CASSIOBURY PARK Watford, Hertfordshire

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CASSIOBURY PARK Watford, Hertfordshire HERITAGE CASSIOBURY PARK Watford, Hertfordshire CLIENT: WATFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL VALUE: £5,400,000 CONTRACT PERIOD: 69 WEEKS This 18 month-long scheme saw works take place across what is, at 190 acres, Watford’s largest public open space. Attracting around 2 million The newly refurbished Cha Cafe visitors a year, Cassiobury Park’s historic importance was recognised in 1999 when it entered at Grade II in the English Heritage’s Register of Parks and Gardens of Historical Interest. The project, on behalf of Watford Borough Council, was made possible by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery and incorporated: • The careful restoration and relocation of a Grade II listed Hill and Smith Bandstand from the Town Hall back to its original home in the park • Refurbishment works to the existing Cha Cafe including the creation of a new external playground and surrounding paving/ landscaping works • The creation of a new entrance to the park which features a “footprint” of the old gatehouse laid out in the cobblestones • Restoration of the former Mill to Cassiobury House, the house itself was demolished in 1927 The final phase was the construction of a eco-friendly Hub Building and the modernisation of existing paddling pools in the heart of the park. Set into the landscape the Hub is finished with striking CorTen weathered steel cladding and features a cafe, exhibition rooms, educational facilities, changing facilities for the nearby sports pitches, toilets and office space for park staff. Living Sedum roof on the Hub Building An environmentally friendly approach was adopted from the outset to ensure the construction process was optimised and the finished build was as sustainable as possible. Impressively, considering the size of the build, only two skips worth of waste were removed from site throughout the duration of the project. Sustainable features incorporated into the design include roof mounted solar panels, air source heat pumps, a living sedum roof and a rain water harvesting system. The existing paddling pools were also removed and replaced with new state-of-the-art facilities. Two under ground water tanks, capable of storing 140,000 litres of water were installed to feed the new pools which feature new splash fountains, Cafe facilities within the Hub water cannons and buttons for children to interact with and control water flow. The project scored an above industry average 42 out of 50 with the Considerate Constructors Scheme. One area the assessor was particularly impressed by was our project teams approach to the local community: “the company have performed to an exceptional level with regard to community engagement, they have given considerably both in financial terms, and their personal and considerate attendance”. Community initiatives included a very well attended ‘Meet the An exhibition space within the Hub Builders Day’ at which members of the project team were on hand to explain exactly what was happening on site and answer any questions about the build. Children’s competitions were also held and informative talks were given explaining the various careers available, and how best to make a start in the construction industry. We also utilised our expertise and resources available to support a fantastic charity project within the park which involved the rejuvenation of a small patch of land to form a community garden. Although plans to transform the overgrown The fully restored Bandstand site had been in the making for 3 years progress ground to a halt when funding was not sufficient enough to include it in the larger park scheme. Once aware of the project our Site Managers were keen to get involved and offered the services of some of the heavy equipment on site to clear and flatten the plot, the removed top soil was then used to form a raised seating area. The Mill which used to serve Cassiobury House.
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  • A Walk from Cassiobury Park
    CHILTERN SOCIETY WALKS M25 Chandler’s GROVE MILL Cross Alternative LANE Start Point A walk from Lees Wood P E 4 3 Cassiobury Park F 2 Harrocks P Whippendell Wood Wood With D Andrew Clark Redhall ROUSEBARN Watford This beautiful walk takes you from the outskirts of Watford into LANE Jackotts 1 the depths of the countryside to see a host of wild flowers. P Hill START: Cassiobury Park car park, Gade Avenue, Watford. Nearest Redheath Grand postcode WD18 7LH. Grid ref TQ 092 968. An alternative start 6 Union C Dell Canal point is Grove Mill Lane car park. Nearest postcode WD17 3TU. West Herts B 5 Wood Golf Club Start/Finish Grid ref TQ 080 982. The Cassiobury Park option can get very A Cassiobury busy, especially at weekends and during school holidays Park DISTANCE: 5 miles with 290ft of ascent Bus stops TERRAIN: A gentle walk with one easy climb. Woodland paths North can be muddy at times 0 0.5 1km 9 Watford 7 Underground MAPS: OS Explorer 172, Chiltern Society 28 0 ½ mile Station G 8 REFRESHMENTS: The Cha Cha Cha Café is located 500m up the Croxley hill from the car park. None on the walk Green PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Bus 352 between Hemel Hempstead and Watford (Mon to Sat); Bus W30 Watford Circular (Mon to Fri). Map: Glyn Kuhn Watford Metropolitan Station is close by, with direct trains to Baker Street. Route From the car park, take the surfaced path which leads down to the river. Turn right along the riverbank past the playground and miniature railway.
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