Case Study - Great Places Housing Group (GPHG)

Unused land became pocket park

Neglected open space off Selwyn Street in Oldham has been turned into a contemporary park that provides something for the whole community. Resident consultation played a big part in designing the SRB-funded site.

Coppice Park, with its visually stimulating and tactile environment, incorporates art, seating and communal areas for outdoor activity, play facilities and much needed green space for a very densely populated area.

The housing on the adjoining site, built in 1986, had suffered from security and access problems and was hard to let. Demographic change also created higher demand for larger homes in the area so 18 high quality new homes were built in two parallel terraces as part of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council’s Pathfinder programme, after demolishing the existing houses. These new family houses have brought in well over 100 new residents to the area, including many children. The park provides a quality open space facility right beside their homes.

Encouraging ideas

From the outset, the housing association was determined to involve the community in every aspect of planning the park.

They began by involving their own tenant participation officers who lived in the area, and then – over six months – carried out a series of consultation events, knocked on doors and handed out questionnaires. Leaflets and other written materials were produced in English, Urdu and Punjabi and consultation events often had translators on hand. They also looked at innovative ways of encouraging comment and ideas – texting, for example, proved popular with younger members of the community.

Coppice Gardening Club

Successful consultation meant that the final scheme was built to the specific needs of the community – achieving a level of community ownership important for the long-term sustainability of the park. One example of this was the setting up of a Coppice gardening club to work alongside Oldham Council’s parks maintenance department, sharing some of the care and maintenance and developing new ideas and uses for the space.

The consultation process was also a mechanism to help different members of the community meet and develop social networks. It also emphasised that the opinions of individuals were valued and that the area was seen as worthy of investment.

Flexible multi-use space

The park was designed as a multi-use space for people of all ages. Although there are distinct areas or zones in the park with suggested uses, these are flexible and can be adapted to suit other uses the community may come up with in the future.

By popular request, a skate ramp was installed, along with high quality seating and soft landscaping to create a pleasant and informal space to sit and mix.

SRB funding

Manchester Methodist Housing Association (MMHA) applied for a £200K Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) grant and £137K from the Housing Market Renewal Fund towards a total spend of £367K.

The project’s construction was managed by MMHA’s development department, making use of the contractor they already had working on an adjacent site. The contract for the works was negotiated with a company that had experience of working with the Association, and these decisions helped save on construction costs, as well as minimising disruption to the residents.

Obstacles in planning

MMHA had two main obstacles in developing the park. The first was in getting the parks department to agree that a commuted sum payable for open space provision as a result of the new housing scheme should be ring-fenced to provide ongoing maintenance.

The second was convincing Secured by Design - the UK Police initiative supporting the principles of "designing out crime" by use of effective crime prevention and security standards for a range of applications - that the park did not need to be totally fenced off to ensure security.

Now, the Association is monitoring how the park is used and is working with the local community, religious groups, youth workers and many other stakeholders such as the police, shopkeepers and Oldham Council. This has involved setting up procedures to deal quickly and effectively with any instances of anti-social behaviour or vandalism.

Voluntary group reports damage

The park is monitored by MMHA staff, but the day-to-day management responsibilities remain with Oldham Council. Residents have been encouraged to feel responsible for the space as well. The Friends of Coppice Park group keeps an eye on the condition of the park, reports damage or maintenance needs and organises fun days and events.

Throughout the Oldham and Rochdale area, there are many examples of underused or failing public open space that have similar potential. MMHA will be sharing its experiences and lessons learned to help other communities and neighbourhoods make environmental improvements too.

For more information, please contact james.mcmillan@greatplaces.org.uk or for a plan of the area see http://www.srb6oldham.org.uk/coppice_open_space.htm