CITY COUNCIL REPORT FOR INFORMATION

Committee: Communities and Neighbourhood Overview And Scrutiny Committee

Date: 19th June 2007

Subject: Park – Background, Facilities and Future Plans

Report Of: Head of Leisure ------Purpose Of Report

To inform Members about the current development of the Park and to outline future plans.

Recommendations

That Members note the report.

Financial Consequences For The Revenue Budget

Nil

Financial Consequences For The Capital Budget

Manchester City Council have committed matched Capital funding for the scheme referred to in the report as the Heritage scheme, and a large percentage of the infrastructure improvements have been funded through the Councils Capital Programme.

Contact Officers

Eamonn O’Rourke 953 2451 Head of Sport and Leisure [email protected]

Jeff Staniforth City Parks and Operations 953 2452 Manager [email protected]

Background Documents

Wards Affected - All Wythenshawe Wards

1

Introduction

1 Nationally parks have suffered a gradual decline after their heyday in the first half of the twentieth century. Exacerbated by the general loss of horticultural skills, the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering and the budget cuts of the 1980’s, the national perception of parks as shabby “no-go” areas took root in a lot of areas around the country.

2 Despite the national trend the City Council has sought to continually improve its parks. Since 1992 Manchester Leisure has had a dedicated Parks Management Staffing Structure focused on the needs of visitors and the local community, and able to deliver a wide range of events and leisure opportunities via its Park Warden Service.

3 Recognising the importance of local energy and involvement, over 50 Friends groups have been developed throughout Manchester parks over the last ten years, and the Friends of Wythenshawe Park were one of the earliest groups formed.

4 This forward momentum was summarised in 2000 by the publication of “Parks for All Seasons”, a strategy for Manchester’s parks which identified a wide range of issues and positive actions to address them. The strategy also established a framework for a classification of parks which identified Regional, District and Community parks.

5 With specific reference to heritage, Wythenshawe, Heaton, Platt Fields, Alexandra, Philips and Queens Parks were identified as having significant merit, and needed to be conserved and appropriately developed for the benefit of all.

6 The improvement programme in Manchester has seen a renaissance which now sees the City as top authority in England and Wales for the prestigious Green flag awards to parks.

Background

7 1n 1998 Wythenshawe Regeneration Partnership commissioned a Wythenshawe Park Feasibility Study. The purpose was to identify a plan of action which could provide a template to show how the various, and sometimes conflicting, activities and facilities could be accommodated in an overall layout. A key aim was to protect and enhance the heritage asset whilst providing improved facilities for local users and attracting increased numbers of visitors from a wider catchment area.

8 More recent studies funded by Wythenshawe Regeneration Partnership and Manchester Leisure (carried out by King-Sturge and Buttress-Fuller, 2005), have further developed proposals for the park,

2 including zoning of facilities, visitor management, and potential for increasing use and income.

9 Using these plans and studies as a basis, Manchester Leisure has been proactively sourcing funds to take various projects forward so that each year improvements have occurred in Wythenshawe Park, and these are described in more detail in the “Future Plans” section later in the report.

Facilities and Current Position

10 Wythenshawe Park covers a total area of 276 acres accommodating Wythenshawe Hall and gardens, open parkland, woodland, small ponds and brooks, wildflower areas, horticultural glasshouses and gardens, a farm centre and stables, athletics track, sports areas and a playground. Overall, Wythenshawe Park offers the opportunity for quiet enjoyment as well as active recreation, in a quality outdoor environment.

11 Recognised as one of two regional parks in Manchester, Wythenshawe Park is Manchester’s second largest park. Three of its woodlands – Nan Nook Wood, Gib Lane Wood and The Big Round are designated Sites of Biological Importance and Mere Wood is an Environmental Improvement/ Protection Area. Three grade II listed buildings are located within the park: North Lodge, The statue of Oliver Cromwell and Wythenshawe Hall.

12 Wythenshawe Park comprises of a variety of landscape elements including historic and ornamental woodlands, herbaceous borders, formal bedding, amenity grassland and wildflower meadows. The park is also of significant recreational value, having a Horticultural Centre, Community Farm, Events Field and a wide range of sporting activities which include crazy golf, boules, bowling, orienteering, tennis, pitch and putt, football pitches and an athletics track.

13 Community use of the park is encouraged through the different facilities available. Space for community meetings and general use is available in the classrooms at the Horticultural Centre. City College Manchester also uses the classrooms at the Horticultural Centre as a base for their students. Wythenshawe Sunday Football League has use of the changing facilities and pitches. Sale Harriers Manchester is based at the Athletics facility as well as Winston Runners, Wheels for All and the Forum Weight Lifting Club.

14 The staff are currently striving to regain the Green Flag award for the park and judging occurred on Monday 4th June 2007. The outcome of the judging will be known later in the summer.

Community Partnerships

3 15 Currently there are a number of active partnership groups in Wythenshawe Park. These groups include:

• Friends of Wythenshawe Hall, formed in 2003. • Friends of Wythenshawe Park Horticultural Centre, formed in 1989. • Park Watch Committee, formed in 1993. • Tennis club formed in 1997 • Bowling club formed in the 1930’s • Wythenshawe Sunday League Football formed in 1958 • Wheels for all formed in 2004 • Sale Harriers Manchester formed in 1993 • Winston runners formed in 2000 • Wythenshawe weight lifters formed in 2001 • Junior Friends Group formed in 2006 • Wythenshawe Community Farm

16 Each group meets regularly for members to discuss with Manchester Leisure any issues that they feel are important to the future management and development of the park.

17 Over the years the various groups have been successful in acquiring funding and grants to invest into the park. Through working in partnership with Manchester Leisure and other agencies the groups also play an active role in producing a number of very popular events and activities within the park.

18 Other important organisational partners include Manchester Galleries, Hospitality and Trading Services, Wythenshawe Regeneration Partnership, Probation Service, local schools, Myerscough Horticultural College, City College, Police, Wythenshawe Community Farm Adult Learning and Care and Wythenshawe Riding Stables.

Events

19 There are a number of events organised throughout the year to attract maximum community involvement. A sample of these diverse events is listed below.

• Wythenshawe Festival • Halloween Nights • Bonfire Events, which attract crowds of up to 15,000 • Health Walks • Christmas Decorations Making • Various talks on a wide variety of interests, • Orienteering • Adventure Sessions during school holidays • Fun Fairs

4 • Theatre Productions • Circus (no animals) • Wood Carving • Star Gazing

20 In 2007 additional funding has been accessed to provide more events and activities, linking in particular with the new Development Officer post. Throughout June, July and August there will be Saturday sessions for children in the Hall which will have a history theme (e.g. “Make your own Coat of Arms”, making Tudor face-masks etc).

21 Heartbreak Productions Theatre Company will be putting on two productions, “The Wizard of Oz” and “Twelfth Night” during July. There will also be a “Nickelodeon” event on the show-field in July.

22 In August there will be a “Fun for Kidz” storytelling and arts event, and an “Old-time Garden Party” event in the Hall Gardens, complete with brass band and cream teas.

23 There will also be heritage open days, adventure play sessions and holiday arts and crafts activities at various times throughout the summer period. Also there will be opportunities for amateur and volunteer archaeologists to link with the current work of the Manchester Archaeology Unit on the “Dig Manchester” sessions in June and July, and a report has been submitted by the Cultural Strategy Team and is attached as annexe 1 to this report.

Future Plans

24 Leisure has actively sought funding, partnerships and opportunities to implement many aspects of the Feasibility Study and other plans on an incremental basis as, working with Wythenshawe Regeneration Partnership, it had been recognised that it was unlikely that a single large scale funding opportunity could be accessed in the short term, which would deliver the level of investment required to restore the infrastructure and bring in new input to improve and build on the existing facilities. The improvement works are outlined in the following sections.

Recent Improvements

25 In the period from 2004 to 2006 £380,000 has been spent in Wythenshawe Park on a variety of projects. These include general improvement works to fencing, paths and car-parks, new park signage and furniture, and also specific projects such as the new multi-sport court (£55,000), the “Cob House” environmental building for school visits (£10,000), re-instatement of the pond in the Hall Gardens (£9,000), and new classrooms in the Horticultural Centre (£20,000).

5 26 In the current financial year (2007-08) a £110,000 programme of further infrastructure works is in progress, and will include improved security of the Hall Gardens, and fencing works to the athletics track and park perimeter. In addition planning gain funding of £95,000 has been secured for improvements to play facilities in the park, and a further £70,000 planning gain is available for general park improvements. Heritage Lottery grant and Council capital programme funding will provide a package of £210,000 for the first phase of work on the Stables building to create the interpretation centre and café.

27 This will bring the total spend on funding in the financial year 2007/08 to £485,000.

PARK ZONES

28 The Park Zones described briefly below are outlined in more detail in annexe 2 of this report.

Heritage Zone

29 The Heritage Zone in the centre of the park comprises the Grade2 listed Wythenshawe Hall and Stables building, which are connected by the Hall gardens and arboretum. Wythenshawe Hall was the home of the Tatton Family for over five hundred years and reflects changes in the owner’s lifestyles and status over that period. horticultural Zone

30 The Horticultural Centre, opened to the public in 1980, occupies some five acres, about an acre of which is under glass. It is centrally placed in the park and is a secure site sheltered by surrounding trees, which enables a wide range of plants to be successfully cultivated.

Community Farm, Riding Stables and Wall Gardens

31 The Community Farm and Stables are built around the perimeter of the walled garden, which was constructed in the late 19th century and would have provided fruit and vegetables for the occupants if the hall. The Community Farm has a limited budget and much of its energies are spent on being self-financing. As a result there is room for improved interpretation and better display of the farm livestock. Visitor flow through the Farm is problematic, and the connection with the walled garden is via a narrow passage which is not well signed.

Sports Zone

32 The sports zone is located in the east section of the park and covers an area of approximately 90 hectares. Facilities include a crazy golf course, an 18 hole pitch and putt golf course, 13 football pitches, two enclosed bowling greens, a boules court, a sports pavilion used by the

6 local bowling club and tennis club, 10 tennis courts, changing facilities, parking area and an enclosed athletic track compromising of long jump, high jump, throwing cages and area, changing facilities and an 8 lane running track.

Strategic Overview and the Way Forward

33 It is clear from the above that progress has been made within the overall guidelines of the Feasibility Study (1998). Although the park in its current stage of development has much to commend, there still remain some key challenges.

34 The identification of funding to continue the restoration of the Stables building, to secure the fabric and structure of the Hall, and to complete the Hall Gardens project remains a challenge. The café, which will be introduced as part of the Phase 1 works to the Stables building, is a step forward in terms of the delivery of public catering facilities in the park, however this initial provision needs to be built on with regard to scale and variety of offer. Work is ongoing to identify partners in the private sector who may wish to invest in the catering opportunities in the park. Finding commercial partners to exploit the potential of the Horticultural Centre and the Sports Zone also remains an issue.

35 In the last year the park has suffered from illegal tipping after dark, and improvements are being investigated to enable the locking of the park’s main access points to prevent illegal vehicles entering at these times.

36 A section of the dense shrubbery between the Stables building and the children’s playground is to be cleared to open up lines of sight, which will improve safety and management of the play area.

37 The opening up of an entrance into the park at the /motorway end will be investigated.

38 The creation of an entrance feature to better announce the presence of the Horticultural Centre from the main drive will be looked into.

39 The reduction in the volume of traffic along the central axis of the park, especially on busy Bank holidays and events days, will be investigated. The various studies have identified the Ring-field (to the left of the main entrance off Wythenshawe Road) as a potential site for car parking.

40 Although the park has many partners which contribute to its development and direction, it is the aim going forward to cultivate new partnerships wherever possible, and Manchester Airport Plc and Parkway Green Housing Trust are two good examples. Leisure will also look to strengthen and develop the existing relationship with Wythenshawe Regeneration Partnership in the next phase of it’s development.

7 ANNEXE 1

THE MANCHESTER DIG PROJECT – NORTHENDEN 2005/06

1 Dig Manchester is one of ’s flagship cultural and social regeneration projects, inspiring thousands of people to get involved with archaeology in their own neighbourhoods. The projects key delivery partners are Manchester City Council, The University of Manchester Archaeology Unit, and Manchester Museum. Through Dig Manchester, residents, school children, and community groups work alongside professional archaeologists on a programme of archaeological activities and community excavations at sites of historical interest across the city.

2 Building on the successes of Dig Moston in North Manchester, Dig Manchester-Northenden ran for two successive summers, 2005 and 2006. Both were very successful digs with tremendous feedback from participants. Key successes were around participation, social inclusion and the integration of art. Each year two digs ran simultaneously for four weeks in June and early July, one for adults and one for school children. The main deep dig uncovered the bulk of the mill structure showing the evolution of technology over five centuries, from water wheel to electric turbine. The children explored a shallower site - the Miller's House.

3 Over the two years the project engaged almost 3000 people 3 to 95 years, including school children, local residents, teaching disabled people, nursery children, autistic adults, excluded young people, and older people.

4 Over 860 school children from 18 schools, including special schools, were actively engaged in the excavations. Over 800 adult residents and volunteers where involved in the digs. 180 people took part in Dig Art, a key feature of the dig led by Manchester Mental Health Trust’s Studio One, involving adults and children in creating art inspired by the archaeological atmosphere. One of them was Stephen Gilchrist, then in Year 6 at St Wilfrid's Primary School. He said: "We all found it really interesting finding out about the mill. We found everything from shoes belonging to the mill workers to bits of pottery and slate from the roof. Some of it had been buried so long that it almost looked new. We split up into lots of different groups and worked really hard. I was really hungry and thirsty at the end of the day but it was great fun and it made me a lot more interested in the history of the area."

5 The dig engaged with groups who might not otherwise get involved in community archaeology. Children as young as three years of age came from Royal Green Nursery and Sale Road Children’s Centre. Benchill Community Centre brought a day care centre group of young people and adults with learning difficulties, and the Pupil Referral Unit brought a group of permanently excluded teenagers. Age Concern brought a

8 group of older people, some of whom had fascinating personal memories of the Mill. Altogether over 400 people from harder to reach groups were involved.

6 Each year an Open Weekend was held at the end of the four-week dig to showcase the excavation and associated finds and artworks to visitors. The events attracted circa 1700 visitors over the two weekends. The visitors toured the site, taking in a guided tour of the working excavations by the archaeologists, an interactive arts extravaganza of clay modelling and community painting, an exhibition of finds, a Sites and Monuments Records database GIS display, an exhibition of dig art, story telling, flute playing, and were offered bread and cheese as it would have been prepared and served in centuries gone by.

7 The project addressed needs around social inclusion, self-esteem and community pride, and provided rich opportunities for mainstream and informal education. It aimed to promote the understanding, appreciation and protection of the rich historical and archaeological heritage of significant sites in Manchester through a unique partnership between professionals and the community.

8 Has also attracted a number of award nominations as a model of regeneration excellence by RENEW Northwest and presented to the All Party Parliament Archaeology Group.

The future – 2007/08

9 Preparations for a community dig in Wythenshawe Park; a desk-based assessment was carried out which identified considerable potential for archaeological exploration. An evaluative series of excavations is under way, carried out by the University and local group South Manchester Archaeological Team – [SMART], with some schools involvement. This will check the findings of the desk based assessment and hopefully confirm the archaeological potential for a full community dig.

10 The Dig Manchester Project a three year programme [2005 –2008] costing £601K attracted funding from Heritage Lottery Funding of £431K, contributions from private sector and other support organisation of circa £88K including Manchester Airport, English Heritage, Police, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Robert Kiln Charitable Trust, Sale Mayoral Fund and The Zochonis Charitable Trust.

11 Should the site evaluations prove to be successful and a full-scale dig is feasible, certainly there is huge support for an additional dig, a funding source will need to be identified to deliver a similar experience as the successful digs in Moston and Northenden.

9 ANNEXE 2

PARK ZONES IN MORE DETAIL

Heritage Zone

1 The Hall currently has two uses. HATS manage a catering and entertainment service in the Tenants Hall, which can be hired for weddings, conferences, corporate hospitality and other social events. The main Hall is used as a gallery and is currently managed by the Galleries Department, with the library being used for wedding ceremonies.

2 The Stables building is currently the office base where the Park Wardens, Assistant Park Manager, and Development Officer are located, and includes a small Visitor Centre and public toilets.

3 The Feasibility Study and other strategic studies have identified the heritage zone as the heart of the park, with the potential to create a high quality facility combining the heritage experience of the listed Hall and Stables building with restaurant and function rooms, visitor centre and orientation point, education and interpretation centre with associated café, all brought together within a seven acre site by an upgraded Hall Gardens feature with restored pond, arboretum and high grade planting schemes.

4 To date a tree survey of the arboretum has been carried out (Amenity Tree Care 2006), a landscape design for the Hall Gardens created (Bertram-Hyde Landscape Consultants 2006), the Hall Gardens pond has been restored, and works have been started to secure the perimeter of the site with fencing.

5 Heritage Lottery Funding and City Council capital has been identified to implement the first phase of works to the Stables building, opening up a high quality space within which to house interpretive displays and a public café, and creating increased access to this important heritage site. Work will commence on this phase in June, and will aim to complete the restoration by August 2007.

6 A longer term aim will be to create new public access through the rose- garden side of the Stables building off the main drive, with a connection also from the Stables courtyard into the Hall Gardens. This will increase visibility, improve access and visitor management and unify the site, creating a high quality environment combining heritage buildings with a beautiful landscape setting.

7 Work to complete the securing of the perimeter of the Hall Gardens and the creation of horticultural displays will be carried out in 2007. Progress has also been made regarding a joint project between Leisure and the Museums and Galleries Department, to create a

10 Development Officer post with funding from the Heritage Lottery and the City Council.

8 The new Development Officer (Alison Davenport) took up post in November 2006, and will play a leading role in developing historical interpretation and raising public awareness of the Hall and Park, and in engaging the Wythenshawe community in their local heritage. The Development Officer will also examine the potential for extending the currently limited opening times of the Hall to increase public access.

9 One of the key elements of the post is to set up a volunteer group or scheme, attracting a diverse range of people from the local community. Training, skills development, and lifelong learning will be built into the activity, possibly linking to accreditation if this proves a feasible way forward. The hope is to make the volunteer activity self-sustaining beyond the two years of the post, with volunteers playing an important role in terms of fund-raising and acting as advocates for Wythenshawe Hall and Park.

10 This is an important step towards unifying the aims and activities of the various Council departments involved in the park, which was identified in the Feasibility Study as an overall weakness which needed to be addressed in the future management of the park.

11 An aspect of the Development Officers post will be to support management in the development of a strategy for Leisure to become the management agency over the whole of the site. This would ensure that facilities are developed to their full potential and help to ensure long term sustainability of the buildings and Heritage.

Horticultural Zone

12 Under glass, plants are grown in themed areas: the Jungle Walk is comprised of plants from all over the world, creating a naturalistic setting much enjoyed by adults and children alike. Gardens of the World have a more structured theme, displaying plants from specific countries. The canal garden is planted with marginal and aquatic plants, and the Safari Walk is a journey from jungle to desert.

13 The outside gardens consist of herbaceous borders, a bedding scheme, rose garden, shrub collection, rockery, tree collection and ponds both artificial and natural.

14 The Centre is open to the public from 10am to 4pm daily (including weekends).

15 An important aspect of the Centre is education, and the two classrooms were installed in 2002. These provide the venue for regular

11 public talks, and are also shared by City College for the delivery of horticultural training.

16 In 2006 the “Cob House” was constructed with the involvement of local schools. The structure is made of a mixture of local subsoil and straw, reclaimed timber with a turf roof, and will provide schools both with a classroom and with first hand experience of building with environmental principles in mind.

17 College students have some input into the maintenance of the grounds, and this is supplemented by a workforce of people with learning difficulties who have their work base on site. They work under the supervision of Council staff, and are funded and managed by Social Services.

18 This aspect of cooperation has been so successful that a larger group with a wider remit is seen as being important in terms of future development. The running of the Centre shop, selling self–propagated plant material, is envisaged, and the exploitation of the walled garden for growing fruit and vegetables for sale is to be an integral part of this.

19 The ‘Community Payback’ group, part of the Probation Service, have been based on site for some time, and have contributed considerable work and skills into the Centre. Many of the people in this group are qualified trades people, and their skills have been put to good use in the day-to-day maintenance of the Horticultural Centre.

Community Farm, Riding Stables and Walled Gardens

20 The pets’ corner inside the walled garden is limited, and the remaining garden areas offer much potential for further development.

21 The riding stables have a limited area adjacent to the farm and close access to the horses by visitors is not encouraged.

22 New developments are proposed for the Walled Gardens in partnership with the Manchester Adult Learning Disabilities Team. The team already volunteers in and around the Horticultural Centre during the week, but this will extend to the Walled Garden with park staff supporting the project.

23 The focus will initially be on one area of land in the Walled Garden, creating a series of beds for growing herbs, vegetables and fruits using organic methods. Service users will be involved in growing seeds, preparing the beds, looking after and harvesting the produce as the year progresses. The plan is to have a farm shop in the Park's stable block, managed by the Adult Learning Disabilities Team, selling both garden and farm produce. There is also the aim that produce from the garden will be used in the new cafe.

12

24 The Park Staff will work with the team over the coming months, looking for ways to develop the garden and to explore other activities e.g. creative arts activities within the Park and Hall. It is important that the service users are involved from planning to harvest and have an ownership of the project

25 There is the possibility of other groups being involved, and contact has already been made with a group from NACRO who have been volunteering at the farm.

Sports Zone

26 The zone is well used by the local community, and older members frequently use the sports pavilion for social activities. Local schools, Police and businesses use the Sports Zone for sports and fun-days and physical education curriculum studies. At present there are 7 affiliated clubs who utilise the facilities in the Sports Zone. Each club has grown over the years on the site here to establish a self-sufficient organisation that has assisted in the growth of these sites in relation to their aspects of interest.

27 In 2000 the partial regeneration of the tennis facilities took place in conjunction with Sports Development, the local Tennis club, the Lawn Tennis Association, Brookway Sports College and The Northern Lawn Tennis Club. Six new high quality porous macadam tennis courts were created including surrounding fencing work. The Community Tennis Partnership was created to coach and encourage local children, and to feed talented players on to appropriate exit routes and opportunities.

28 In 2002 the Commonwealth Games preparations established a training base for all aspects of throwing in athletics. This brought improvements to the throwing areas within the site which have been maintained after the Games for the benefit of the athletics club and other users.

29 In 2005 the athletics changing rooms were improved with a new floor and electrical rewire and upgrade. The football changing rooms were repainted and facilities created for the use of the weightlifting club. Further works to both these facilities are required to bring them to a higher standard. Other general works to the Sports Zone have been carried out in 2006 including improvements to signage, pathways and car-park surfaces and the fencing of the bowling greens.

30 At present there are 7 affiliated clubs who utilise the sports facilities in Wythenshawe Park. These are as follows:

Tennis club established in 1997 Bowling club established in the 1930’s Sunday league football established in 1958 Sale Harriers Manchester established in 2004

13 “Wheels for All” (Disabled cycling) established in 2004 Winston Runners (female running group) established in 2000 Wythenshawe forum weight lifters established in 2001

The main aims of these various groups is to enhance and promote the use of the Sports Zone within their area of interest so that it is of benefit and accessible to all members of the community.

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