Parks & Playgrounds
Client: Newcastle City Council
Value: £2 million
Date: 2017
Contact: Richard Barnes - Newcastle City Council
Works included a Full historic Park Restoration, funded by the HLF at Walker Park, Walker, Newcastle Upon Tyne. The scheme lasted 18 months, and Brambledown Landscape Services Ltd acted as the Principal Contractor on the scheme. The project involved constant dialogue with surrounding local residents, the client, and consultants to ensure that the delivery of a multi skilled project was delivered on time and with minimum disruption to a very large Park, which remained open for the entire duration of the works.
Brambledown Landscapes package included the full restoration of an abandoned building in the centre of the Park. This was turned into a learning centre and Cafe for all residents and visitors to enjoy.
Brambledown also completed the delicate replacement of the Robbie Burns Statue, and the inclusion of a new paved viewing and memorial area surrounding the statue. Other parts of the works carried out by Brambledown Landscapes at Walker Park HLF funded Park restoration were Full footpath reinstatement and new footpath construction. Some of the footpaths were laid using coloured tarmac and others were laid with a fine dust, whilst some paths were resin bound gravel. Brambledown were also responsible for the renewal of all the steel fencing surrounding the entire park, lighting, footbridges across streams, the drainage of playing fields, the construction of an outdoor amphitheatre used for live Summer events, tree planting, turfing, seeding, new entrance pillars, new entrance gates and timber fencing. Brambledown also constructed a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) at the Walker Park Newcastle site, and completed that part of the scheme with a large new children’s play area with multi coloured play surfacing and ball court acoustic fencing.
The restoration of Walker Park by Brambledown Landscape Services Ltd was a huge success, was delivered on time and under budget, meeting both the expectations of the clients, consultants and nearby residents who had a state of the art new facility to use and for their children to feel safe in.
Walker Park is a large Victorian park with several facilities including; a large play area with a seperate playground for younger children, bowling greens, tennis courts, basketball nets and football pitches.
The restoration will include a new community café at the former play centre, new facilities for children and young people including a new multi-use games area for tennis, basketball and football, a refurbished play area, skate park, drainage to football pitches and a new under 12s football pitch.