Page 31 Agenda Item 7
London Borough of Sutton
Beddington & Wallington Local Committee - 2 December 2008
Report of the Executive Head of Streetscene
YOUTH FACILTIES AT ROUNDSHAW PARK – CONSULTATION AND OPTIONS
Ward Location: Beddington North Author(s) and Contact Phone Number(s): Mark Dalzell, Head of Parks & Highways Area Served: Beddington North Lead Councillor: Councillor Colin Hall
Key Decision Report
Summary This report presents the findings of the consultation carried out on behalf of the committee about proposed youth facilities in Roundshaw Park and sets out options based on the consultation findings. This work was carried out to inform committee’s decisions on priorities for Public Realm spending. Recommendations The Committee is recommended to agree to: 1. Locate a youth seating area close to the existing ball court 2. To locate the wheel and ramp park suitable for skateboards, in-line skates and bicycles on the tarmac pad adjacent to the ball court. 3. To authorise consultation with potential users of the facilities, on the exact specification and layout of the ramps within the designated area. 4. To fund repair/replacement of sections of the tennis court fencing, resurfacing of adjacent paved areas and landscaping to provide a high standard of finish and good access. 5. To allocate £100,000 of the Beddington and Wallington Public Realm Budget to complete wheel and ramp and tennis courts as detailed in this report. 6. To allocate up to £10,000 for youth seating areas within Roundshaw Park from the Public Realm funding allocated to the Beddington and Wallington Local Committee.
1. Background 1.1 The committee has been asked to provide additional facilities for young people in the Roundshaw area. Roundshaw Park is well placed to provide outdoor facilities as it is a safe, open park at the heart of the estate. Agenda Item 7 Page 32
1.2 The options consulted on were: a skate park to be located at the rear of the existing pavilion, youth seating in the locality of the existing ball park and youth seating in the park opposite the Mollison Square shopping parade. 1.3 The consultation was carried out in three ways. Firstly display boards showing the proposals were put up in The Phoenix Centre lobby, with consultation forms available and a posting box for returns. Secondly the Parks Service hand delivered consultation information to 34 homes in Foresters Drive nearest to the park. Thirdly Roundshaw Homes delivered the same information to 1900 homes on the Roundshaw estate. 1.4 In addition to consulting with residents Roundshaw Homes was asked to comment formally on the proposal. 1.5 The police agencies were also asked for views about the scheme and to provide a Crime Prevention report. 2. Results Residents Comments 2.1 On the question of youth seating respondents were asked to say if there should be youth seating opposite Mollison Square and 62% were in favour of this idea. They were also asked if youth seating should be placed next to the existing ballpark and 75% were in favour of this option. Appendix A shows the consultation letter sent to residents. Police comments The Safer Neighbourhood Team’s Sergeant Withersby and Inspector Baker met with Parks Service officers to discuss the proposals. The team arranged for a Metropolitan Police Crime Prevention: Security Survey to be produced which is attached at Appendix B. This report raises some concerns which can be summarised as follows: •Location too secluded reducing natural surveillance •No lighting in proposed area •Young people need to have input to say what they would like provided •CCTV or removal of shrubs needed to open the site and make it safe •Local residents may object to removal of shrubs and trees •Youth shelter at this location to secluded, better opposite Mollison Square Roundshaw Homes Comments Roundshaw Homes comments will be available at the Committee meeting. 3. Issues 3.1 Initially the proposal was for a skate park. The results of the survey indicate support for this idea including thirty-one under 18s saying they would welcome this. However to ensure maximum use of the facility, it is suggested that a wheel and ramp park should be considered rather than a skate park. A wheel and ramp park can be used for skate boarding, in-line skating and BMX cycling, widening the range of users and making a truly flexible leisure space. Similar facilities at Mellows Park and larger scale facilities at St Helier Open Space are wheel and ramp parks Page 33 Agenda Item 7
and have attracted many regular users of all types who can enjoy the social aspects of meeting together and watching each other take turns at performing on the equipment. 3.2 Involving young people in designing the ramps and their layout as suggested in the police report is good practice which the Parks service has followed on each of the wheel and ramp parks developed so far. It is suggested that “Sutton Ramp Events” the home of “Elevate” are employed to carry out the consultation process as they have been successful in engaging with young people at Royston Park and St Helier Open Space. 3.3 To overcome issues about the location of the wheel and ramp park being too secluded, it is proposed to move the ramps onto the tarmac pad adjacent to the ball court. The surface in this area is in good condition and this part of the park is floodlit until 9pm to allow young people to play on the existing ball court. A timer switch ensures the lights turn off at 9pm so that neighbours are not disturbed late in the evening. This area is much more open, and does not feel secluded, being raised above the level of the football pitches on one side and at about the same level as the park on the other side. 3.4 It is hoped that by designing the wheel and ramp park in this way that the police concerns about anti-social behaviour and perceived lack of use will be overcome. Similar concerns were raised about Mellows Park wheel and ramp park before it was installed. In practice there has been no increase in anti-social behaviour and the facility is well used. By careful choice of the ramps the noise and potential for problems was minimised, but the ramps are semi permanent and can be relocated if needed. Using a similar style of ramp at Roundshaw will give Committee a useful fall back position should problems arise. 3.5 To further enhance the area and provide a good standard of finish it is suggested that damaged fencing and paths leading to the ball court and wheel and ramp park should be repaired, resurfaced, or removed where not needed and the grass reinstated. 3.6 The adjacent tennis courts would also benefit from repair of the fences and repainting of lines if budget allows. The Parks Service will arrange cleaning of the surfaces to remove moss in the spring. 4. Financial Implications The schemes detailed in this report are estimated to cost a maximum of £110,000 and will be funded from the Public Realm Capital budget which has been allocated to the Beddington and Wallington Local Committee. The cost of the various components of the schemes are as follows :- Purchase and installation of wheel and ramp equipment £61,500 Resurfacing of wheel and ramp area £8,000 Removal of redundant fencing, replacement of section of fence by tennis courts, resurfacing of access paths and restatement works. £20,000 Renovation of tennis courts including cleaning surfaces, painting protective coating in red and green and white line marking £10,000 Employing Sutton Ramp Events to engage with local young people £500. Youth seating within Roundshaw Park £10,000 Agenda Item 7 Page 34
The exact costs for each component may vary, but the overall package will be kept within the agreed budget of £110,000. Any funds remaining on completion of the work will be returned to committee for use on other Public realm projects. The cost of normal maintenance (cleaning, safety checks and litter removal) of these facilities can be met from existing Parks Service budgets. Replacement of worn out equipment or vandalism damage requiring extensive repair or replacement of equipment cannot be met from Parks Service budgets and funding will need to be secured from other sources should such an event occur. 5. Influence of the Council’s Core Values 6. Contribution to the Achievement of the Council’s Corporate Goals 6.1 All new works including specific adaptations for the disabled will be carried out in accordance with regulations and requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. Where applicable, facilities for improving access for the disabled will be incorporated into any scheme. 6.2 The proposed works will hopefully attract new users to the park and cater for all sections of the community
7. Background Papers None Page 35 Agenda Item 7
Appendix A – Copy of Consultation Letter to residents a. London Borough of Sutton
(a) Chief Executive’s Group Please reply to: Paul Martin, Chief Executive
Your Ref: Direct Line: 020 8770 6173 London My Ref: 3 Fa x: 020 8770 5998 Borough of e-mail: Sutton Date: July 2008 Civic Offices Please ask for: Malcolm Barker St Nicholas Way SUTTON
SM1 1EA CONSULTATION www.sutton. gov.uk Dear Resident
Minicom ‘Skate Park and Youth Seating on Roundshaw Park’ 020 8770 5178 ------DX No Your Beddington and Wallington Local Committee 134340 Wants to Know What You Think Sutton 11
In October last year the Council invited residents to come up with ideas about how they wanted the public realm funding allocated to your local committee to be spent improving Beddington and Wallington.
As a result your local committee has already agreed to spend more than £200,000 on the local area. However, the committee decided that some of the suggestions put forward needed more consultation with residents before a final decision was made.
‘Doing more for the young people’ was a αβ common theme throughout the discussions with residents at the committee. The following quote, taken from a Thames Police good practice guide on facilities for the young reflects, in many ways, χδ Chief Executive Paul Martin α ε Agenda Item 7 Page 36
the conclusions reached. ‘Young people need to socialise as part of their normal growth and development; they need to learn how to relate to each other in the absence of adults – this is how they mature. It is true that they will sometimes make fools of themselves, take a few risks, get too boisterous and show off inappropriately in front of their peers. It is much better to let them do this in a designated space out of harm’s way, than try to stop them gathering outside shops or bus shelters and asking the police to move them on’ .
The committee also wrote to all the schools in Beddington and Wallington seeking their views on whether young people wanted the skate park already provided in Mellows Park to be retained. The feedback received was very positive and confirmed that the young people making contact wanted to see more facilities of this type in other parks in the area.
After healthy debate the committee agreed to put aside funding for two proposals for Roundshaw Park – subject to consultation with local residents.
• A skate board park to be located at the rear of the existing ball park and the football changing rooms (green building).
• Seating for the youth, either in the ball park area and/or on the park opposite the shops at Mollison Square.
The proposals may cause concern for some residents because of the potential for noise nuisance and other possible problems. We are hopeful that the designated areas will encourage young people to move away from other areas thereby reducing nuisance. Any nuisance caused in the immediate locality of the facilities will be minimised by locating the skate board park well away from residents’ homes towards the middle of the park and also by providing some new soft landscaping. The youth seating will also be well away from peoples’ homes.
Please take time to complete the consultation and place in the box provided
Please also do not hesitate to make contact with Malcolm Barker, the Lead Officer for the Local Committee on 0208 770 6173 or by writing to the above address or emailing [email protected] if you require any further information.
Yours sincerely,
Councillor Jayne McCoy Chair of the Beddington and Wallington Local Committee Page 37 Agenda Item 7
Stop press – installation work starts of new playground at
Roundshaw park week commencing 21 st July 2008
Agenda Item 7 Page 38
Roundshaw Park Consultation
Please tick/complete the following boxes as appropriate
I am 18 years or under
I am over 18yrs of age
I support the proposal to provide a skate park on Roundshaw Park
I do not support the proposal to provide a skate park on Roundshaw Park
I support the proposal to provide youth seating in the locality of the existing ball park
I do not support the proposal to provide youth seating in the locality of the existing ball park
I support the proposal to provide youth seating on the park opposite the Mollison Square shopping parade
I do not support the proposal to provide youth seating on the park opposite the Mollison Square shopping parade
Please also provide your postal code
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Appendix B - Metropolitan Police Crime Prevention: Security Survey
2nd October 2008
The proposed siting for a skate park is the tarmac area to the rear of the pavilion in Roundshaw Park. The area is with in a dip with a large amount of trees and an established hedgerow, the pavilion and the fencing from the ballpark area that reduces natural surveillance. The nearest homes offering surveillance are in Foresters Drive near to the junction with Ingleby Way. There is lighting in the ballpark but none in the area behind the pavilion. Foresters Drive appears to be a cut though road with no traffic calming measures to slow passing cars. The area of the pavilion was littered with beer cans and rubbish. The ballpark had graffiti on the basketball goals and large holes within the chain link fence.
While I fully support any form of youth diversion to reduce damage, graffiti, crime and fear of crime, I have grave concerns about the choice of a skate park and its purposed location.
Full consultation is needed with the young people of the area to establish what they would like. Youth participation in a questionnaire or traditional meeting is normally very poor. An idea would be to hold a barbecue or music event with a very short questionnaire on a lucky ticket with a prize of a MP3 players or similar. The Phoenix centre would be the ideal venue. Involvement of the Sutton youth workers to gain information from the harder to reach youths would be of benefit. If the youths decide on the skate park then, the design of the skate park, spectator seating and colour scheme needs to be decided by the youths to enable them to have ownership. We have to provide something the youths want and not what we think they want. Earlier consultation conducted by the Roundshaw Homes and Beddington South Safer Neighbourhood Team with the local youths showed that a skate park was not one of their requests. The responses obtained requested football, street dance, a youth club and car mechanics among other suggestions. Skating and skateboarding does not appear to be habitual recreational pursuits of Roundshaw youths. There is a skate park located nearby at Mellows Park.
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The concern of speeding cars in Foresters Drive has been a ward priority for the Safer Neighbourhood Team who performs regular speed traps. They have found drivers travelling between 35-50 miles per hour and there has been fatal collision just a year ago. This road does not have a large pedestrian footfall. The lack of pedestrian traffic and speed of vehicular traffic means there natural surveillance is prohibited.
As there is very limited natural surveillance at the proposed site therefore formal surveillance is necessary for the safety and security of the young people. Monitored CCTV with appropriate lighting and signage is required to provide adequate protection. If this were not being implemented then two thirds of the trees, the entire hedgerow and the pavilion would need to be removed to open the area.
If the trees are removed then consideration needs to be given to the neighbouring homes, as the noise level of the skateboard and skates using the equipment and general verbal noise will be increase. The area is within a dip that will magnify the acoustics. Local residents may have concerns over the conservation of the trees and the hedgerow, and may not approve of their removal.
The siting of a youth shelter by the existing ball court will also be problematic due to limited natural surveillance caused by the amount of established vegetation and distance from neighbouring properties. The siting of a youth shelter opposite Mollison Square could offer natural surveillance from the shops and flats; this location would have to be lit to increase the surveillance. The style and décor of the youth shelters should be chosen by the youths to provide them with ownership. The design should be open to increase visibility and reduce the fear of crime.
This area of the Roundshaw is not an identified hotspot for anti-social behaviour, by encouraging youths to gather at this point it could be anticipated that the amount of criminal damage and graffiti would increase.
Any outdoor recreational multi-sports equipment and youth shelters should be supplied and installed to PAS 30.
Pat SIMCOX, Crime Prevention Design Adviser Safer Neighbourhood Team (East) Sutton Borough Police Division