Orchard Proposal Rev Sept 14Th
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PROJECT PROPOSAL APRIL 2013 Submitted by: Friends of Victoria Park, Glasgow (FoVP) 25 September, 2014 Contact: Robert Mellish & Richard East Friends of Victoria Park 113 Mitre Rd, G14 9PQ +44 7879 604289 [email protected] / [email protected] 1 Contents 1. Proposal Summary 2. Background to the Blaes Area and current usage 3. Proposal Elements 3.1 Plan Overview 3.2 Community Orchard Proposal 3.3 Victoria Park Alps 3.4 Wild Meadow & Community Garden 4. Land Ownership, Management & Funding 4.1 Land Ownership/Leasing vs. a Community Trust 4.2 Management & Maintenance Roles 4.3 Funding 5. Development Plan 5.1 Process & Timings 5.2 Costing 5.3 Ongoing Management 5.3.1 Community Group Involvement 5.3.2 Proposed LES responsibilities 6. Community Consultations & Community Support 7. Community Orchard Benefits 8. Project Feasibility Appendix 1 - FoVP Background (description, membership, office bearers) Appendix 2 - Community Orchard Movement in the UK & Scotland (referenced) Appendix 3 - Orchard Planting Plans - Cultivars & Species Appendix 4 – Community Involvement Documents Appendix 5 – Costing In More Detail 2 1. Proposal Summary The main points are: 2. A large area of Victoria Park (6.8 acres) is being marketed by Glasgow City Council Land & Environmental Services (LES). About half of this area was formerly blaes football pitches. 3. Friends of Victoria Park (FoVP) are proposing an enhancement of 3.2 acres of this site. The main components of this are: a. A 400 tree orchard planted in the northern segment of the blaes area b. In the remaining half of the blaes area, FoVP is proposing: i. The ‘Victoria Park Alps’, a bicycle recreation area for children & teenagers. ii. A community garden or wild meadow, depending on demand. c. The existing tree and wild meadow areas making up the balance of the land within LES’s marketed ‘red line’ would be retained in its current state (trees and wild meadow). 4. Following initial community consultation and subsequent community events and surveys up to 2014, FoVP has established that there is a high level of community support for their proposals. These have been amended in response to local view as the community consultation process has rolled out. Evidence of community support was reinforced by the results of an extensive consultation exercise undertaken and managed by Bill Kidd MSP in early 2014. 5. FoVP are resolved not to put in a formal bid for the land. Rather, FoVP is submitting an enhanced version of its 2013 proposal already submitted to LES. 6. If given the go-ahead by LES, FoVP would set up a community trust to manage the land in concert with LES rather than taking a direct lease. 7. FoVP would foster community group involvement with the project on a rolling basis. We are targeting between five and ten community organisations to become involved with the project by 2018. Several local schools have already committed to involvement with the project at the earliest opportunity. 8. FoVP would raise funds for the development of the project mainly from external bodies. The project development would take place over 4-5 years. 9. It is proposed that GCC LES would share management of some elements of the orchard, but it is noted that the project is designed to limit demands on council manpower on an ongoing basis. 3 2. Background to the Blaes Area Victoria Park’s blaes area is located in the park’s north-western corner. It covers approximately 3.2 acres. Up until the eighties at least, the area was in use as blaes-surfaced football pitches. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that at some time during the early nineties at the latest, the area went out of use for the purpose of sports. This was possibly related to the development of all-weather football pitches at Scotstoun Leisure Centre. For the last twenty years, at least, the blaes surface itself has been left unused and awaiting a fresh use. However, the area is frequently used by park users for a range of typical leisure activities e.g. dog walking, sunbathing, kite flying, cycle training for young children etc. Increasingly, GCC has used the field for various purposes e.g. accommodating Zippo’s Circus during 2012-4, ad hoc car parking during the Commonwealth Games, Holione festival etc. Further events have been planned including drive in cinema screenings to be held over the Halloween period in 2014. In this respect the area is becoming a de facto events area that has neither been approved or discussed with park users or local residents. It seems unlikely that such a facility should it be submitted for formal planning approval in the context of current established policy would be granted consent. Approximately ten years ago, the council was keen to have the area converted to a car park to serve Scotstoun Leisure Centre. This proposal was strongly opposed by members of the public living in the immediate vicinity and by Whiteinch Community Council. In the end, these proposals were shelved. More recently, Partick West’s city councillors have reiterated GCC’s intention not to have a car park built in this area. Following and asset audit of all public parks in 2013, LES resolved to explore marketing the blaes itself and the area surrounding it to potential commercial leaseholders via their agents Ryden in August 2014. The implication of this action is that the Council is willing to privatise an area of established public park in order to raise money from private commercial operators on public green space. The red line area overleaf below defines this marketed area: 4 5 Figure 1. Red-Line Diagram of Marketed Area. 6 y 6 5 d 5 B Tennis Court d r 11.4m a 9 W 6 El Sub Sta Tennis Court 5 11.6m 6 6 6 8 8 16.2m 5 5 2 2 1 1 E 92 V I R 5 5 8 1 1 6 1 D 1 18.6m 1 1 1 D 1 1 N 1 A L T S E 7 W T 7 20.4m 9 S 9 E W ÜD 5 A 5 E 8 N 8 5 5 9 E N 9 S A D L R IV E E R T 9. I 3m M 9 1 9 7 LB 5 7 1 1 10.1m 4 4 8 8 134 120 MI 11 TRE 8 LA 11 NE .0 9 9 m 6 6 9 9 4 4 106 9 9 3 2 2 9 9 5 0 1 0 9 1 04 LE N 7 N O X 1 1 8 8 3 3 5 G 5 4 4 A 3 3 2 2 1 R 1 1 1 4 D 4 7 E 7 N 9 LB 9 3 9 1 1 1 S 9 1 E U 7 7 1 1 9 1 1 2 2 N 1 1 A 2 o o t t N 2 2 2 2 G LE E G V A A T 1 1 D 5 5 E 1 1 R 2 2 1 1 14.1m 1 1 O o o t t F 1 1 9 9 9 9 0 S 0 1 1 8 8 1 1 1 1 7 7 E 7 7 X LANE 1 1 ESSE R E 2 2 S 1 S 1 S h E E 5 5 1 1 X e B o o t l t te DR r IV 1 1 E 5 5 9 12 9 .2 9.3m m 78 3 7 0 1 84 6 E 9 SS EX 67 LA NE 5 5 8 8 16 H ARKDRIVE NORT ORIA P VICT 66 10.2m 10 10.7m 62 7 7 6 Tree V 58 IC T O 4 R IA P 2 A R K C O 1 1 R N E R 10 .8m 9.1m 5 2 3 2 a 1 2 Recreation Ground Trees c Trees 1 2 b 1 2 1 2 Posts 10.6m h c in s e e it m h o W H Tennis 88 Bowling Greens and Netball Courts Trees PC Pavilion 9 1 E V I s R e D re D T N A L T S E Trees W 7 1 VI CT OR IA 6.3m P P o A n RK d L A 1 N 1 E N OR TH Fossil House Putting Green FS 6.2m 2 2 8 8 8 8 5 5 Trees 3 3 5 5 2 2 6 6 7 2 11.2m Playground 6.4m 2 2 8 8 2 2 5 5 V IC TO 5 R 2 IA PA 7 7 R 4 4 K D RI VES 2 2 O 6 6 UT 7 H 2 E 2 N 2 8 A 8 L E M I 6 6 4 L 4 T s 3 E e 1 e Trees E r 2 5 2 4 R T 4 1 1 2 6 T 6 6.8m S E M T 9 2 I 2 2 S 6 6 V L i E cto W r ia © Crown Copyright andE database right 2012 Pa. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100023379. N rk A L L an M e 1 1 2 2 4 L S 4 8 T o 8 You 3 are not permittedE to copy, sub-license, distribu ute or sell any of this data to third parties in any form E th E R T S 7 3 1 2 4 4 M L 1 E 6 y r e g r u S GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT AND VICTORIA PARK REGENERATION SERVICES 231 GEORGE STREET,GLASGOW G1 1RX Executive Director Richard Brown Glasgow City Council ownership Date: Leased to Culture and Sport Glasgow 28/01/2014 By: JPM GCC Legal Ref.