons, the commonest are dog walking, enjoying the wildlife and landscape, picnicing and playing. Some of the parks are used for horse-riding, fishing, golfing and other special interests. The parks are used by people for keeping fit and active in activities such as running, cycling and using keep fit equipment (Bellevue Park), some of the parks have calorie counter maps to enable people to gauge the calories they are using, when walking. An orienteering course at Alyn Waters Country Park is used by groups and schools.

16.2 The Ponciau Banks Park has particularly good youth facilities and a first class BMX track.

16.3 The parks are important places where children can enjoy nature, getting muddy, wet and playing in the woods. The parks provide well surfaced paths for people who are older and wish for easy walking. The Environmental Educational Centre at Alyn Waters Country Park is used by a variety of different groups for training or as a base to go out and learn about the wildlife and ecology of the parks.

17.0 Use of the Parks- Community Involvement 17.1 Community involvement in the park is encouraged, this is through Friends of the Parks Groups, the setting up of groups to manage a facility, such as the Moss Valley and Acton Park Fishing Clubs or through the encouragement of volunteering by children (Ty Mawr Junior Ranger Club) and adults. The parks staff also encourage people with disabilities to help in the care of the parks through placements with carers.

17.2 The number of volunteer hours has risen over the last few years from 4,690 in 2003/4 to 7,325 in 2007/8. Volunteers help with cleaning and caring for the parks, help with animal care at Ty Mawr Country Park, some help with projects and survey work and some carry out conservation work. The Junior Ranger Club at Ty Mawr Country Park encourages children to work to conservation and animal care badges and gives children the opportunity through the Children’s University to earn credits, through their work.

17.3 The Friends Groups support the parks through fundraising, provide advice and support to parks staff and help with events and activities.

18.0 Use of the Parks- Events 18.1 The Parks staff run an events programme for the general public, to raise environmental awareness and encourage good use of the parks. Around 100 events are offered to the public each year, led by Park Officers and Rangers.

23

This includes guided walks in the countryside, craft activities in the centres, biodiversity work, both practical conservation skills and led walks in the parks. Healthy living activities and sports development work is undertaken with the parks staff and WCBC Sports Development team to encourage active use of the parks and community fun days.

02,0004,0006,0008,000

10,00012,000

No.

of P

artic

ipan

ts

03/04 05/06 07/08

Year

Events


18.2 The number of people attending the events programme has risen from 10,322 in 2003/4 to 32,039 in 2007/8. The largest rises have been for attendance at Alyn Waters Visitor Centre, but Ty Mawr and Nant Mill have seen the number of people attending the events double. Bellevue Park events are also extremely popular, 7,987 people attended in 2007/8.

18.3 Part of the reason for the large rise in events is the popularity in the summer events programme in the parks, which draws large numbers and the rise in charity events, such as ‘Race For Life’ and other various appeals which are staged in the parks.

19.0 Use of the Parks – Environmental Educational Work 19.1 An environmental educational programme is led by Rangers and Parks Officers for schools. The aim with the school work is to develop in children a lifelong affinity with the parks, through school visits and curriculum work. A Forest Schools programme is also offered to schools to develop awareness of woods and the enjoyment of being outdoors. The majority of the school visits led by staff are by key stage 1 and 2 pupils. Secondary Schools and Further Education and Higher Education visits are usually led by their own staff.

19.2 The figures for Key Stage 1 and 2 educational visits to the parks by schools has remained relatively constant, figures for 2003/4 were 5,773 pupils, which declined slightly to 5289 in 2007/8.

24

0

5001,000

1,5002,000

2,500

No. of Pupils

03/04 05/06 07/08

Year

Schools


19.3 The availability of staff to lead the schools programme is the main limiting factor in the number of schools visiting the parks. Schools have also shown some reluctance to use the parks on their own for educational work, without the help of staff that provide tailor made curriculum activities.

20.0 Population and health20.1 Wrexham has a population of approximately 131,900 (mid year 2005 estimate).

20.2 In terms of the general health of the population, The Family Resources Survey 2003/04 estimated that 28% of the adult population (aged16+) in Wales are disabled, compared to an average of 21% across England, Scotland and Wales. Assuming no significant local variation, the number of disabled adults in Wrexham is estimated at 24,263. The 2001 census indicates that 27,567 people in Wrexham (all ages) have a "limiting long-term illness" (Wrexham Health and Well-Being Strategy 2008).

20.3 In 2005 the population of Wrexham was estimated to be 4% higher than it was in 1996, the 45-64 age band experienced an overall substantial increase, ie 13% higher in 2005 than in 1996. The 85+ age band has the largest overall increase of 27.7% since 1996. The 75 and over age band is expected to increase by 50% across North Wales by 2023 (Wrexham Health and Well-Being Strategy 2008).

20.4 In terms of physical activity of the population, more than half (54%) of adults living in Wales are reported as being overweight or obese. The current percentage for Wrexham is 52% (WCBC Leisure, Libraries and Culture figures).

20.5 These figures suggest there is a large percentage of the population with a disability in Wrexham, the local population is growing, with the largest

25

increase in older people. The activity level of the population is not very high (current figures form Wales Health Survey 05/07 is 36%) and over half the population of Wrexham is overweight. The changes in the mix of the population are more difficult to quantify, it is hard to quantify how big the ethnic minority population is.

20.6 There are well established ethnic minority communities in Wrexham with established support mechanisms including the Filippino and Muslim communities. However, Wrexham faces particular challenges because of the recent changes to its population. The demographic composition of the County Borough has changed significantly over the last two years, with growing numbers of migrant people coming here to live and work. These include economic migrants, asylum seekers and people with approved refugee status. There has also been a substantial Gypsy and Irish Traveller community in Wrexham for many years. In the last two years the largest groups have been economic migrants from Portugal and more recently from the EU Accession States, particularly Poland. (Community Cohesion Strategy 2008).

Consultation21.0 Who is and isn’t using the Parks? 21.1 A survey of park users was undertaken in 2008 at Ty Mawr Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Alyn Waters Country Park. Surveys were undertaken from May to August inclusive, to give a spread across the summer months. Considerable consultation work was undertaken as part of the Acton Park (Ryder Landscapes study 2008) and Ponciau Banks Park Heritage Lottery Funded projects (Ferguson McIlveen 2007) in 2007 and 2008. Consultation with users and non users was undertaken at Cefn Mawr close to Ty Mawr Country Park as part of a course study by A.Holroyd in 2008 (see Appendix A for further information).

21.2 From the consultation work it can be seen that families with children and dog walkers are key users of the park. People of all ages, both men and women use the park, but usage drops over the age of 75. Some parks attract young people due to their good quality youth facilities, such as Bellevue Park and Ponciau Banks Park.

21.3 People with disabilities visit the parks in reasonable numbers, typically around 8-10% of people surveyed have a disability. Under represented groups appear to be older people generally, teenage girls, adults with independent children and pre- family adults. Ethnic minority use appears to be in keeping with the local population census figures.

21.4 People who visit the parks tend to be frequent users, a third of visitors use the parks weekly and a quarter on a monthly basis. This figure rises even higher for some of the parks which are walked to, such as Acton and the Ponciau Banks Park.

21.5 Just under 80% of visitors travelled by car to the park, 83% took under half an hour to travel to the park, but within this figure, 40% travelled by car, but lived within 10 minutes drive of the park

26

21.6 The top four activities were going for a walk, getting some fresh air, enjoying the wildlife and relaxing. Using play facilities, picnicing and attending events were important too. Half the visitors stayed between 1 and 2 hours.

21.7 Around 40% of visitors knew about the parks from word of mouth, but after that there was a spread of how they heard about the parks, such as road signs, newspapers and park leaflets. People did not seem to use the web or local radio to find out about the parks. Over 90% of people were satisfied with the visitor centres, high satisfaction levels were also recorded for the toilets, refreshments, paths, information provided and staff.

21.8 The People’s Voice Survey 2006 which is a representative sample of the people living in Wrexham County Borough indicated Parks and Open Spaces are the most frequently used Council facility, as over one in ten respondents (13%) use them almost everyday, and a further quarter use them at least once a week (27%). Only 6% of respondents have never used a Wrexham County Borough Council park or open space. Frequent park users are significantly more likely to be aged 25-44 as 14% of this group use them everyday and a further third (33%) at least once a week.

21.9 Households with children are marginally more likely to use these openspaces than those without children, but the key difference regardingfrequency of use was amongst disabled residents. One in five disabledrespondents (19%) stated that they visited parks almost everyday, thehighest of any demographic group. Therefore disabled users are frequentusers of parks and open spaces, yet have relatively low perceptions oftheir quality (People’s Voice – Survey 7 BMG Research 2006).

22.0 Community consultation on strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for the parks 22.1 To gain people’s views about what they liked and disliked about the parks and what they would like to change, consultation was undertaken with the Friends of the Parks groups, the Accessible Wrexham Group meeting and children from schools and Junior Ranger Club.

22.2 Friends of the Parks22.2.1 The Friends of Acton Park, Ty Mawr Country Park, Bellevue Park, Ponciau Banks Park, and Nant Mill were involved in the consultation process. The key strengths the parks offered were the scenery, easy access, safe facilities, play areas, bowling greens and areas for disabled people to exercise in. Key strengths in the service provided were the events and education programmes, walks programmes, friendly staff and the Pedal Power project at Alyn Waters Country Park.

22.2.2 Key weaknesses of the parks included toilets (needing improvement or lack of them), litter, dog fouling, anti social behaviour and car parking facilities. weaknesses on the service side were lack of staff/rangers and underfunded parks service.

27

22.2.3 Changes the friends wanted to see were more diverse depending on the park, play areas were a key area for improvement and once again more ranger staff and events.

22.2.4 Threats to the parks were vandalism, dog fouling, budget and staff cuts and reduction in maintenance. The threat of building on the parks was shared by some of the Friends of the Parks.

23.0 Consultation with Children23.1 Consultation was undertaken with the Ty Mawr Junior Rangers, the Bryn Alyn Consortium (7 schools) undertook a consultation with children on Moss Valley Park and consultation was undertaken with schools in Gwersyllt to get a sample view of what children thought about the parks.

23.2 Children liked the wildlife found in parks, enjoyed the animals (at Ty Mawr), enjoyed walking, cycling and fishing in the parks.

23.3 They did not like dog fouling, litter and surprisingly wet and muddy areas. The Bryn Alyn Consortium gave the most focused views on what they wanted to see improved at Moss Valley Country Park, these were more bins and dog bins, clean the lake, toilets, better shelter, wheel chair access and information boards.

24.0 Consultation with the Wrexham Access Forum24.1 The Wrexham Access Forum were asked what were the barriers for people with disability in visiting the park. Access for wheel chairs was a problem in some parks, due to park barriers, bikes were of concern to some disabled people who cannot hear or see them very easily, accessible buildings were important, (Nant Mill was on two levels), accessible seating and play equipment was also raised. Dog Fouling was considered to be a barrier.

24.2 The forum members liked the scenery, the well kept nature of the parks and the tranquillity of the places. Alyn Waters Visitor Centre and café were considered to be good with its Pedal Power facility and café managed by Social Services. The staff in the parks were helpful and courteous, the mixed use of Bellevue and the opportunity to enjoy free concerts were excellent.

24.3 Weaknesses included dog fouling, litter, the need for a Ranger for every site, possibly audio guides, more seating and lighting. The way to improve the parks and reduce barriers included ideas such as, better information on accessibility of parks, better toilet and refreshment facilities and links with the Health and Well-Being Agenda.

25.0 Staff Views25.1 The parks staff were asked their views on the parks, strengths included the geographic spread , the fact each park is different in its features, the green flag standard for 4 parks, the good access for people and the equality and diversity of use, everyone is treated fairly, were some of the points they put forward. In terms of the service, the low cost of events and activities,

28

good range of events, the 24/7 opening of the parks, the work with volunteers, people with disability and the schools work were important. The skill in fund raising and working with community groups were important too.

25.2 Weaknesses included, poor park facilities in some parks, such as toilets at Ty Mawr, Moss Valley and the Llay side of Alyn Waters. The lack of car parking at busy times in the busy parks of Ty Mawr, Nant Mill, Alyn Waters and Acton. Dog fouling and dogs not under control can be a problem. Weaknesses of the parks service included, not enough staff, lone working and the service is discretionary, easy to cut.

25.3 Opportunities include, the parks can help in delivering climate change and healthy living agenda, parks are free, more opportunity for community involvement in the parks, there are opportunities for business involvement and getting involved in volunteering. Threats include staff cuts, lack of support for the work, selling off of greenspace and anti social behaviour.

26.0 Summary of Consultation26.1 The consultation suggests the parks are highly valued by the people that use them, they enjoy the wildlife, the scenery, the quietness, the easy access and the good facilities in some of the parks. Dog fouling and litter (in some parks) seems to concern people and the need for better information and better facilities (in some parks). People consider the staff are helpful and friendly. The events programme and educational work is popular. The desire for Rangers at every park is another key feature of the group consultation work.

26.2 Parks appear to be popular with the majority of users, particularly people with disabilities, but there are some concerns from this group about the quality of the parks. 27.0 Aims of the strategy:-

Aim – caring for the landscape and heritage Aim – protecting wildlife Aim – consulting and involving the community Aim – widening the use of the parks Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active Aim – providing information Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with

volunteers Aim – developing staff and volunteers

The strategy action plan will be delivered over the next 5 years from 2009, with reviews for various actions included in the targets. Costs in the plan are estimates and may vary according to the date of any project start and more accurate price work, if the projects are developed further. We will continue to update existing management plans for the parks and write management plans for the other sites over the period of the

29

strategy. The management plans will provide the detailed information for the site management.

Action Plan – Delivery of the Strategy

28.0 Aim - caring for the landscape and heritage28.1 Issue Trees, woodlands and grasslands support wildlife, improve the quality of the local landscape and make a significant contribution to the wider environment. The heritage value of our parkland is important to local people, the parkland landscape of Acton has stood relatively unchanged for the last 200 years, Bellevue Park still has the feeling of an Edwardian Park created nearly 100 years ago. The landscape of the wooded Clywedog valley surrounding Nant Mill feels tranquil, giving the sense of the heart of the countryside, even though it’s only a few miles from Coedpoeth. Yet landscape does change and rapidly, the community woodland of the Gwersyllt side of Alyn Waters Country Park was planted in the early 1990’s and is already a well developed woodland. Bonc yr Hafod Country Park, Minera Lead Mines Country Park and Moss Valley Country Park have recovered from the past mining scars and are now integrating into the surrounding landscape. Landscapes evolve and change, the challenge is deciding whether the change is for the better or worse.

Policy Statements 28.2 Policy – we will manage the landscapes of the parks to conserve their individual character and protect and conserve the historic parkland of Acton, Ponciau Banks and Bellevue.

28.3 Policy- through the planning process we will try to use materials and building design which is sympathetic to the local environment when designing new facilities.

28.0 Aim – caring for the landscape and heritage

Action Point Target and timescale

Priority Partnership

Cost

We will conserve the historic landscape of Acton through removing inappropriate modern tree planting and create new planting where needed.

Remove trees by 2012.

Medium.

WCBC Staff time, unless transplanted(cost not quantified).

30

28.0 Aim – caring for the landscape and heritage


Priority Partnership

Cost

We will conserve the historic landscape of Acton through replacing the lake liner

Dependent on HLF lottery fund bid- 2011.

High. WCBC/HLF Estimate-£375,000

We will conserve the historic landscape of Bellevue Park and Ponciau Banks Park by ensuring tree planting and facility development onsite is appropriate and follows the management plan.

New tree planting to follow tree management guidelines in Bellevue Park and Ponciau Banks Management. Plans. Timescale – ongoing.

Medium.

WCBC Dependent on trees/facilities planting/ developed.

29.0 Aim – protecting wildlife29.1 IssueThe parks represent important accessible wildlife habitats for people. Stryt Las and Bonc yr Hafod Country Parks are in the heart of the urban area and are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Special Areas of Conservation. Alyn Waters Country Park has a Local Nature Reserve, the only designated LNR in the park network. The parks form part of the wildlife and green corridors across the County Borough and their habitat value could be improved without large costs, with small scale changes to their care. To better manage wildlife habitats, better knowledge of the species that live in them is needed, this can be achieved through survey information and this can then feed into the management plans for the sites.

Wildlife is sited as one of the most important reasons people come to visit the parks, yet the large numbers of visitors and their dogs can cause a problem for some wildlife, particularly ground nesting birds. Balancing the needs of wildlife and people is difficult, but needs to be addressed if wildlife species are not to suffer.

Some of the largest areas of publicly accessible woodland are located in the parks of Wrexham, they are valuable for wildlife and key landscape features. It is important that we care for our woodlands through active woodland management. This involves thinning woodland, coppicing trees and protecting important habitats, such as standing and fallen deadwood.

31

Policy Statements

29.2 Policy – we will work to balance the needs of wildlife that live in the parks with the people that visit and use the parks.

29.3 Policy – we will actively manage wildlife habitats to protect and conserve wildlife species.

29.4 Policy – we will seek to obtain a greater understanding of the wildlife that lives in the parks through survey work.

29.5 Policy – we will manage the park woodlands to improve their biodiversity value.

29.0 Aim – protecting wildlife

Action Point

Target and timescale

Priority

Partnership Cost

We will improve the habitat value of appropriate grassland in the parks through changing the grassland mowing regime.

Carry out pilot work in Acton Park and Bellevue in 2010/2011.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks. Staff time.

We will work to improve species knowledge in the parks through survey work.

1. Complete/update plant species surveys in 3 parks by 2012.2. Complete butterfly survey in 2 parks by 2011.3. Complete skylark review at Alyn Waters

Medium.

WCBC/Volunteers/LBAP group/Parks.

Staff time/Volunteerstime.

32


Action Point


Priority

Partnership Cost

and Bonc yr Hafod by 2011.4. Complete water shrew survey at Nant Mill, Alyn Waters and Ty Mawr by 2012. 5. Continue to obtain Great Crested Newt survey information for the site of special scientific interest at Bonc yr Hafod Country Park and Stryt Las Park.

We will consider the results of the skylark surveys to determine whether to introduce voluntary dogs on leads policy for areas where birds are nesting, during the season.

Review results -2011

Medium.

WCBC/Parks. Staff time/Volunteers.

We will consider the results of the water shrew survey at Alyn Waters

Review results -2012

Medium.

LBAP group/Parks.

VolunteersTime.

33


Action Point


Priority

Partnership Cost

Country Park and Ty Mawr Country Park to determine if any management changes of the river banks are needed. We will enter the Parks woodlands into the appropriate Forestry Woodland Grant Scheme to allow active management of the woodlands for their recreational, wildlife and landscape value.

1. Enter Alyn Waters Country Park, Moss Valley Park and Bonc yr Hafod Country Park into the Woodland Grant Scheme by 2014. 2. Enter Ty Mawr Country Park and other woodlands into the Woodland Grant Scheme by 2015.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks. Not quantified (grants).

30.0 Aim – consulting and involving the community30.1 Issues Consultation with the local community and interested groups is important when undertaking significant park developments to ensure people understand what and why it is proposed. Friends of Parks Groups can be helpful in giving advice on local issues and suggesting ways of improving and developing the parks. Encouraging the development of local groups that can manage facilities such as Fishing Clubs is important to enable local people to feel involved in the care of their local parks. Involving other interest groups such as young people and people with disabilities in partnership working is important to develop their understanding and knowledge of parks.

34

Policy Statements

30.2 Policy – we will consult the local community when undertaking significant park developments.

30.3 Policy – we will carry out regular visitor surveys in selected parks to gain an understanding of park users views.

30.4 Policy – we will encourage community involvement in the parks.

30.5 Policy – we will work with local communities and interest groups to form partnerships to improve park facilities and involve interested people in the development of the parks.

30.0 Aim – consulting and involving the community


Priority Partnership Cost

We will consult with park users and Friends Groups on a regular basis to gain their views about how the parks are cared for and how they would like to see the parks develop and improve.

1. Park consultation to be completed through visitor surveys in selected parks every 2 years. Next review 2010.

2. Friends Groups regularly consulted on park improvements and developments. Timescale – ongoing.

High. WCBC/Parks. Staff time.

We will support the Friends of the Parks Groups and encourage the healthy development of

Ongoing (see park management plans) .

High. WCBC/ Parks. Staff time.

35

30.0 Aim – consulting and involving the community



the groups. We will consider how the local community can be more involved in the care of the parks and continue to encourage community clean ups and support Acton and Moss Valley Fishing Clubs.

Ongoing (see park management plans).


We will work with WCBC Community Development Officers to help form partnerships with interested groups and communities interested in working with us to develop and improve the parks.

Project basis (no target set).

Medium.

WCBC/Parks/Community Development Officers.

Staff time.

31.0 Aim – widening the use of the parks31.1 IssuesParks and open spaces are the most frequently used Council facility (People’s Voice Survey 2006). Large numbers of people visit the parks each year as indicated in the section on visitor numbers, but the majority of these groups are families, dog walkers, children, people with disabilities and young people. The Heritage Lottery funded work at the Ponciau Banks Park and Acton Park indicates there are groups that do not use the parks, such as older people (over 75), teenage girls, couples without families and adults with independent children. There are also still barriers for people with disabilities in using the parks, related to the quality of the facilities and accessibility. Some people do not wish to visit parks as it does not fit in with their lifestyle, but we will try to encourage as wide a section of people to use the parks as we are able to.

36

Policy Statements 31.2 Policy – we will promote the parks to older people, women and people with disabilities to encourage them to use the parks more.

31.3 Policy – we will continue to work to make the parks more accessible through physical park improvements. 31.0 Aim – widening the use of the parks


Priority

Partnership Cost

We will promote the parks to older people, women and people with disabilities through specific events and activities.

Specific events in the events programme for these groups from 2010. Monitor uptake and success of events (2012).

High. WCBC/Wrexham Access Forum/Over 50’s Forum/Parks.

Staff time.

We will work to make the parks more accessible through improving the surfacing of paths where needed, considering entrance features, improving seating and considering the needs of disabled children in the play areas.

Check quality of facilities through audits with disability groups (rolling programme starting 2010).

High. WCBC/Wrexham Access Forum/Parks/Friends Groups/Scope/Parks.

32.0 Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards32.1 IssueWrexham’s parks are some of the best in Wales, we currently have 4 Green Flag Awards for our parks at Nant Mill, Alyn Waters, Ty Mawr and Bellevue Park. The quality of the care of the parks in the Green Flag scheme has improved as a result of the entry into award scheme. It takes considerable staff, volunteer and the Friends of the Parks work to maintain the Green Flag standard each year, not every park is suitable to enter the scheme, nor could current staff numbers support a large scale expansion in the number of Green Flag parks.

37

As a Heritage Lottery Fund condition for the grant for the park improvements at the Ponciau Banks Park, we need to obtain the Green Flag Award for this park by 2010.

One of the important issues people raised as part of the consultation was the continuing problem of dog fouling and litter in some of the parks. Litter clearance is good in most of the parks, Moss Valley Country Park, Acton Park and Stryt Las Park are the most difficult to keep clean. In terms of dog fouling, regular campaigns are run at Alyn Waters Country Park, which has a large number of dog walkers and the Amenity Wardens catch and fine people regularly. As a general rule, people are getting better at picking up their dogs mess, we are collecting more dog faeces in the bins, but it continues to be a problem to some extent in most of the parks. The behaviour of some dogs and their owners also causes concern for visitors, when dogs frighten children and fight with other dogs. We will request owners to place their dogs on leads in Parks if the owners allow their dogs to behave in appropriately and cause problems for other users.The need for better visitor facilities is something that constantly arises in visitor consultation, in particular the need for environmental educational facilities and café at Ty Mawr Country Park, better toilet facilities on the Llayside of Alyn Waters Country Park and basic visitor facilities at Acton Park. Requests have also been made for toilet facilities at Moss Valley Country Park too. The problem with new facilities is the cost of the capital investment to build the facilities and then the subsequent cost of staffing the facilities and running them with a declining revenue budget for the parks. Any new facilities would require grant aid to build them.

The Urban Parks programme has seen the refurbishment of Bellevue Park in 2000 and the Ponciau Park in 2008. Acton Park is the last of the 3 urban parks to require improvement works. It is anticipated that the park will be entered into the Heritage Lottery Fund scheme in 2009, but if this application fails work will continue through other grant sources to fund improvement in this historic parkland.

Policy Statements

32.2 Policy - we will continue to maintain the key Parks to the Green Flag standard.

32.3 Policy- we will continue to improve the standard of park maintenance through reducing the incidence of dog fouling and litter in the parks.

32.4 Policy – we will not put in place dog control orders excluding dogs from the parks or require dogs on leads in the parks at the present, but this maybe reviewed in the future.

32.5 Policy – we will continue to improve the quality of visitor facilities in key parks.

38

32.6 Policy – we will complete the urban parks renewal programme through the improvement to Acton Park. 32.0 Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards

Action Point



We will enter the Ponciau Banks Park into the Green Flag award scheme and continue to enter Alyn Waters, Nant Mill, Ty Mawr and Bellevue Parks.

Maintain the Green Flag awards for the existing award winning parks and achieve the award for the Ponciau Banks Park in 2010.Timescale – ongoing.

High. WCBC/Friends Groups/Parks.

Staff time/ fee to Green flag - £600 per year.

We will continue to prosecute people who allow their dogs to foul in the parks and will provide the necessary bins to allow people to dispose of their waste.

Reduce the incidence of dog fouling in the parks (check through visitor satisfaction levels by 2012).

High. WCBC/Amenity Wardens/Parks.

Staff time.

We will work to reduce the complaints about litter in the Parks, particularly at Stryt Las Park, Acton Park and Moss Valley Country Park,

Reduce the amount of litter in the parks(check through visitor satisfaction levels by 2012).

High. WCBC/Amenity Wardens/Parks.

Staff time.

We will continue to monitor the

Monitor number of incidents and

Medium.

WCBC/Amenity Wardens/Park

Staff time.

39

32.0 Aim – improving visitor facilities and raising standards

Action Point



behaviour of dog owners and their dogs and will review the current dog control orders if needed.

We will request owners to place their dogs on leads in Parks if the owners allow their dogs to behave in appropriately and cause problems for other users.

problems associated with dogs. Timescale – ongoing.

s.

We will work to improve the visitor facilities at key parks to ensure these parks are able to accommodate large numbers of visitors.

1. Upgrade Ty Mawr Country Park facilities to provide café and environmental educational facilities by 2014.

2. Develop visitor facilities at Acton Park to provide Park Officer accommodation, toilets and community facilities by 2014.

3. Develop

1. Medium.

2. High.

1. WCBC Parks/Friends Groups.

2. WCBC Parks/Friends Groups.

1. Estimate-£1million(grants).

2. Estimate-£400,000(grants)

40


Action Point



visitor facilities on the Llay side of Alyn Waters Country Park by 2014.

3. Medium.

3. . WCBC Parks/Friends Groups 3. Estimate-

£350,000(grants)

We will work to complete the upgrading of the Urban Parks network through refurbishing Acton Park.

1. Enter Acton Park into the Heritage Lottery Fund Parks for People programme in 2009 to refurbish the lake area and create better visitor facilities onsite.

High. 1. WCBC Parks/Friends Groups.

1. Estimate-£1 million(grants)

We will work to improve the park facilities at Moss Valley Country Park.

1. Continue to improve the park footpath and cycling network. 2. Develop other facilities such as better access and improvements to the Boating Lake, seating and information.Timescale – ongoing actions, review success 2012.

1. High.

2. High.

1. WCBC Parks/Friends Groups/CCW.

2. WCBC Parks/Friends Groups/CCW.

Estimate-£2500-5000 per year (grants).

2. Cost - not quantified (grants).

We will continue to improve general park facilities, such as paths in all

Monitor each of the parks through the monthly parks survey. Timescale – ongoing.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks. Cost not quantified.

41


Action Point



the parks when the need arises and the money is available.

33.0 Aim– encouraging the local community to become more active 33.1 IssueEncouraging people to lead a healthier lifestyle is an important part of the work of the Welsh Assembly Government (Climbing Higher Strategy, 2005) and locally through The Health, Social Care and Well-Being Strategy for Wrexham. If we can encourage local people, both adults and children to use their parks more frequently through play or by walking or cycling, then we will be helping people to become fitter and healthier and it will be of little cost to them, as the parks are free and easy to use.

The parks represent a largely undeveloped resource as outdoor sports facilities for running, cycling and orienteering. The parks have good surfaces suitable for running and are close to the main centres of the population of Wrexham. The ‘Race for Life’ attracts 1,500 women runners every year to Alyn Waters Country Park, the challenge is to encourage more of these runners to then continue to run and enjoy the parks across the year, once the main race is completed. Similarly, some of the schools could make more use of the parks for sporting activities during the year, following the example of schools around Bellevue Park which make good use of the park all year.

Parks represent easily accessible wild spaces for children to explore, get muddy and have fun in. The parks play areas are the best used in the County Borough. It is important that we continue to invest in and improve the play facilities, to ensure they remain good places for children to come to and play in. The urban parks have developed good youth facilities at Bellevue Park and the Ponciau Banks Park, there is a need to consider better youth facilities at Acton Park to provide for local young people.

Policy Statement

33.2 Policy – we will encourage the parks to be used to help people become fitter and healthier.

33.3 Policy – we will encourage the parks to be used for quiet, outdoor sporting activities.

42

33.4 Policy – we encourage children to use the parks for play and we will continue to invest in the play facilities in the parks to ensure they remain a high standard.

33.5 Policy – we will continue to invest in youth facilities (skate parks, Mugas, BMX tracks) where this is appropriate. 33.0 Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active

Action Point



We will promote healthy activity days in the parks, lead guided walks and other activities aimed at encouraging use of the parks and continue to support the regular walks programmes in the parks led by volunteers.

1. Support regular walks by Walkabout Wrexham or other volunteer groups at Acton, Ty Mawr, Alyn Waters, Nant Mill, Bellevue and Ponciau Banks Park.(ongoing).2. We will encourage other groups, such as mums and toddler groups to use the parks and become self supporting. (ongoing).

3. We will develop a community garden at Ty Mawr to encourage healthy living activity (2009/10).

4. We will continue to promote guided walks, healthy activity

1. High.

2. High.

3. Medium.

4. High.

1. WCBC/ Parks/Walkabout Wrexham/volunteer groups.

2. WCBC/ Parks/Walkabout Wrexham/volunteer groups.

3. WCBC/ Parks/Friends of group/other volunteers.

4. WCBC/Parks.

1. Staff time.

2. Staff time.

3. Staff time(grants).

4. Staff time.

43

33.0 Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active

Action Point



days and sports coaching to encourage use of the parks(ongoing).

We will encourage the use of the parks for quiet sporting activity such as running and cycling.

1. We will continue to host the Race for Life event at Alyn Waters Country Park(ongoing)..

2. We will work with Sports Development Officers to encourage the development of more sporting activities held at the parks by the local community or schools (check progress 2012).

1. High.

2. Medium.

WCBC/Parks/Sports Development.

WCBC/Parks/Sports Development.

1. Staff time.

2. Staff time.

We will encourage the use of the parks for play and continue to invest in the improvement of play facilities.

1. Refurbish and improve Ty Mawr, Acton, Bellevue and Nant Mill play facilities by 2013.

2. We will work with the WCBC Play Development Team to

1. High.

2. Medium.

1. WCBC/Parks/Landscape team.

2. WCBC/Parks/Play Development Team



44

33.0 Aim – encouraging the local community to become more active

Action Point



encourage more use of the parks through play activities(check progress 2012).

We will continue to invest in improving youth facilities, where this is appropriate.

1. Create new youth facilities at Acton Park by 2013.

2. Refurbish facilities at Bellevue Park by 2014.

1. Medium.

2. Medium.

1. WCBC/Parks/Landscape Team.

2. WCBC/Parks/Landscape Team.



34.0 Aim – providing information34.1 IssueInformation about what the parks have to offer in terms of what there is to see and do and what facilities the parks have, such as toilets, a shop or café and how to get to the parks are all top of the list of what sort of information visitors want. The main way of letting people know about the parks is the events and activity programme, which provides information on all the parks, including bus information, contacts and the events and activities on offer during the year. This leaflet is distributed across the local area and is supported by the Easter and Summer Madness events leaflets which are distributed across the schools to let school children know about the events and activities during holidays.

Some Parks such as Ty Mawr, Alyn Waters and Nant Mill Visitor Centre have individual site leaflets, all the parks have information boards and notice boards with contact details. Some parks have more detailed information boards on specific areas, such as the calorie counter information at Ty Mawr and Alyn Waters. Information on the web is good for the country parks, but the urban parks are separated from these parks, which must be confusing for visitors who will be interested in park information and won’t differentiate between the two types of park.

Visitor survey information indicates that word of mouth is still the most important mechanism for visitors finding out about the parks.

45

White on brown signs are only provided for the most popular parks at Ty Mawr, Nant Mill and Alyn Waters, the other parks have no road signage to guide visitors. The cost of these roads signs is very high.

Policy Statement

34.2 Policy – we will continue to provide visitor information and promote the events and activities programme.

34.3 Policy – we will improve the Wrexham County Borough Council website information through ensuring park information is easily located on the website.

34.4 Policy – we will publicise what each park has to offer and what facilities they contain.

34.0 Aim – providing information



We will produce an annual Parks Information and Events leaflet.

15,000 print run of leaflet produced each year and distributed locally(ongoing).

High. WCBC/Parks/CCW. WCBC revenue(grants).

We will improve the parks information on the WCBC website.

Complete by 2010.


We will review existing leaflets and consider how to publicise park facilities.

Complete review work by 2010.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks. Staff time for review, cost of new leaflet not quantified (low cost).

We will consider the need for further white on brown sign posting in the parks network.

Review the current signage and cost up any improvements to allow decision to be reached. Complete review work by 2012.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks. Staff time for review, cost of new signs not quantified.

We will Complete the Medium WCBC/Parks/Leisure/ Staff time for

46

34.0 Aim – providing information



review visitor centre information to consider what information is needed to meet visitors needs and whether other WCBC information can be marketed from the centres.

review by 2013. Implement findings as soon as complete .

. Libraries and Culture. review, cost of improvements not quantified.

We will promote the use of parks within Wrexham County Borough Council to staff and to community groups.

Ensure parks are included in community information such as through the Community Inclusion information and items for WCBC staff in staff magazines and the intranet(ongoing).

Medium.

WCBC/Parks Staff time.

We will continue to monitor and gather visitor information to help identify how popular the parks and services are and who is using them.

Continue to monitor visitor numbers at the visitor centres.Carry out visitor counts at Acton Park and Bellevue park through park counters(ongoing).

Medium.

WCBC/Parks Staff time and cost of visitor counters- £2000 per site to install.

35.0 Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers35.1 Issues

47

The Parks, Countryside and Rights of Way Service promotes environmental awareness through the events programme and through the environmental educational work with schools. Working with volunteers, Junior Rangers, work experience placements, on environmental projects also raises environmental awareness in the children and adults that take part in the activities.

We will continue to try and consider ways of encouraging people to leave their cars at home and walk, cycle or take public transport to the parks.

Environmental art whether through sculptures, through arts residencies or through poetry can inspire communities to be involved in the parks and enjoy nature. Art can enrich the lives of the people that take part in the programmes of work with the artist and often leave a lasting legacy.

Policy Statement 35.2 Policy – we will provide an environmental educational programme in the parks for schools.

35.3 Policy – we will support High Schools and related outdoor facilities in developing environmental awareness in key stage 3 and 4 pupils.

35.4 Policy – we will continue to support volunteering opportunities in the parks.

35.5 Policy – we will provide an events programme with a range of environmental activities for people to take part in.

35.6 Policy – we will encourage the use of community environmental art projects.

35.7 Policy – we will continue to look at ways we can encourage people to leave their cars behind when visiting the parks.

35.8 Policy – we will try and ensure the park buildings utilise energy efficient heating and lighting methods. 35.0 Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers

Action Point


Priority

Partnership Cost

We will continue to offer National Curriculum based

3,500 pupils to take part in staff led environmental education work in the

High. WCBC/Parks/Schools. Charge is levied for schools.

48

35.0 Aim – raising environmental awareness and working with volunteers

Action Point


Priority

Partnership Cost

environmental educational studies for key stage 1 and 2 pupils and Forest Schools programmes at specific parks.

parks each year(ongoing).

We will network with other outdoor facilities, such as Nantyr to avoid duplication and help support each others activities, where relevant.

No target set, will depend on specific projects.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks/Schools/Outdoor Education Establishments.

Staff time.

We will continue to work with Wrexham Schools in supporting work experience placements and volunteering opportunities on an individual basis.

No target set as work is ongoing and depends on staff availability.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks/Schools. Staff time.

We will 5,500 High. WCBC/Parks/Schools. Staff

49


Action Point


Priority

Partnership Cost

continue to support the Ty Mawr Junior Ranger Club and volunteering opportunities in the parks.

volunteer hours per year in the parks(ongoing).

time.

We will continue to support work placements in the parks.

No target set as work is ongoing and depends on staff availability.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks/Economic Development

Staff time

We will continue to provide an exciting and varied events programme each year.

25,000 people take part in the events programme each year(ongoing).

High. WCBC/Parks/Schools. Staff time. Nominal charge is made for some events.

We will take advantage of grant aid opportunities to fund community arts projects in the parks.

No target set, depends on opportunities.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks/Other Partners.

Not quantified, depends on the project.

We will continue to publicise public transport information on events publications

No target set, but will review situation in 2012.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks. Staff time.

50


Action Point


Priority

Partnership Cost

and encourage people to leave their cars behind when visiting the parks. We will continue to encourage people with poor access to cars to use other forms of transport to access the parks, such as walking or buses, but also access community transport schemes.

Pilot project - encourage people living in West Wrexham to use West Wheels Community Link project to use service to access the West Wrexham Parks. Check progress 2012.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks/West Wheels Community project.

Cost born by users and project.

We will replace outdated heating and lighting with the most energy efficient systems when carrying out property improvements in the visitor centres.

No target set, but will review situation in 2012.

Medium.

WCBC/Parks Cost not quantified.

51

36.0 Aim – developing staff and volunteers36.1 IssueVisitor satisfaction levels with the front line staff, rangers, parks officers and information centre assistants are high, they are considered friendly and courteous. It is important to continue to develop staff skills in conservation, people management, events, school and horticultural skills. Staff need to be multi skilled and to continually update skills. Park management skills are needed to balance the needs of wildlife, community aspirations and budgets. Volunteers play a very important role, whether as Friends of the Park, helpers, members of clubs or as children in the Junior Ranger Club. Volunteers also need help and support to develop and understand their role. Fund raising is a key area in which training can help in developing expertise, whether it’s for a staff member applying for grant or a Friend’s Group raising money for the park.

Policy Statement 36.2 Policy – we will continue to support and develop staff and park management officers to enable them to carry out their work effectively.

36.3 Policy – we will support the Friends Group’s in their development.

Aim – developing staff and volunteers



We will ensure staff training is appropriate for the needs of the service through the Wrexham County Borough Council competency framework

All staff to work within the competency framework (ongoing).

High. WCBC/Parks

Staff time.

We will help the Friends Groups and volunteers to identify training needs and help them identify funding to support the cost of the training.

Dependent on need(ongoing).

Medium.

WCBC/Parks

Staff time.

40.0 Monitoring and Evaluation

It is important to monitor the effect on wildlife with the continued popularity of the parks and the way visitors use the facilities. There is a need to monitor the flora of the parks to determine if it changes over time with management and whether this change is desirable or not.

52

It is also important to monitor visitor numbers through the counting of visitors, to establish a profile of the visitors to the parks and monitor satisfaction with the service.

The Parks Strategy will be monitored annually and proposals for the coming year considered as part of the budget planning process of the Parks, Countryside and Public Rights of Way Service. The strategy will be reviewed after 5 years to determine its effectiveness.

All this information is necessary for informed decision making in the management and future development of the site.

Appendix A 1.0 General Visitor- Park User Survey 2008There has been a considerable amount of consultation undertaken in the development of the strategy. A survey of park users was undertaken last year at Ty Mawr Country Park, Nant Mill Visitor Centre and Alyn Waters Country Park. Surveys were undertaken from May to August inclusive, to give a spread across the summer months. Surveys were undertaken across the week, including weekends, mainly in the afternoon. Only 20% of the visitors were using the parks for the first time. A third of visitors used the parks weekly and a quarter on a monthly basis. Around 60% of people were with a family, a further 21% were with friends.

Around 16% of the visitors had a dog with them, nearly a half of visitors had a child of under 8 with them and a further 17% had children in the 9-15 age range. The largest adult group (36-59 age range) made up 36% of users, the second largest age group represented 27% of users (16-35 age range). Around 86% of visitors came from home, other visitors came from a variety of destinations, such as Manchester, the South East and Liverpool area. About 5% of the visitors were on holiday. Just under 80% of visitors travelled by car to the park, 83% took under half an hour to travel to the park, but within this figure, 40% travelled by car but lived within 10 minutes drive of the park. Just over 80% of people said they found the parks easy to find, but it was a problem for some visitors.

In terms of who the visitors were, 8% indicated they had a disability, 17% could understand welsh and a third had some caring responsibility.

The top four activities were going for a walk, getting some fresh air, enjoying the wildlife and relaxing. Using play facilities, picnicing and attending events were important too. Half the visitors stayed between 1 and 2 hours. Around 40% of visitors knew about the parks from word of mouth, but after that there was a spread of how they heard about the parks, such as road signs, newspapers and park leaflets. People did not use the web or local radio to find out about the parks. Over 90% of people were satisfied with the visitor centres, high satisfaction levels were also recorded for the toilets, refreshments, paths, information provided and staff.

53

2.0 Ty Mawr Country Park consultation 2008Consultation with users and non users was undertaken at Cefn Mawr close to Ty Mawr Country Park as part of a course study by Amanda Holroyd in 2008. The study used a random sample of people from Cefn Mawr and asked if they used green space. The small sample of non users from the study were then asked why they did not use parks. The main reasons were ill health, cannot walk far, too old. Other reasons included lack of interest and lack of time. The users in the survey greatly valued the parks and were frequent visitors, 87% of the responding householders had visited greenspace in the last 12 months. Ty Mawr was their favourite choice, but Acton, Bellevue and Alyn Waters were also visited.

3.0 Acton Park Heritage Lottery funded consultation 2008Considerable work was undertaken as part of the Acton Park Heritage Lottery Funded project planning grant. Visitor survey information indicated that Acton Park was largely accessed on foot (50%), as people lived within 10 minutes of the park. Nearly all the people surveyed visited the park at least 3 times a year. People used the park for walking, using the play facilities and to keep fit and healthy. Under represented groups not visiting the park included women, older people (Ryder Landscapes study 2008) and couples with independent children.

A non user survey conducted by Ryder Landscapes in Wrexham Town, Borras Park shops and Garden Village shops indicated that 44% of people surveyed had not visited parks in Wrexham. This is a relatively high figure for the general population. Asked for reasons why they did not visit Acton Park , the highest ranked reasons were no reason to visit, do not use parks at all, too far away. Slightly lower in the ranking were unsure of events and activities and unsure what it has to offer and having nobody to go with (Ryder Landscapes study 2008). The top reason they would use Acton Park was “more events and activities”.

4.0 Ponciau Park Heritage Lottery funded consultation 2007Work was undertaken at the Ponciau Park as part of the Heritage Lottery funded improvements to the park in 2007. This indicated very high use of the park, 65% of people used the park daily and 27% of people weekly. They were local people, (within 15 minutes walk) and they walked to the park. The views of the quality of the park before the improvement works were poor, with concern over neglect and antisocial behaviour.

5.0 Health and Well Being Strategy Consultation Consultation as part of the development of the Health and Well-Being Strategy 2008 asked people waiting for health checks:-"If you could change one thing to improve the health of you, your family or your community, what would it be?"

The majority of people wanted to improve their diet. Children and young people also wanted more opportunities to participate in different physical activities from those traditionally offered in educational environments, including dancing, skateboarding,

54

walking and climbing, and horse riding. Both children and adults wanted activities that they could participate in as a family.

55

Ponciau Park Officer & Park Keeper

Future post – Acton Park Officer

Bellevue Park Warden

Seasonal Information

Assistant Nant Mill

Part Time Information

Assistant—Nant MillSeasonal Information Assistant—Ty Mawr

2 x P/T Ranger—Ty Mawr

Bellevue Park Officer

& 2 Gardeners

Part Time Access Ranger

Apprentice

Apprentice

Landscape Designer

Senior Parks & Countryside Officer,

North

Senior Parks & Countryside Officer,

South

Appendix BOrganisational Structure of Parks, Countryside and Public

Rights of Way Service

Chief Officer

Divisional Manager

Parks, Countryside and Rights Of Way Manager

Team Leaders –Maintenance & Enforcement/Definitive Map

Landscape Manager

Senior Tree Officer

Assistant Rights Of Way Officer

Assistant Rights Of Way Officer

Technical Officer

Access Ranger

Part Time Access Ranger

Landscape Designer

Landscape Designer

Tree Officer Ranger—Alyn Waters

Ranger—Alyn Waters

Ranger—Nant Mill

Information Assistant

Ranger—Ty Mawr

P/TRanger—Stryt Las Ar Hafod

Animal Husbandry Worker

Part Time Information Assistant—Ty Mawr

Date post:	13-Mar-2020
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	0 times
Download:	0 times

APPENDIX 1 - Wrexham · Web view8.1 Wrexham’s first park, Bellevue Park, was created in the...

Documents