AGENDA ITEM 5

BOROUGH OF POOLE

CANFORD HEATH EAST AND WEST, CREEKMORE AND Area Committee

23 September 2009

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF LEISURE SERVICES

ITEM FOR INFORMATION ONLY

LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS TO OAKDALE COMMUNITY PARK

1  / Purpose of Report
1.1  / To provide information to the Area Committee on the proposed improvements to Oakdale Community Park.
2 / Introduction
2.1 / Further to the information presented at the previous Area Committee (22nd July 2009) on the plans for a ‘Playbuilder’ funded new play area in Oakdale Community Park; this Report now details other landscaping works that will significantly improve the park.
2.2 / Oakdale Community Park is adjacent to Wimborne Road and the Poole Adult Education Building that was formerly Oakdale Middle School. The Park is primarily used for dog walking and for young people to socialise and is predominantly flat and open with a football pitch to the centre.
2.3 / The Borough of Poole Open Spaces Strategy states that by Ward Oakdale is the fourth poorest across the whole Borough for quantity of open space. As such Oakdale Community Park has a disproportionately important role to play in the Ward and for the local community.
3 / Information
3.1 / Playbuilder funding from central government will deliver a new play area in Winter 2009/10 and Leisure Services will deliver the other improvements through an existing developer’s contribution from the building of the flats at Greenfield Mews and a new Planning Obligations Funding bid.
3.2 / The project seeks funding for a range of improvements that will dramatically improve the park for the local community, and these are briefly described below and are also presented on a large-scale plan for the benefit of the Meeting.
3.3 / Four new entrances, with bespoke railings and paving, will be designed to welcome people to the park in a safe and attractive environment and formalise current entrances that are in a poor state of repair. Two hard-surfaced paths will lead from these entrances, oriented east-west that will cross the park allowing better links between Darby’s Lane to Wimborne Road shops and bus stop.
3.4 / The perimeter fencing and hedges will be removed as they are in a poor condition and replaced with new fencing that will reflect the style of the new entrances; and a mixture of hedges and clusters of tree planting that will be of native species and have all year round colour and wildlife interest.
3.5 / An avenue of trees will be planted to the Darby’s Lane side of the park to provide a point of interest, shade and allow some significant trees to develop in the park.
3.6 / The existing rebound wall shall be replaced with a newer and more modern version that will be higher and have increased play value. There is an on-going issue of balls landing on the Poole Adult Education building roof, and to mitigate against this, the rebound wall will have more panels to a height of up to 4m. In addition there will be a higher chain-link fence at the boundary to Poole Adult education land.
3.7 / The scheme is consistent with the Borough of Poole’s Corporate Objective: Promoting Health and Wellbeing and Poole’s Open Spaces Strategy policies PO 20 Use open space to promote community development, healthy living, social cohesion and inclusion
3.8 / Consultation on these plans was undertaken at an ‘ORCA’ car boot sale on 29th August, where officers spoke to approximately 100 people, and also with ORCA themselves, local residents and Officers from Poole Adult Education. The large majority of residents and public supported the proposed design, whilst ORCA expressed a strong desire to retain as much open space as possible for future car boot sales.
3.9 / Ward Councillors have been consulted and are in favour.
4 / Conclusion
4.1 / Feedback from this Area Committee meeting will be reported to a future Planning Obligations Sub Group.

CLIVE SMITH

HEAD OF LEISURE SERVICES

Contact Officers:

Martin Whitchurch, Greenspace Development Officer

Tel No: (01202) 261323

Background Papers:

None