Flood Alleviation Scheme

Eight different parks, two nature reserves, a war memorial and the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepoint were all affected by this major infrastructure project that runs for 27km through Nottingham. Of these the Meadows and Victoria Embankment in the heart of Nottingham was perhaps the most significant by protecting mature trees, accesses but also providing a route for the Robin Hood Marathon and pitches for the Riverside Festival.

Yorkshire

The Driffield Navigation has been described as the M1 of its time taking wool and grain from the Yorkshire Wolds to export via Hull. It is hard to believe this sleepy backwater once bustled with industry and commerce. Our job was to mark this rich history and open up public access along its towpaths and on its water as part of a successful Heritage Lottery Funded project.

Playing Field, Hereford

Situated on the banks of the River Wye opposite Hereford Cathedral we oversaw landscape works designed by others to deliver new flood embankments and walls around the existing sports and play facilities. These included consultation with Sports England and Hereford County Council’s Parks Management team to ensure playing field provision was maintained and whenever possible improved.

Wrexham

Acton Park is a little piece of classic English Country Estate Parkland but set on the edge of Wrexham in Wales. Its wide open spaces and pastoral landscape are a cherished resource for the surrounding houses that have built up to it. At its heart lies a large lake popular with local anglers. Our work here included a full Stage 1 HLF bid and assisting setting up a Friends group and an Angling Club to better manage the park lake into the future.

Padiham

Padiham is a small mill town near Burnley. Thomas Mawson, father of the Landscape Institute, laid out the park in 1920 for the princely sum of £25 after a local estate gave the land to the town to build a lasting tribute to the fallen of the First World War. Our work saw us re-masterplan the park, produce a Conservation Management Plan, Audience Development Plan, Learning Plan and Maintenance and Management Plan to support a Stage 1 HLF bid.

Regional Park

Forming gateways into the park was the focus of this project. We were tasked with looking at two existing settlements one a village – Acton Bridge and the other a small town – Northwich and arrive at a suite of linkage proposals that made access into the park easy for many different user groups. The commission included the identificationof new traffic free routes through and around both settlements.

Project

As part of the much larger coastal retreat project our landscape architects were tasked with designing a new visitors car park and local walks to bird hides and seal viewing areas. The site is inundated with grey seals pupping in February which in turns attracts large numbers of visitors causing disruption to the local community. All these issues had to be considered in our designs and how they were promoted to local people and wildlife groups.

Assessor and Mentor

Our practice principal Stuart Ryder is a member of the Heritage Lottery Funds Register of Specialist Suppliers or RoSS for short.