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The whole park
project has been centred on community involvement -
from the earliest site planning stages it has been
the deciding factor in determining how the site
should develop (see User needs in the section on
planning
the design).
Due to the long-term success of the Heeley City
Farm project and the experience which members of
the community had already had in realising their
aims, it was easier to get the local people
involved from the start than perhaps it might
otherwise have been. Without the very willing
involvement of very many local residents the scheme
would never have got off the ground. Many people
gave a considerable amount of their lives to making
the Park happen through their involvement in fund
raising, physical work on the site, brainstorming
solutions to intractable problems and general
willingness to help with maintenance and
renewal. Thom
White, who has lived in the area for many
years, is now the Project Manager employed
by the Heeley Development Trust. Before
being employed to work on the site, and
while he was training to become a
landscape architect at The
University of Sheffield Landscape
Department,
he spent a considerable amount of time
working with the local community to
establish their needs. Using a polystyrene
model of the site, he worked with many
youth and school groups, as well as
adults, to find out what they wanted their
Park to be like. He took their ideas and
developed an outline site planning brief
for the site which then enabled the City
landscape architects to develop what was
very much a community-based
design. He now
works on furthering the present design and
encouraging the continued involvement of
volunteers to complete that part of the
the planting and construction which could
not be paid for in any of the main
contracts. All the maintenance of the Park
has to be carried out by the Trust and the
local people. The City contributes
nothing. "Where
there's muck...." Brass
band concert in the Park, Summer
1998. "Ain't
no mountain high enough..." A
portable climbing wall brought in as part
of the Heeley Festival by "The Edge", a
local indoor climbing centre. Work
starts. Local
people at the "topping off" ceremony when
work started on Phase 1 in February
1998. "Grand
opening to Boot" Official
opening of the playground, part of Phase
2, in February 1999. Joyce
Jenkinson and her sister Doreen are
descendants of the Boot family who farmed
the site prior to its becoming
housing. Heeley
Festival 1999 This
long-running local festival now makes use
of the improved facilities and sites
provided by the Park. "Wibbly
wobbly Bridge" Like
all the facilities in the Park, the
playground has seen regular use from the
moment it was put in. This
shows children on the "Wibbly wobbly
Bridge", with the original Phase 1 sites
in the background. Young
climbers take their first steps The
playground is one of the main features of
the Park - the others are the Boulder (
see next picture) and
the Mound
- which now has the 20m White Horse of
Heeley. The
Boulder The
outdoor climbing boulder is one of the
most popular features of the Park. Built
out of sprayed concrete by Bend Crete of
Manchester, designed with local climbers,
used by local children and climbing
enthusiasts alike. Volunteers
planting trees Beginning
of the "Woodland Walk Bulbs
planted by local school
children. The
presence of dog waste bins is essential to
keeping the Park 'clean' for all
users. The
White Horse of Heeley A
white horse has been added to the Mound in
April 2000 - it commemorates a horse that
died in a fire at Heeley City Farm in
1995. It will be visible from all over the
city and will encourage visitors from
further afield. There is still
much to do to make and keep the Park an attractive
place to visit and pass through. "It's our Park
too" - Thom working with children from the local
community. The stone came from an old chapel on the
site - these were all incorporated into the Park as
a reminder of the history of the
site. Please
volunteer - we need help from individuals and
groups of all ages all the time - we can always
find something you can help with. or write to
Thom White |
Community
involvement
Community
involvement
Community
involvement
Community
involvement
Community
involvement
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involvement
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involvement
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involvement
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involvement
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involvement |
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Prepared by STEP on behalf of DTA - Yorkshire and Humberside Region |
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**Heeley
Millennium Park
