The Mayor Cllr Bert Pawle with members of the community
The District Council’s Clarence Park Sensory Garden has been selected as a finalist under the ‘Diversity Achievement of the Year’ award section, organised by the Municipal Journal.
The winner will be announced on 25 June. However from 30th April a full list of finalists will be disclosed in a special awards supplement to appear in The Municipal Journal on 30th April.
Cllr Sheila Burton, portfolio holder for sport and healthy living commented: "This is an outstanding example of community groups working together. They should all be congratulated on achieving such an innovative project."
The project aimed to consult users and non-users of Clarence Park, which is located close to two distinct residential areas; a prosperous middle class area and a diverse community comprising of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Moroccan, Algerian, Indian, Chinese, African / Caribbean, Italian and Mauritian people.
The consultation found that Clarence Park appeared well used by a wide cross section of residents, especially the sports grounds and children’s play area, but it identified the lack of a quiet, reflective space. This resulted in the concept of creating a sensory garden.
The Council decided to work with communities from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and the young and the disabled, and appointed Groundwork Hertfordshire to lead the project. Councillors signalled their support, by granting an additional capital fund of £10,000 for the project. £18K in financial support also came from Lafarge Aggregates.
Work started in April 2008 and the hard landscaping had been completed by June 2008. Cllr Bert Pawle, the Mayor of the district, Lafarge Aggregates(the main sponsor), members of the local community and schoolchildren spent a morning planting the garden. The team from Groundwork gave a talk about why specific plants had been selected, e.g. their scent or how they feel to the touch - the herbs and banana plants were particularly popular.
In July 2008, the Sensory Garden project was a runner up in the East of England Equality Awards. As a result of this award the Council was invited to deliver a presentation on good practice to an Equalities conference held in Newmarket on the 19th November 2008. The presentation was well received as a practical example of putting equality and diversity into practice in the community.
Member contact:
Cllr Sheila Burton, portfolio holder for sport and healthy living
Tel: 01727 863598
Contact for the press:
Davina Mansell, information and communication officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819316 E-mail: davina.mansell@stalbans.gov.uk
www.stalbans.gov.uk
Notes:
• Clarence Park was a gift to the people of St Albans, from a local benefactor, in 1894. It was laid out in two distinct areas: a 16 acre sports ground and a 9 acre recreation ground. The park was awarded a Heritage Lottery grant in 1997, one of the first ever made. This grant allowed the Council to refurbish many of the original park features, including replacing the park’s bandstand on its original site.
• The Council successfully achieved Green Flag status for the park, (which is a measure of excellence), and the park now has three Green Flags, and aims to make it four in 2009.
• The District Council approached the consultation through a partnership with the Green Heart Partnership (GHP), which is an initiative between the Arts Council of England – Eastern Region, and all the local authorities in Hertfordshire. The team from the Council covered a variety of areas including: parks and green spaces, anti-social behaviour, equalities, landscape and countryside, and finally housing and communities.
Groundwork publicity http://www.groundwork-herts.org.uk/clarencepark