Feasibility study: moss road community park

moss road

Moss Road is a former Council owned landfill site located on the outskirts of Ballygowan. Surrounded by fields, it faces an active quarry and comprises a grass area with football pitch, through road, changing mobile and rough vegetation. There is a perimeter of trees to help with drainage and it is accessible from the main road. A large gate is normally closed, although there is pedestrian access. The local community group, Ballygowan Regeneration Group (BRG) sought a feasibility study into how the site could be transformed to help the local community.

SITE PHOTOS & VIDEO

APPROACH & CONCLUSION

We worked closely with BRG and set-up a site visit, were we also invited the Woodland Trust to attend. This was followed by meetings with the Council and consultations with various parties and environmental groups. A Facebook survey generated over 300 responses and 3,000 views. This was followed by a public information session where we set out visual ideas and maps to show how it might be developed and asked for feedback. A more detailed A5 survey received over 100 responses which provided much insight into how often people might use the park, how they would travel there and what they would like to see there. It also provided them with an opportunity to volunteer on a one-off basis (e.g. plant trees) or become more involved in the BRG. We also visited other former landfill sites that were being covered over with trees, and other local parks to learn from them. We talked with tree-planting an funding experts as to how it might be funded and with neighbouring businesses as to how they might get involved. The major issues were safe access (pedestrian and vehicular), managing the site and phasing development. Overall, we had fantastic support from the local community and BRG and came up with a feasible idea that could be funded and delivered within a reasonable time-frame.

SUMMARY PRESENTATION OF RESULTS