Sutton Park Town Gate

Feasibility Report on the creation of a Destination Play Area for Sutton Park

Produced on behalf of

Sutton Coldfield Town Council

by The Landscape Practice Group Birmingham City Council January 2019

CONTENTS

Summary…………………………………………………..1 Introduction………………………………………………2 What Makes a Destination Play Space?……………3 Regional Examples of Destination Play Areas……14 The Existing Site ...………………………………………25 Constraints, Pressures and Opportunities………….33 Master Plan for a Destination Play Area ...... 51 APPENDIX………………………………………………..61

Summary What is a Destination Play Space?

It is important to remember that play spaces are created for the benefit of our children. The core drivers behind the design and provision of such spaces Is to improve children’s health and well-being, to further their physical and emotional development whilst helping them to become well balanced young adults. A Destination Play Space is suited to children of all abilities regardless of age, physical handicap or mental ability and is the ultimate expression of the objective to offer a richer more diverse play environment than can be provided by small local play areas.

For this objective to be realised at Town Gate, there is a clear need to expand the available size of the play space. It is currently less than half the size of the smallest existing regional destination play space in Tamworth and is likewise dwarfed by both facilities provided in Walsall Arboretum and in Telford Town Park, which are at least seven times as large. There are also other issues to overcome at Town Gate, such as the lack of adequate levels of visitor parking near to the play space and the need to find workable solutions to the current traffic management problems before these issues are exacerbated by increased visitor numbers.

This study has examined the feasibility of creating a Destination Play Area at Town gate and goes as far as suggesting a possible master plan for the site based on its findings. But it is simply a starting point. Essential public consultation needs to be undertaken with local residents, park users and local schools and businesses. This will identify the direction in which stakeholders would like to see the project developed.

Further studies are required to look at the long term viability of the café and the park shelter and there is a need to monitor visitor information for a minimum 12 month period to fully understand how the park at Town Gate is currently used.

Town Gate offers real opportunities to develop the site into the premier Destination Play Space for the region. The creation of such an attraction would greatly increase visitor numbers to the park and by association to Sutton’s nearby commercial shopping centre redevelopment. This would thereby help local businesses and new enterprises prosper whilst benefiting the children and residents of Sutton Coldfield for generations to come.

Put simply, in answer to the question; “What is a Destination Play Space?”

It is a catalyst for positive growth and development, an inspirational landmark for the region and a lasting childhood memory. ……………………………………….

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Introduction

A destination, by definition, is ‘a place worth of travel or an extended visit’, in application to a play area, it denotes a place that people will make a special trip to visit.

The creation of a single main destination play area is a fairly common occurrence in other parts of the country, where the local authority may not follow Fields in Trust guidelines on the provision of local and neighbourhood play areas.

In effect this centralisation enables those authorities to invest more resources into creating and managing a single larger play facility than managing and maintain multiple smaller facilities.

Figure 1: The pirate ship at Diana Memorial Playground

The negative side of this strategy is that residents will have to travel much further to enable them to access a play space and this can create difficulties and inequalities for some user groups.

Figure 2: Carved Sculpture feature

Figure 3 & 4: Water play features at Diana Memorial Play Area

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

What Makes a Destination Play Space?

There are a number of key features that qualify a play area as a destination site. These features not only relate to the physical layout of the play space, how well it functions and is maintained, but also to its location, and its associated facilities as well. These features and requirements are summarised below and are explored in more detail in this section of the report.

Essential Elements for a Successful Destination Play Space:

 Size of the Play Space

 Diversity and Interest of the Provision

 Café & Public Amenities

 Good Transport Links

 Adequate Parking Facilities

 Proximity to other Local Attractions

 Robust Maintenance Regime

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Size

Visitors might combine a visit to a destination play area with a trip to other nearby local attractions or a shopping centre. Whereas a typical length of stay at a local play area may be an hour or so, visitors to destination play areas attract large numbers of visitors who stay for much longer periods.

This pattern of visitor behaviour generates greater pressure on the facility throughout the day as visitor numbers build. It is therefore essential to provide sufficient space within the play area to safely accommodate the maximum numbers of expected users and their families.

Figure 4: Renovated Splash zone at the award winning Gheluvelt Park in Worcester. A suitably sized facility will also be able to accommodate different zoned areas which relate to varying play activities, age groups or physical aptitudes. This requires space to avoid conflict between users and to maintain safe operating zones for the play equipment. Figure 5: Visitor numbers grow steadily during the day

The pressures that these high visitor numbers bring, can often be surprising for operators of smaller play areas, A large facility will be able to disperse these pressures over a greater area and therefore comfortably cope with the different peak time demands.

Figure 6: Popular sites attract high visitor numbers. Images courtesy of Worcester City Council. Although it is difficult to predict actual visitor numbers before a new facility is created, a key indicator will be found by recording the current visitor numbers for an existing facility. This is an essential starting point prior to the development process.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

In order to function well as a destination play space a site must:

• Be able to safely accommodate the predicted numbers of visitors whilst conforming to event management guidelines, without the necessity for applying regular external controls.

A maximum occupational density for users of no more than two people per m2 is recommended for events. For play spaces which have potentially hazardous movement zones around play equipment, this would be reduced to between 0.5-1.0 people per m2. Funders and managers of a facility must recognise that occasional overcrowding may still occur at peak times and should account for this eventuality.

If controls become necessary, they would typically necessitate the employment of additional parks staff to monitor and control entry to the play space. This could mean the implementation of entry queuing system or the operation of a one-in one-out visitor entry policy. The need for this approach brings with it substantial additional operational costs and if they are prevented from entering, potential dissatisfaction of visitors, who may have travelled some distance to visit the play area. For large play sites with sufficient operational space, this issue can be avoided as it will be to some degree self- regulating by the users themselves.

There are broadly up to sixteen different categories of play activity that children utilise during the different stages in their development from an infant to junior level. A well designed play space will provide as much space as possible to fulfil as many of these different types of play activities that are needed for their physical and emotional development.

• Within the initial design development it is essential to account for the space needed to allow for a variety of play activities, beyond the usual standard play equipment provision. A design should include areas for free play, for family activities, as well as separate quiet play spaces.

Categories of play commonly associated with designed play spaces may include;

 Motor or Physical play

 Social or Cooperative play

 Observatory or Onlooker Play

 Exploratory play

 Solitary play

We have looked at comparative sizes of local regional play areas for the purposes of this study in the next chapter.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Diversity and Interest

‘Diversity’ in this instance relates specifically to the provision of play equipment suited to different age groups and abilities, whilst ‘Interest’ is related to the range of activities and play opportunities those features provide.

All children will find the activity or equipment, which they feel suits their current level of ability, but they will also seek to challenge their boundaries if they are in an environment in which they feel safe. This is a key developmental tool that they need as they grow and a key function that a well-designed play space should provide.

Most equipment for play areas will be designed to catering for either early years (2-5yrs) or junior (6-14yrs). Although there is some crossover of the age groups, these distinctions relate largely to the physical and social developmental stages, which occur during childhood.

Figure 7: Natural features hold as much interest and challenge for children as traditional equipment Play manufacturers also provide a wide range of inclusive play equipment which can be seamlessly integrated into a play space, enabling disabled users to join in with play activities without segregation or discrimination.

Figure 8: Climbing is a popular challenge for all abilities and ages If a careful integrated design approach to play is adopted, with clear advice to parents and carers, younger users should not need to face hard barriers or segregation. Fences and gates may serve to reassure parents but at the same time can restrict the child’s essential observation of older children at play, limit their interactions and deny them challenges they may feel ready to undertake. Figure 9: Landmark play features for all abilities help a destination play space stand out for visitors Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

A good destination play space will also provide quieter zones and semi-secluded areas for play. This allows children who may not be as confident in initially joining in or who may feel overwhelmed by the high activity zones to find a little escape. These spaces offer a different opportunity for play for those children who may need to seek it out.

Figure 10: Quiet play and low activity zones are just as important for some children as the high energy areas

From a practical perspective, there will also inevitably be times when one or more pieces of play equipment are temporarily out of action for repair or maintenance purposes. Therefore, to avoid disappointment and sustain sufficient levels of interest the inclusion of a diverse range of play activities is Figure 11: Swings are consistently one of the most popular activities a play area can contain. essential.

In summary the layout of a destination play area must;

 Be easily legible for users, their parents & carers.

 Provide equipment and activities which cater for all age groups.

 Be inclusive and accommodate children of all ability levels.

 Offer sustained challenge and play opportunities.

 Have sufficient amounts of equipment & activities to sustain the play value during repair or maintenance periods.

Figures 12 &13: Inclusive equipment should be seamlessly integrated into the available activities Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Social Spaces

“Playing allows children to develop a sense of well-being, develops their emotional responses and improves their interpersonal skills. It involves exploration and creativity, helping children think in a flexible manner, developing the creative process, language skills, and learning and problem solving skills.” (DCSF: 2008a)

Play plays a pivotal role in the development of a child’s social skills. Their interactions during play are key to helping children of all abilities develop these skills to help them to learn to play together and to give them the opportunity to communicate their thoughts and ideas.

A good play space will effectively enable these interactions without creating hard barriers between age groups or children with different ability levels. The absence of traditional barriers allows children to mix and interact with each other on their own terms in a safe controllable environment, whilst under the supervision of their parents or carers.

These developmental stages can be facilitated with careful zoning of the play space and even the use of permeable divisions such as earth mounding or low planting which maintain the visual links into Figure 14: Informal and non-prescriptive play features can provide opportunities for imagination and social interaction adjoining spaces.

As the child develops and passes through the stages of observational and parallel play and moves into associative and cooperative play, these permeable divisions encourage exploration and allow interactions at the child’s own pace when they feel ready and confident enough to do so.

Parten, M (1932). "Social participation among pre-school children". Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

It’s often easy to forget that play areas provide key spaces for parents and carers to socialise and chat whilst their children play.

The provision of suitable seating and hub areas affords users of the play space these opportunities and encourages repeat visits and popularity.

Figure 16: The provision of sufficient quantities of seating for visitors will allow longer visits and make their stay morecomfortable .

“Research suggests that children playing outdoors and establishing relationships with other children in their community can also have a positive effect on community cohesion. The more social networks children have in a neighbourhood, the greater the confidence parents have in the safety of that area.

Parents also establish their own networks through their children, meaning that play also supports community cohesion amongst adults. In Finland, over 70 per cent of parents saw their play park to be somewhere where they can get support and help with issues concerning their children.” (DCSF: 2008a)

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Café & Public Amenities

The two most important features that a destination play area must have is somewhere to get refreshments and clean accessible public toilets. These provisions alone distinguish a destination play space from a normal large neighbourhood play area.

The source for the food and drink could be from a simply small kiosk, an ice-cream van, a mobile food vendor or preferably a permanent on site café.

These facilities, when sited close to a destination play space, provide benefit to the visitor and in turn benefit from the provision of a steady stream of customers and income throughout the year.

In conjunction with this, visitors expect Figure 17: A well run park cafe is a big draw for visitors clean accessible public toilets and the availability of changing facilities, when visiting a destination play space. The demographic makeup of visitors coupled with the extended length of an average visit, will mean that the provision of suitable accessible public amenities is a must, in order for the space to meet visitor requirements.

Figure 18 & 19: Sufficient provision of clean and accessible public toilets for the expected numbers of visitors is essential,

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Good Transport Links

A destination play area will have a much larger catchment area of visitors than that of a smaller neighbourhood facility due to the greater range of activities, associated facilities and features it possesses. This will draw in visitors from farther afield by offering more incentive to travel further and to stay longer.

The means by which the users reach the play area will vary from site to site, however the most successful destination play spaces are often in close proximity to good road and rail networks and are therefore easily accessible via established public transport links.

If the site also happens to be on or close to the national cycle network, this can offer a further means of travel to the play area, which can benefit the health and wellbeing of users and their families immensely.

The more options people have at their disposal for these cheaper and more sustainable travel opportunities, the more likely the site is to draw in those visitors coming from further afield, rather than simply travelling by car or walking from the surrounding areas.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Parking Provision

A substantial number of visitors will travel by private vehicle to reach a destination play area. This will be due, in part, to the larger catchment areas they serve and the corresponding greater distances that visitors are prepared to travel to reach them.

Travelling by private vehicle or minibus is also often the primary choice for those travelling on a day out with young children or children with special needs, for the convenience it offers.

A destination play area must be able to provide:

 Adequate parking provision near to the play area, to avoid overspill into neighbouring residential areas and roads.

 Parking provision for mini-buses or occasional coaches.

 Disabled Parking provision within 50-100m of the play area.

The number of dedicated disabled spaces provided should ideally follow the BSI British Standards, "Code of Practice for the design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people",

This recommends that commercial premises with designated off- street parking have one space for every employee who is a disabled motorist, plus five percent of the total capacity for visiting motorists and a further four percent should be enlarged standard spaces.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Proximity to other local attractions

Destination play areas will act as hubs for visitors coming into an area. Their scope of interest is vastly increased if they are located near to other local attractions. This proximity translates to greater ‘Visit Value’ and a more fulfilling user experience.

The benefits that a destination play space gleans from these nearby attractions are reciprocated by the increased trade it generates as an attraction in its own right. This has obvious benefits to any commercial shopping centres or local businesses situated near to the site.

Examples of local attractions typically associated with destination play areas:

 Large public park

 Historic interest or attraction

 Visitor Centre

 Café or refreshments facilities

 Commercial retail centre

 Cycle Hire facility

 High Wire Course

 Splash Pad

 Outdoor Gym

 Mini Golf or Pitch and Putt

 Facilities for teens - MUGA, skateboard park etc

 Sports facilities – tennis courts, football pitches, etc

 Seasonal attractions e.g. fun fairs, farmers markets or Xmas markets, winter skating rink.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Maintenance

A destination play space demands very different maintenance requirements to that of a local or neighbourhood play area. This is brought about by the pressures of higher visitor numbers and is more akin to that of a commercial site than a public sector maintained facility. These sites must therefore have a sufficient quantity of equipment and other play activities to sustain visitor interest and satisfaction, during the inevitable down time required for the occasional repairs. The frequency of such repairs can be reduced through the selection of robust equipment at the design stage.

The logic follows that steel equipment, as opposed to softwood timber, should be specified for such a high use, high wear site. However steel equipment can often lack the ‘Wow Factor’ necessary to make the play area stand out from a normal authority play site and on its own doesn’t always provide all of the necessary play stimuli, such as natural play, tactile stimulation, or genius loci.

Only in recent years has this gap been successfully filled, with the introduction of a greater variety of “Robinia” play equipment. This hardwood timber carries with it all the visual and tactile benefits of softwood but also has the increased durability of man-made materials.

In summary, destination play areas will:

 Require a more intense maintenance regime

 Carry more varied maintenance needs

 Experience shorter lifespans of equipment

 Incur higher associated maintenance and capital replacement costs

 Generate higher visitor expectation levels

Providers therefore need to recognise that their existing maintenance regimes and budgets will need to be fully reviewed, in order to cater to the specific requirements of a destination play area. In turn, they will need to commit more funding to implement an intensive tailored inspection, maintenance & repair programme from inception. Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Regional Examples of Destination Play Areas

Sandwell Valley Country Park Adventure Play Ground

This is a popular and expansive natural adventure play area featuring durable timber play equipment, which is all set on natural safety surfacing.

The equipment is informally zoned for different age groups and there are a significant number of large pieces of play equipment including a double climbing net, two multi-use climbing structures and a double zip line.

There is adequate room for free play opportunities, exploration and for families to enjoy picnics.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Associated attractions:

 Car Parking  Cycle hire  High wire Course  Mini Golf  Pitch & Putt  Five-a-side all weather pitch  Tennis Courts  Football Pitches  BMX track  Sandwell Park Farm  Forge Mill Farm  Seasonal Amusement Park  RSPB Visitor Centre  Toilets

Some play equipment was undergoing repairs at the time of our visit.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich

The play area is a very large unfenced traditional play space, set within one of Sandwell’s largest historical parks, which is currently benefitting from a £6 million pound restoration project.

It is located about three minutes’ walk from the Sandwell Valley Country Park play area and shares a number of the same associated attractions.

The equipment here is largely traditional steel play equipment set on wetpour safety surfacing. It also has some inclusive wheelchair specific equipment.

Some of the equipment has begun to show its age, but there is clear continuous investment in this play area. More recently, newer sections have been added to the play area, included a splash zone section and an outdoor gym and climbing wall installed as a legacy of the 2012 London Olympics.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Associated attractions: • Car Parking • Cycle hire • High wire Course • Mini Golf • Pitch & Putt • All weather Five-a-side • Tennis Courts • Football Pitches • BMX track • Sandwell Park Farm • Forge Mill Farm • Seasonal Amusement Park • RSPB Visitor Centre • Toilets

In addition: • Outdoor Gym & Climbing Wall (Olympics funding) • Splash Zone • Sensory Garden • Park Pavilion • Boating lake

Some play equipment was out of use at the time of our visit or demonstrated a possible temporary gap in the maintenance cycle. This included the splash zone.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Tamworth Castle Grounds Play Area

The play area in the castle grounds is extremely popular, regularly drawing in visitors from as far afield as Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield.

In keeping with it’s location, the play area notably features a large castle climbing structure, as well as a pirate ship, sandpit and numerous other pieces of play equipment catering to the different age groups arranged into junior and toddler zones.

The equipment is mainly constructed from timber and is set on colourful wetpour surfacing.

The play area has undergone a continuous series of improvements since its conception with most recently updated equipment and new benches being installed.

However the high demands of such a popular play area are evident in the degree of wear and tear evident on the equipment and surfacing. This is in part due to the play area’s small relative size in comparison to other regional play areas, resulting in a high intensity of use concentrated in a small area. It is also due to the specification of less resilient softwood timber play equipment compared to either hardwood or steel.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

The local authority has also had to contend with various incidents of vandalism over the play areas lifetime.

Associated attractions: • Historical Park setting • Car Parking • Café • Toilets • Cycle hire • Outdoor gym • Mini Golf • Skate Park • Tennis Courts • Table Tennis • Seasonal Funfair • Floral Attractions • Bandstand • Bowling Alley • Indoor children’s play area

In addition within a short walk:  Tamworth Town Centre & Tamworth Castle  New Ventura Retail Park  Snowdome  Cinema  Riverside attractions and water sports

The high levels of wear were noticed on most pieces of play equipment, which is a testament to the popularity of this site. The timber equipment in particular showed heavy wear with treads and steps often being worn down.

In addition, the usual problems with the wet pour play surfacing were evident during the visit with numerous patch repairs being used to keep the site in good order.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Walsall Arboretum Play Area

The historic arboretum has recently undergone a massive £7.6 million Heritage Lottery Funded restoration, which brought about many improvements to the historic fabric of the site and included the construction of a new two million pound visitor’s centre.

As part of the works, the play area and the splash pad also underwent a £250k renovation, which updated and greatly improved these very popular attractions.

The play area mainly consists of traditional play equipment with the recent addition of several large exciting feature pieces in the form of a new pirate ship and climbing nets. The safety surface has also recently been renovated with the addition of an overlay of play carpet over the old wetpour rubber surfacing.

There is also plenty of free space within the fenced bounds of the play area for family picnics or informal play activities.

The space also houses a popular stand-alone snack The play area and splash pad before its and drinks kiosk as well as an recent £250K renovation by Ustigate essential toilet block. Waterplay in 2013. Image courtesy of Ustigate Waterplay

Above; The play area and popular splash pad today.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Associated attractions: • Historic arboretum setting • New Visitor Centre • Outdoor education space • Boathouse and Lakes • Bandstand and Terrace • Toilet Facilities/ Refreshment Kiosk • Splashzone (open June – Aug) FIGURE X; Local authority run Trampoline Hire • MUGA • Graffiti wall • Trampoline Hire (council run) • Pedalo Hire (commercial) • Skate Park • Five a side pitch (grass) • ‘Dog Park’ adjacent to play area

FIGURE X; MUGA and Graffiti wall make up the young person space

FIGURE xx; Artist impression of the new visitor centre by Brownhill Hayward Brown Architects. Image courtesy of Walsall Council.

FIGURE X; Plan showing the arboretum and country park surrounding the play space. Image courtesy of Walsall Council.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Telford Town Park

Telford Town Park contains one of the region’s most outstanding examples of a well-designed, well planned and successful destination play space. The facilities it offers for its visitors are comprehensive and well managed.

Alongside the many other attractions the wider park holds, the play provision righty justifies and augments the park’s reputation as the green heart of Telford and as a winner of the UK’s Best Park Award.

It incorporates timber equipment on natural surfacing as well as two traditional play areas on wet pour surfacing

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Associated attractions:

• Telford Town Park • Nature & Heritage Trails • New Visitor’s Centre & Snack Bar • Educational Area & Amphitheatre • Commercial Retail centre with shops, restaurants & cinema. • Car parking • Toilet Facilities • MUGAS • Splashzone • High Wire Course • Adventure Golf • Cycle Centre • Sensory Garden, Community Garden • Wonderland Theme Park • Local Nature Reserve • Bandstand

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

The Existing Site

Sutton Park Town Gate Play Area

Works Budget: £139,000 Size: 1205 sqm

The current play area at Town Gate was completed in March 2009 as a replacement for the two separate former toddler and junior play areas which occupied the site.

The limited works budget at that time did not permit a huge amount of equipment to be initially included. However, quite crucially, provision was made in the initial design layout to provide a large safe enclosed play space within the fenced boundary. This was to allow for free play activities, family picnics and space for the addition of more equipment once future funding became available.

Early teething problems were experienced, to do with misuse of the site by teenagers from the local college but were quickly solved, once additional swings were installed outside of the play area. In addition the site experienced high levels of vandalism to the timber fencing, which was eventually substituted with traditional steel bow-top fencing.

The equipment is of traditional steel construction, chosen for its durability and resistance to vandalism. The safety surface is wetpour rubber with the shapes of native tree species set into the surface.

Over eighty percent of the equipment provided at the time was classed as inclusive, far exceeding the requirement to provide a minimum of one piece of equipment suitable for disabled users in each play area.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Associated attractions:

 One of the largest Natural Urban Parks in Europe  Visitor Centre  Donkey Sanctuary  Café on site  Toilet Facilities at café and visitors centre  Mini Golf Course (Commercial)  Commercial Retail Centre (5min walk)  Wyndley Leisure Centre  Five a side pitches  Wyndley Swimming Pool  Skate Park  Clifton Road Youth Centre

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Current Condition

Nearly ten years on from completion, an assessment of the condition of the play equipment was undertaken by Birmingham City Council officers from the Parks’ Playground Services team.

As there is a regular maintenance regime in place for all of Birmingham’s play areas, the current equipment and surfacing was found to still be in good condition. During the course of the last nine years playground services have only had cause to replace the inclusive see-saw, one of the spinning poles and the main bearings on the nest swing. This has been due to either the usual wear and tear or because of identified weaknesses in the manufacture of the equipment.

The remaining equipment has been assessed and although it could do with some minor repairs and a paint refresh, it was found to be in good condition and suitable to be retained. In addition the safety surfacing was looked at and was assessed to be sound, only requiring some minor repairs at its edges.

As well as generating a confusing arrangement of entry gates, the replacement of the boundary fencing has unfortunately resulted in a reduction of the safe enclosed play space available. In addition, in the intervening period, no funds were found to provide additional equipment for the play space, as was originally envisaged. This has led to a continuation in the shortfall in the provision of climbing activities within the play area leaving it as a functional, but far from exceptional play space that it could be.

At the time of our visit the play area showed sign of wear consistent with high usage but only one swing was out of action.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Play Area before Refurbishment Early 1990’s - 2009

Play Area after 2009 Refurbishment

Play Area Present Day August 2017

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Site Analysis - Play area size comparison

Walsall Arboretum Play Area Size: 9600 sqm

Sandwell Valley Country Park Size: 7250 sqm

Dartmouth Park, West Bromwich Size: 8170 sqm

Telford Town Park Play Area Size: 8165 sqm Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area Tamworth Castle Play Area Size: 2005 sqm 29

Site Analysis - Context

Figure 7 Land Ownership

Figure 8 Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) Boundary

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Figure 9 National Nature Reserve (NNR) Boundary

Figure 10 Site of Local Importance to Nature Conservation (SLINC) Boundary

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Figure 12 Archaeological Record

Figure 11 Scheduled Ancient Monument Boundary

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Constraints, Pressures & Opportunities

Every site presents a variety of factors which need to be considered carefully throughout the development process, to ascertain their bearing on the viability of the proposals. These factors will often carry with them financial implications and can affect the long term sustainability of a proposed scheme.

This long established play area at Town Gate has always held a great deal of potential for development into a premier destination play area for the region.

This potential exists primarily due to it being located so close to Sutton Coldfield town centre; it also benefits from robust road and rail transportation links connecting it directly to the rest of Birmingham. Lastly is the fact that it sits at one of the main entries to Sutton Park and is next to a well-established café with toilet facilities.

A development of this play area would have the effect of greatly increasing visitor numbers to the park and to the nearby commercial shopping centre, which is also shortly due to undergo a multimillion pound regeneration. The placement of a large family orientated attraction so close to the town centre would, in turn, help local businesses and new enterprises prosper through their association or proximity to, such a positive new draw for visitors in the region.

For this potential to be unlocked, it is essential to recognise the constraints that the site presents in order to adequately account for these factors in the design process. It is also key to recognise and find appropriate solutions for the existing pressures that the site and its setting currently experiences, as well as to predict and mitigate the increased pressures such a development would bring with it.

In the following section we have begun to look at the existing constraints, pressures and opportunities that the site presents and touch on some possible solutions to the pre- existing issues that will require addressing in more detail, should the development be taken forward.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Constraints

Existing Footprint

The main constraint on Existing Play development is the space’s Area limited existing footprint, which Potential Maximum 1205 sqm Expansion Additional currently makes it unsuitable to 11,660 sqm qualify as a regional destination 1,054 sqm play area. The current fenced area that is set aside for play is approximately only half the size of the smallest regional play area at Tamworth Castle Leisure Grounds, which in itself, could be said to be too small to meet the huge demands of its popularity and success. Perhaps the leading example of one of the region’s best destination play areas, created at Telford Town Park, is nearly seven times the size of the facility at Sutton.

The constraint that has historically dictated this limitation is the inclusion and designation of the amenity grass field across the stream from the play area under the umbrella of the park’s SSSI protected status (see earlier section of the report on site analysis).

It has been suggested that there may be potential to include the much more ecologically valuable area around Clifton Pool within the SSSI boundary, as an Potential alternative to this low value mown grass Play Area Expansion field by the play area. The result would be a net gain in the protected land area, whilst also yielding of an increase in the capture and protection of important habitats and ecology within the overall SSSI designation. Clifton Pool As mentioned later in the report, under Site Opportunities, in order to follow this course of action and expand the play area, the option would need to be fully discussed with Natural England and explored with ecological survey techniques and environmental impact assessment studies to obtain their approval before any decisions were taken forward.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Lack of Parking

The second largest constraint affecting the site and the development of a destination play area is the current lack of adequate parking provision (including designated disabled parking), which would be required to cater for the increased number of visitors drawn to this attraction. Although a certain percentage of new visitors would use public transport to reach the site due to its close proximity to the established bus and rail network, a large proportion of the additional visitors would still make the journey by car or minibus.

An advantage of being situated so close to the town centre(~400m or a 6 minute walk), which has extensive existing parking facilities, is that future visitors may favour using this option to combine their day out to the play area with a shopping trip. This means that although visitor number will increase, the accompanying pressure on parking will be less than what might be experienced on a more isolated site.

There are a number of other possibilities that could be explored centred on the creation of new car parks outside of the park boundary, which would effectively divert visitors away from Park Road. It may even be possible to look further at the development of existing assets such as the Wyndley Leisure Centre car park. If the focus is centred on diverting and discouraging more vehicles from entering Town Gate, it will help to alleviate the associated traffic management pressures on the site and the surrounding area, as just essential users such as disabled drivers or local residents could be granted access.

Without having a clearer idea of the current demographic make-up of visitors to town gate and the play area, including the modes of transport those visitors favour, it is difficult to predict how these patterns would perpetuate with the creation of a new destination site. It is therefore essential to start to gather census information on visitor numbers in order to both establish current base line data and to monitor the changes brought about by the development. This will enable appropriate management strategies to be developed and implemented to deal with the increased pressure on the site and surrounding area.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Pressures

Traffic Management Issues

During peak times and at weekends Town Gate can experience serious traffic access issues to its approach via Park Road and Tudor Hill. The increased visitor traffic to the park at these times causes tail backs and congestion due in part to the bottle neck caused by on-street residents parking serving the nine properties (two of which also have off street parking) on this section of the Park Road.

Any vehicles parked here effectively reduce Park Road down to a single lane carriageway and the resulting traffic waiting to pass blocks the roundabout and impacts on all through-traffic along Clifton Road and Upper Clifton road; any traffic coming from Tudor Hill and all traffic entering and leaving the park. Residents of Tudor Hill are especially affected by this bottleneck as Park Road is the only point of access for the one hundred and seventy or- so households adjoining this main road.

A possible solution could be to relocate the resident’s parking bays entirely to the opposite side of Park Road, thereby leaving both lanes of the existing carriageway fully unobstructed at all times. There is sufficient space on the far side of the carriageway to create new parallel parking bays, which could still be easily surveilled from the resident’s properties (see illustration below). Similarly another solution could be instead to widen the existing carriageway; the disadvantage being the impact and potential loss of the magnificent oak tree, which has stood at the entrance to the park for the last (est.) two hundred years Realignment of the carriageway would also create a major change to the appearance and character of the area.

A simpler but less favourable short term option might simply be to implement restricted resident’s parking periods during weekends Town Gate Park Road to free up the carriageway and alleviate the bottleneck caused by the increased traffic levels.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

A secondary delay is caused by vehicles queuing to pay the weekend access charges at the entrance back along Park Road. Although this delay is relatively slight it has a domino effect on traffic backing up behind the waiting cars, compounding the bottleneck issue.

However this secondary problem could potentially be alleviated by simply moving the pay point for visitors down to the bridge across Plants Brook within the park (see illustration below). This solution could partially relieve the amount queuing traffic through the uptake of the required capacity within the site itself.

In conjunction with this, clear additional signage would also have to be introduced at the entrance to forewarn motorists of these part time charges being in operation before they entered the park to further avoid traffic management issues.

Queues of waiting motorists are confined to park roads

Move pay point to the bridge

These potential solutions would need to be explored in more detail by the Highways Engineers with the support of traffic modelling software before a workable approach was adopted to solve the issue.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Opportunities

Location within Sutton Park

Town Gate play area sits at the main gateway to Sutton Park, which receives over 2 million visitors a year and is Birmingham’s largest park, at approximately 2400 acres. It is also ranked as one of the largest natural parks in Europe consisting of a mix of heathland, wetlands, marshes, seven lakes and ancient woodland. The lakes support fishing, sailing and even an annual triathlon event. The wider park hosts a wide variety of annual sporting events and organised runs. There are also several restaurants, a donkey sanctuary, two children's play areas, both with cafes and a visitors' centre. It is a very popular location for walking, jogging, cycling and horse riding.

Previous censuses have shown that it has a large catchment area with the majority of its visitors coming from the surrounding wards in Sutton Coldfield and Erdington, with a small percentage also coming from outside Birmingham. Visitors surveyed were found to be more likely to travel there by car or van, rather than by walking or using public transport and were more likely to come from wealthy households than those classified as ‘hard pressed’ or from ‘moderate means’. Full details of the old census findings are available in the Appendix.

To Note: It would be a very worthwhile exercise to conduct an up-to-date site specific survey of the park’s visitors, conducted over a minimum twelve month period. This could be completed via Birmingham City Council’s BeHeard consultation website and with on-site surveys and data gathering techniques. Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Café and Toilet Facilities.

The play area at Town Gate benefits from a well-established and popular family run café. This is a regular draw for visitors to the park and it also provides the nearest toilet facilities to the play area.

In fact, the original building that now houses the café dates back to before 1930 and is shown on the historical OS maps as a public lavatory.

The building is owned by Birmingham City Council but leased to a private limited company that runs it and who are responsible for its management and the upkeep of the toilet facilities. As has been recorded in the other regional play areas, the development of a destination play space would garner massive increase in visitor traffic to the local area. It is safe to assume that this would likewise benefit this adjacent café’s trade.

However, with the predicted increase in visitor numbers and the demand this will impose on the existing facilities, such as the toilets, it will be necessary to undertake a more detailed appraisal of the current facility to ensure it can both meet visitor expectation and can cope with the increased usage requirements. An appraisal may indicate that refurbishment of the existing building would be required to provide an increased seating capacity or that additional toilet and changing facilities are required to cope with the future visitor demand.

As a potential alternative, the café could be relocated entirely to a smaller self-contained facility, like the kiosk café at Banners Gate Play Area. The old building could then revert back to its original purpose as a toilet block. This could provide space for modern facilities including more disabled and baby changing provision without increasing the footprint of the building. It could also separate the responsibility for managing and maintaining the toilets and reduce operational overheads. This option would have to be reviewed in more detail under any future lease agreements.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Old Park Shelter

The other long standing structure at Town Gate is the old timber park shelter. At one time these shelters could be found all over the park and provided welcomed respite from inclement weather for visitors out and about in the park.

This is the last remaining shelter of its kind in the park, with the others being lost to vandalism, arson or decay over the last thirty years. The shelter has been used as an additional storage facility for the café until recently and now is in need of rescue and a renewed purpose. Thankfully there are a number of potential uses the building could be tasked to provide in order to preserve its legacy within the park.

One option may be to provide a new independent accessible toilet and baby changing facility within the existing shelter. An initial appraisal indicates that, in addition to the high cost of routing the major drainage required to the building, the existing the structure of the building will restrict the available space and reduces the extent of the provision possible. This option if taken forward would have to be looked at in more detail by an architectural consultant.

An alternative option could be to renovate the existing structure to create a new self- contained, eco-friendly café. As a comparison, the available footprint of the building is approximately 55m2 or 10m x 5.5m, which exceeds the size of the kiosk at Banners Gate (approx. 8m x 5m) but is smaller than Blackroot Pool Bistro (approx. 13m x 7m).

These examples demonstrate that the available footprint of the shelter could allow for adequate interior space for seating and a small efficient kitchen. The play space layout could also be designed to maintain some separation for visitors to the cafe, as has been purposely configured at Banners Gate.

A last option might be conversion into a stand-alone refreshment kiosk and office from which to run a mini golf course on the adjacent rear plot. This option has been explored a little more in the section ‘Space to Expand’.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Visitor Centre

Beyond the scope of this study, one potential enhancement to compliment the destination play area and the national importance of the nature reserve would be the development of a new state of the art ecologically designed Visitor Centre and Education facility in a new centralised location. Some examples are shown below.

Kroller Muller

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Space to Expand

One of the greatest opportunities the site presents is the potential Existing Play to expand across the Area 1205 sqm stream into the unused Potential amenity grassland area Maximum Expansion where the former Additional 11,660 sqm paddling pool was sited. 1,054 sqm At 11,660m2 this would allow the play space to become comparable in size with the regions other destination play spaces;

Tamworth approx. 2005 sqm, Walsall approx. 9600sqm, Sandwell approx. 7250 sqm & 8170 sqm, Telford approx. 8165 sqm.

As this area of land falls within the SSSI boundaries, to achieve this expansion it would be necessary to engage with Natural England to discuss any early ideas or proposals in detail. As part of the engagement process it would also be necessary to start to conduct the relevant ecological site assessments and impact appraisals to ascertain if expansion is possible and if so, in what form it might take. Ecological surveys would also have to be carried out on the wildlife present in the stream as this too could be affected by any plans developed. However this should be viewed as a positive asset for the site due to the educational value it can bring to visitors.

The additional area which offers room for expansion is the fenced off section to the side and rear of the shelter. Part of this overall area falls under the café leasehold Existing Play and is currently used to store their Area 1205 sqm commercial bins, whilst the balance of the space at 1,054 m2 is unused. (See above) First Phase Expansion total area 2,970 sqm

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

This corner benefits from being fairly secure on two boundaries and could easily be fully fenced all around to create a controllable secure space adjacent to the play area.

As the City Council prefers to maintain a minimum offset of thirty metres for play equipment or ball courts from habitable rooms of neighbouring properties, the recently built property constructed in the rear garden of no.60 Park Road may largely preclude expansion of the fixed play equipment too far in this direction.

The constraints presented by the proximity of the park’s neighbours do not rule out the corner from being utilised as a sensory play garden, educational area or quiet play space integrated closely with the main play area. This would allow the focus of the play area to remain where it currently sits and these more inclusive, alternative play activities to maintain a degree of separation from the hustle and bustle of the main play space.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Commercialisation Potential

With the recent drive to introduce some commercial elements into Birmingham’s parks to ensure their continued survival, Sutton Park has begun to see benefits from a number of commercial enterprises being established. This has included a seasonal introduction of a portable mini golf course onto Meadow Platt opposite the play area. The course is managed by Golden Putter Mini Golf, which is the same company that runs, amongst others, the highly successful course at Cannon Hill Park.

However currently, the need to secure this portable facility at night, unfortunately dictates that high steel fencing is needed to protect the course and this could potentially have the side effect of spoiling the natural appearance of the park for visitors arriving at Town Gate throughout the summer.

The corner next to the play area could potentially make an ideal location for a permanent, albeit smaller, mini golf course, similar to the one successfully installed at Cannon Hill Park in 2014 at a cost of ~£500k. As shown on the plan on the previous page the area could accommodate a smaller 9-hole course and could be unobtrusively secured on all sides with appropriate fencing without affecting the visual amenity of the locale.

An enterprise such as this would likely not impact neighbouring properties in the same way as would the introduction of fixed play equipment or a splash pad and the renovation of the park shelter could also be carried out in conjunction with this proposal to incorporate it into the new layout and give it new lease of life should this option eventually be proposed.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

This unused corner is also of sufficient size to accommodate a feature such as a splash pad, on a scale similar to the very popular one at Gheluvelt Park in Worcester. The shelter could also potentially be re-tasked to act as the pump room for such a facility. However, whilst the size of the space behind the shelter is theoretically sufficient for a splash pad, both the proximity of the park’s neighbours and the north facing aspect with surrounding mature trees makes this location unsuitable for such a feature.

For an initial comparison the picture opposite shows the splashpad at Walsall Arboretum recently renovated at a cost of £250K, overlaid on to the site at Sutton Park. If a similar sized facility was provided in Sutton, it would occupy a large proportion of the footprint of the existing play area but this location would be most suited for its construction from a financial and logistical perspective.

Siting a splashpad here would require the relocation of the play equipment to the far side of the stream but it would position it nearer to the essential services such mains water supply, drainage and power, required to operate it. It would avoid the prohibitively expensive costs of rerouting existing services through the park and under the stream. It would also place the feature outside of the existing designated protective zones, as the nature of a splashpad’s construction could have a major environmental impact on them.

Lastly the massive increase in visitor numbers generated by the addition of a splashpad would be very difficult to accommodate safely in such close proximity to an existing busy play area if that were to also occupy the same space. This therefore necessitates an expansion of the available play space if a splashpad is desired by local people.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Logistical Requirements for Creating a Splashpad

A splashpad is a fantastically popular addition to any play space, which will remain busy and attract numerous visitors throughout the summer months. Of the five regional play spaces examined in this report, four of them feature splashpads (Sandwell Valley Country Park could be said to share Dartmouth Park’s splashpad because of their close proximity.) Operators of these facilities regularly report large increases in visitor numbers and accompanying income generation following the installation of a splashpad.

One such example is Victoria Park Splashpad, a 1167 sqm facility in Cardiff, commissioned by Cardiff City Council in 2016 at a reported cost of £485,000.

“After its first season of operation the Splashpad has proven to be a great success attracting approximately 71,000 visitors, that’s an average of 6000 people a week during the summer period. Previously the paddling pool attracted an average of 8,000 visitors across the whole season.” (Source: Cardiff City Council).

Figure xx: Potential Mini-Golf course visualization

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

A typical operational period will be from April/May through to September/October, with an autumn decommissioning involving a full drain down and maintenance cycle including sterilisation. This will be followed in the spring with a similar spring re- commissioning procedure.

There are two main types of operating system; these are Once-Use systems and Recirculating systems, which have to follow the standards set out by PWTAG (Pool Water Advisory Group).

The Once–Use or Flow through system is more suited to medium or small splashpads and works by utilising a mains potable water supply to fill an underground storage tank. From this reservoir the water is pumped to the various play features, with only perhaps around 40% of the features being operationally cycled into use at any one time. This method of operation is designed to function in conjunction with low volume water nozzles to limit the water usage from the fixed capacity storage tank as once the reservoir is depleted, users will have to wait until it refills before the splashpad becomes operational again.

Obviously if the numbers of users is consistently high, this will drain the system more quickly and result in a greater number of non-operation periods throughout the day and accompanying visitor dissatisfaction. As the name suggests the water in this system is only used once therefore does not require treatment and after expenditure it drains away either into the existing storm-water system or into a grey water holding tank, where it may be utilised for secondary purposes such as municipal watering etc.

More commonly specified for public sites is the Recirculating System, which operates in a similar fashion to a swimming pool cleaning system. This consists of either a single or double underground filtration tank plus an accompanying plant room used to pump and chemically treat the recirculating water to keep it clean and safe. This system will require physical monitoring two or three times a day to ensure the chlorine levels are consistent and that filters have not become blocked by debris washed in from the surface.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Each system holds its own specific advantages and disadvantages, with the choice of system being dependent on available capital budget, specific site requirements, predicted user demand, operational maintenance funding and staffing availability for the daily monitoring and control of the splashpad. In addition, the design of the splashpad features may also require fulltime lifeguard supervision, if pools of standing water form part of the play feature.

A guideline figure for design and installation provided by one of the main companies which installs these facilities can be up to £1000 /sqm. Typically the maintenance of these facilities is handled under contract by the companies that install them with annual costs for decommissioning and re-commissioning falling between £4-5k.

Case Study: Dippy Dino Splash Park

Client: Roarr Dinosaur Adventure Park, Location: Norfolk Designer & Installer: Ustigate WaterPlay Area: 755 sqm Installed: 2015-16 Cost: £600k

Adam Goymour, Operations Manager at Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure Park, Norfolk, UK

” We have now operated Dippy’s Splash zone for 3 seasons, since September 2015. And the facility has provided the park with an extra influx of visitors, growing our visitors by 18% after it’s first full year in 2016.”

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Proximity to Sutton Coldfield Town Centre

An Enhanced Route

The opening of the railway line in 1862 can be credited with Sutton Coldfield’s development of into a popular Victorian tourist destination. Workers and residents flocked there on day trips and excursions to escape the pollution of Birmingham. This lead to the construction of Sutton’s own Crystal Palace and Pleasure Grounds in 1868.

However, the railway line’s construction formed a physical barrier between the town and the park, with the most direct connections only being possible via the railway tunnels on Park Road and Manor Road.

Enhancements to these routes could be carried out to beautify the tunnels or even resurface the carriageways and footways in a green tarmac.

This would provide gateways and a strong visual link with which to draw visitors into the park from the town centre. The beautification of railway tunnels has been a successful tool pioneered in other areas in conjunction with local artists, schools and community groups.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Sign posting

The play area is only approximately 400m from the top end of the Parade, or just six minutes’ walk away. In conjunction with the creation of a destination play area it would be worthwhile to develop a coordinated local signage strategy to assist visitors with wayfinding, both to and from the town centre, railway station and other local attractions.

Day’s Out Leaflets

In order to publicise a destination play site in Sutton Park it would be useful to tap into to the established ‘day’s out’ leaflet system which is often found at local visitor centres, railway stations and town centres. This format is also available online and there are a multitude of trip advisory websites highlighting local attractions. This would work well in conjunction with the on-going introduction of commercial enterprises into Birmingham parks, as is the standard operating model for other local authorities across the country.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Master Plan for a Destination Play Area

When designing play spaces for children there is one thing, apart from economics, which is essential and that is Genius Loci, the spirit of the place; in other words the qualities and the atmosphere already present. (Nebelong, 2002)

The creation of a regionally significant play space at Town Gate would reap huge benefits to the health and well-being of local children and their families and provide a significant boost to the area’s economy through increased visitor numbers to the park. Assuming that there is a positive reaction from stakeholders following consultation to take this goal forward, the main constraints of the site’s restricted footprint and inadequate parking provision will need addressing, along with the implementation of solutions to ease the pressures on the site and its surroundings.

The design ethos must incorporate aspects of Sutton Park’s long and rich history as well as its ecological significance. The destination play space should be ‘Of the Place’; that is to say, it must reflect and respect the park in which it resides.

Inclusive, education and sensory play elements should sit alongside exciting landmark pieces of play equipment to provide the most comprehensive play provision for children of all abilities in the Sutton Park catchment.

To further enhance the destination play space, the construction of a seasonal splash pad and permanent mini-golf course could be investigated as part of future phases. These additions could be run on a commercial basis to supplement their maintenance costs and to provide some additional revenue for improvements to the park.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

MASTERPLAN for a Destination Play Area

Improved Café & Toilets Splashzone WaterPlay

New Main Play Area Mini Golf Environmental improvements

Outdoor Gym

The master plan above has been developed in conjunction with this report to explore the feasibility of creating a destination play area at Town Gate. It is not a detailed or final plan for Town Gate but a proposal of how this key gateway to Sutton Park could be developed in a regionally significant play space. The master plan has been divided into a series of implementation phases connected to how implementation could possibly work in line with available funding and planning requirements.

These phases consist of the following elements:

 PHASE ONE – Refurbishment of the existing play area and environmental improvements

 PHASE TWO – Creation of a new main destination play space PHASE 1 PHASE 3 Development of the café and (Orange (Blue & purple) PHASE 2 & green) toilet facilities (Yellow & red)  PHASE THREE – Development of commercial opportunities for the site including a Splashpad and Mini-Golf Course.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

PHASE ONE Budget £150-180K

This consists of the initial PHASE 1 PHASE 1 Play Area Environmental play area refurbishment, Refurbishment Improvements and the environmental improvements to the existing stream.

PLAY AREA REFURBISHMENT

In the short term, because the existing play area is still in good condition there is no immediate requirement to replace this facility. The first phase approach will be to refurbish and repair the equipment that is already there as well as to introduce new pieces of play equipment to supplement the current play provision.

Once the later phases have gone through the full design development, consultation and planning process, these pieces of equipment will be relocated and incorporated into the new main play space to provide room for the phase three Splash pad and Mini Golf facility to be developed.

Alongside the phase one works it is essential to prepare the site New New Play Equipment for any future development by Bridges Sensory implementing some necessary Play infrastructure improvements. In Stream Improvements addition it will be necessary to create a long term strategy to bring the café and the toilet facilities up to modern standards New Play and address how they can be Equipment made to adequately cope with the predicted future demand of the increased visitor numbers. Outline Phase One Plan

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS

The emphasis for the environmental work to the stream is to enhance its ecological value and to develop it as a safe accessible educational resource close to the site’s other facilities. The formerly canalised stream will undergo works to create safer accessible waterside and also to remove blockages downstream, which currently cause the water to back up and partially flood the existing bridge and paths.

A second bridge will also be added, continuing the existing roadside footpath to provide a direct link across the stream and to bypass the narrow roadside pavement. This will remove pedestrian conflict with vehicles and will improve accessibility to the field and future play space beyond.

The proposals will also include the introduction of dipping platforms for local school groups and an enhanced path network for disabled accessibility.

In order to begin implementation of a detailed plan for these works, an ecological survey of the stream will need to be first undertaken, as the site is linked to known communities of protected freshwater crayfish further upstream.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

PHASE TWO Budget Figure £1.1-1.2 million. PHASE 2 Main Play Area PHASE 2 This phase would be Development Café & Toilets expected to follow on after the completion of an extensive year- long consultation and visitor data gathering process. In preparation for the phase two development, the implementation of workable solutions to address the site’s existing pressures and constraints will be necessary to ensure a successful outcome. The work will consist of the development of a new sustainable destination play area to act as regionally significant attraction and the development of suitable café and toilet facilities.

MAIN PLAY AREA

The inspiration for the main play area comes from the natural elements found within Sutton Park itself. The equipment will be mainly constructed from durable “Robinia” timber, with the refurbished traditional steel equipment from the existing play area re-sited and integrated into the design layout.

The landscape environment elements will include glacial boulders, natural ground formations and native tree planting. There will be a strong influence towards educational and sensory play elements and the inclusion of an accessible path network will provide a truly rich and inclusive play space for children of all ages and abilities to enjoy.

Landmark pieces of inclusive play equipment will define the character of the space, providing intrinsic play value whilst sparking children’s excitement and imagination. It is envisioned that the play area should become a benchmark for inclusive accessible play in the region.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

The increased amount of space that will be dedicated to the new play provision will allow the area to safely accommodate the larger numbers of visitors expected without overcrowding. It will also allow a greater range and diversity of play activities to be included in the design. By pushing this play focus further into the park it minimises any impacts on park neighbours and the surrounding residents and enables further development of associated attractions in the vacated spaces.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

LINEAR OUTDOOR GYM

Alongside the new play space will sit a linear outdoor gym spread alongside the existing path next to the field. Consisting of durable steel equipment set on natural surfacing, this free to use facility will provide healthy activities for teens and parents or carers to occupy themselves whilst their children play. It could also serve as a warm up/ warm down zone for the many visitors who regularly come to the park to run or walk.

CAFÉ & TOILET FACILITIES

The construction of the destination play area will act as a catalyst for an increase in the commercial revenue of the café due to the increased visitor numbers to the park. This will in the long term warrant the necessary initial capital outlay during this phase for the renovation and improvement of this existing facility, to meet the needs of future visitors.

In order to identify sustainable future uses for the existing buildings and in conjunction with the findings of the twelve month consultation and data gathering process, a separate architectural feasibility study will need to be undertaken prior to phase two commencing. Possible solutions could involve the reversion of the café building to its original use as public toilets and preservation of the park shelter through conversion to a new stand-alone kiosk café. Alternatively a better solution may prove to be to expand and renovate the existing café to increase its capacity whilst also updating its toilet and baby changing facilities. Whichever approach is finally adopted the guiding principal should remain centred on the creation of a facility built on clear ecological principals and be in character with this historic natural location.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

PHASE THREE Budget figure PHASE 3 Splash Pad PHASE 3 £800 - 850k Construction Mini Golf Course The last planned phase for the master plan is centered on developing sustainable commercial attractions to generate an income for the park and enable a continued program of improvement in the site whilst at the same time still covering their maintenance and running costs. This phase will see the completion of a full range of attractions that are typically associated with destination play spaces, the Splash-pad and Mini-Golf course.

SPLASH-PAD CONSTRUCTION

Following the construction of the new phase two play area, the Sutton Park splash pad will occupy the site of the old play area. The choice of this location is the most efficient for the logistical provision of power supply and drainage needs. It will also help to minimise the environmental impact of its construction on the park. Creating separate zones for the splash pad and main play space will help to reduce overcrowding as it will disperse visitor numbers over a greater area. It avoids the issue of having a large area of unused space in the seven month long off season when the splash pad is not in use.

Initial construction costs for such a facility are outlined elsewhere in this report and will be ultimately dependent on the eventual design and size of the splash-pad to be created. This will be identified through the data gathering process to gauge future uptake. A budget figure of £600K is suggested to create a similarly sized facility as that at Walsall.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Other factors which will determine long term running costs will stem from the choice of operating system initially specified. Again this choice will be determined by the predicted uptake of use and popularity of the facility as well as whether it is intended to be a free to use or pay to use facility. The system chosen may carry with it the cost of a regular maintenance programme, staffing costs to conduct daily water quality monitoring and to control the use of the facility.

If the splash pad was intended to be a free-to- use facility, as is operated at Walsall and Telford, these recurring running costs would fall to the local authority or Town Council. However if the facility was to be constructed and managed in partnership with an independent company under licence, they would control entry, apply a charge for use of the facility and also hold responsibility for the day to day operation and on-going yearly maintenance. Under such an arrangement the facility would be much more sustainable in the long term with a small return on the operational profits feeding back into the park to help fund on-going improvements.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

MINATURE GOLF COURSE

The other commercial opportunity presented by the master plan builds on the precedent set by the temporary mini-golf course set up on site and run by the Golden Putter Group.

Miniature golf courses feature in most of the regional destination play areas as a lucrative commercial opportunity popular with visitors.

Phase three of the master plan identifies a potential permanent home for scaled down mini golf course such as has been constructed and successfully run at Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham for a number of years. The available area is discreetly tucked away behind the existing café and shelter, but is easily securable and could conservatively allow for at least a small nine-hole course to be created. If more of the available space around the old park shelter was utilised, with some creative design, this could be expanded to a full 18-hole course.

Again the operation of such a facility is seasonal but during the summer months would contribute to the overall draw of the destination play space and the potential income that could be returned to the park.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

APPENDIX

Leisure in Birmingham - A City-wide Analysis of Local Patterns and Trends (2004) Extract

Key Facts Main entrance: Visitor Centre, Park Road, Sutton Coldfield, B74 2YT Location: Approx 10km north of City Centre FIRST PHASE LAYOUT Size: Approx 2400acres. Premier & Main Parks PLAN Size Rank Order: 1st (out of 23)

Population within 3km: 164,000 Households within 3km: 68,000

GENERAL CHARACTER Birmingham's largest park, consisting of woodlands, heathlands and wetlands. The entire park is designated a National Nature Reserve by English Nature. It is the home of a wide variety of wildlife, many species uncommon elsewhere in the West Midlands region.

USER PROFILE

The catchment area for Sutton Park is far reaching. Visits were made by people who reside in the Sutton wards of Four Oaks, New Hall, Trinity and Vesey together with Erdington, Kingstanding, Oscott, Stockland Green, and Tyburn. In addition, 13% of visits were made by people living beyond the Birmingham Boundary.

The age profile of people making visits to this Park was generally older than that for all parks but more in line with the Park’s catchment population. A third of visits were made by people aged under 25 years, compared with 44% for visits to all parks. Conversely, 1 in 5 visits were made by people aged 60 or over, compared with 13% for all parks.

Users of Sutton Park are relatively very wealthy. 45% of visits were made by people who were either ‘prosperous’ or ‘wealthy’ compared with only 21% for visits to all parks and 32% for the Park’s catchment population. Only 21% of visits were made by people from ‘ hard pressed’ or ‘moderate means’ families, this being less than half the proportion for visits to all parks (53%) and substantially less than the proportion for the Park’s catchment area (35%).

Very few people from the Black and Minority Ethnic communities use this park. They made up just 5% of visits, compared with 30% for all parks and 7% for the Park’s catchment population.

Two thirds of visits were made by users who travelled to the park by car or van. This is twice the proportion for visits to all parks (34%). Conversely, the proportion of visits involving walking to the park (24%) were much lower than the overall level (59%). Car ownership for households using the Park (90%) was significantly higher than the average for households using all parks (78%) and the Park’s catchment area (74%).

A half of visits were frequent i.e. once a week or more often. This a little less than the average for visits to all parks (61%).

MAJOR USES

Proportionally, use of the Park was broadly similar to that for all parks, with a slightly higher percentage walking (49% cf. 43%) and lower proportions playing football (2% cf. 6%) and visiting a play area (14% cf. 22%). Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

PEOPLE USING THE PARK:

Sutton Park Sutton Park Catchment All Parks ACORN Wealthy Achievers 38% 27% 11% classification Urban Prosperity 7% 5% 10% Comfortably Off 34% 33% 27% Moderate Means 5% 10% 27% Hard Pressed 16% 25% 26%

Ethnic Groups White 94% 92% 70% Black 1% 2% 7% Asian 3% 3% 21% Mixed 1% 2% 1% Other 0% 0% 1%

Age Groups Under 16 26% 21% 33% 16 - 24 6% 9% 11% 25 - 59 47% 46% 41% 60 + 20% 24% 13%

Ward of Residence Erdington 4% Kingstanding 7% Oscott 7% Stockland Green 3% Sutton Four Oaks 16% Sutton New Hall 8% Sutton Trinity 13% Sutton Vesey 19% Tyburn 3% Outside Birmingham 13%

Mode of Travel Car/van 66% 34% Walk 24% 59% Bus 2% 3% Cycle 4% 1% Other/not known 4% 1%

Frequency of use 5 or more times a week 6% 4% 2-4 Times per week 8% 15% Once a week 39% 41% Every 2-3 weeks 22% 19% Once a month or less often 27% 18%

Use made of facility Walking 49% 43% Football 2% 6% Visit play area 14% 22% Take children / grandchildren 9% 10% Walk the dog 8% 7% Sit and relax 6% 6% Cycling 3% 2%

HOUSEHOLDS USING THE PARK: Sutton Park Sutton Park Catchment All Parks Car ownership Households with a car 90% 74% 78%

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Birmingham’s Play Strategy 2007-2012 (Extract)

3.2.1 Key Findings of the Audit of Provision

The audit element focussed on provision for children in the 5-14 age range in their out of school time. The audit of supervised and outdoor play provision showed that there is a variety of supervised play opportunities ranging from open access, restricted access, playcare and childcare. The following tables highlight the number of play spaces and the play areas that are available to children within the constituencies.

Supervised Play Provision

Constituency Children Term Holiday Play Child to place ratio 5-14 Time Schemes Centres IMD IMD rank no. of no. of no. of places places places Term Holiday Edgbaston 8 10579 604 1192 - 18 to 1 9 to 1 Erdington 4 13663 633 481 110 18 to 1 23 to 1 Hall Green 5 17946 636 352 75 25 to 1 42 to 1 Hodge Hill 1 19218 300 197 35 57 to 1 83 to 1 Ladywood 2 14702 711 311 204 16 to 1 29 to 1 Northfield 6 14497 573 336 - 25 to 1 43 to 1 Perry Barr 7 15250 1119 445 25 13 to 1 32 to 1 Selly Oak 9 12393 442 168 150 21 to 1 39 to 1 Sutton Coldfield 10 11532 1473 530 - 8 to 1 22 to 1 Yardley 3 15198 318 66 32 43 to 1 155 to 1

Outdoor Unsupervised Play Provision

Open Constituency Children Play areas with spaces Parks and Total Hectares 5-14 equipment Gardens Open per child Spaces aged 5-14

for play

IMD rank rank IMD (hectares) 0.1ha 0.1ha Small <0.1ha Large ≥ Small <0.1ha Large ≥ Edgbaston 8 10579 2 19 1 25 12 551.89 0.052 Erdington 4 13663 5 17 3 22 12 267.48 0.020 Hall Green 5 17946 3 22 3 26 18 248.52 0.014 Hodge Hill 1 19218 3 19 1 25 14 352.89 0.018 Ladywood 2 14702 6 38 2 22 33 244.28 0.017 Northfield 6 14497 5 15 1 56 19 557.5 0.038 Perry Barr 7 15250 3 15 2 7 9 508.48 0.033 Selly Oak 9 12393 2 23 1 39 17 320.31 0.026 Sutton Coldfield 10 11532 1 9 1 30 9 1225.23 0.106 Yardley 3 15198 1 19 1 13 13 4626.4 0.304

On the basis of these findings, INSPIRE ranked the constituencies in priority order based on a combination of the amount of space and play opportunities available to each child in the constituency.

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Play Development Priority Ranking

open children Overall holiday Overall Combined term time space per per play outdoor scheme supervised play Priority Constituency places child area provision places provision opportunities ranking (ranking) (ranking) (ranking) (ranking) (ranking) (ranking) ranking Hodge Hill 8 9 10 10 9 9 10 1 Yardley 6 8 8 9 10 9 9 2 Hall Green 10 6 9 7 7 7 8 3 Northfield 3 5 3 7 8 8 7 4 Perry Barr 4 7 5 2 5 3 4 5 Selly Oak 5 2 2 6 6 6 4 5 Erdington 7 4 5 4 3 3 4 5 Ladywood 9 1 4 3 4 3 3 8

Sutton Coldfield 1 10 5 1 2 1 2 9

Edgbaston 2 3 1 4 1 2 1 10

Constituencies have been ranked according to their scores on the Index of Multiple Deprivation (based on the number of people living in the 25% most deprived SOAs), then for: open space per child; number of play areas per child; term time places per child; holiday places per child. These relative rankings have then been combined to create an overall ranking for level of play opportunities available per child, and thus a development priority ranking.

While this ranking identifies the broad areas of need on a constituency basis, it will need to be refined at a local level based on local assessments of need.

The Birmingham Plan: Play

Policy TP9 Open space, playing fields and allotments. (Extract)

Provision of public open space Public open space should aim to be provided throughout Birmingham in line with the following standards:

• All residents should have access within 400m, (5 to 10 minutes’ walk) to an area of publically accessible open space which should have grass and trees and be at least 0.2 ha in size. Similarly, there should be children’s play facilities within 400m of all residents.

• Within 1km (15 to 20 minutes’ walk) of all residents there should be an area of publically accessible open space of at least 2 ha in size. This should have paths, seating, bins, trees and landscape features. It should be capable of accommodating differing and potentially conflicting recreational activities without problem e.g. space for football and for those who want to sit and relax.

• Within 3km of all residents there should be access to a publically accessible park which has a wide range of facilities and features which may include water features, children’s play facilities, cafés and formal landscaping. These spaces should be capable of holding local, or in some instances national events. These sites should be more than 2 ha in size and should also have good access for public transport and for walkers and cyclists. Some of these parks will have additional facilities and will be of a size which allows them to be used for major events and

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

celebrations. It will be a priority to ensure that these parks have good access by public transport and adequate car parking.

New developments, particularly residential, will place additional demand upon all types of open space and children’s play areas. New residents, visitors to Birmingham and people working within the City all place varying demands upon open space. In new residential developments provision of new public open space will be required broadly in line with the standard of 2 ha per 1000 population. In most circumstances, residential schemes of 20 or more dwellings should provide on site public open space and/or children’s play provision. However, developer contributions could be used to address the demand from new residents on other types of open space such as allotments and civic spaces.

Further detail on the implementation of these requirements is provided in the Public Open Space in New Residential Development SPD.

The emphasis will be on good quality, accessible public open space that people want to use and feel safe to use. There should be well maintained paths, hard and soft landscape elements, bins, seats and other appropriate site furniture and the needs of people with disabilities should be taken into account.

Policy TP37 Health (Extract)

The City Council is committed to reducing health inequalities, increasing life expectancy and improving quality of life by:

• Helping to tackle obesity and encourage physical activity through the provision of open space and playing fields (Policy TP9) and sports facilities (Policy TP11) accessible to all, creating and enhancing environments conducive to cycling and walking (Policy TP39 and TP40) such as the canal network, and supporting the network of local centres (Policy TP21).

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area

Bibliography and sources

DCSF (2008a) Fair Play – A consultation on the play strategy. London: Department for Children, Schools and Families.

DCSF (2008b) Children’s Services Local Authority Circular – LAC Ref: 0506080003: Conditions of Grant and Guidance 2008-09. London: Department for Children, Schools and Families.

DCSF and Play England (2008) Managing Risk in Play Provision: Implementation guide. London: Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Fields in Trust (2008) Planning and design for outdoor sport and play (‘The Six Acre Standard’)

John, A and Wheway, R (2004) Can Play Will Play: Disabled children and access to outdoor playgrounds. London: National Playing Fields Association.

Play England (2008) Play Indicators Quality Assessment Tool. London: National Children’s Bureau (pending publication).

Sutton Park, Town Gate Destination Play Area