Tag Archive for: Park

Stanley Park Voted UK’s Best Park

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Stanley Park Voted UK’s Best Park: Fields in Trust’s search to find the nation’s favourite park has declared Stanley Park in Blackpool as the UK’s Best Park 2019 following a public vote.

The UK’s Best Park is organised by green space charity Fields in Trust who, for over 90 years, have legally protected parks and green spaces ensuring they will always be available for future generations to enjoy. A record 364 nominations were received for the UK’s Best Park 2019. Those nominations were supported by visitors, communities, Friends of Parks groups, and local authority landowners. An unprecedented total of 36,832 votes were cast for parks and green spaces across the UK.

Stanley Park Voted UK’s Best Park

Stanley Park in Blackpool topped the poll, in its nomination it was described as “… a beautiful, tranquil place away from the hustle and bustle of the Blackpool seafront”. The “great volunteers and staff who keep it in tip top condition” were also recognised in the online nomination.

Stanley Park triumphed over the other Home Nation winners shortlisted for UK’s best park:

  • Antrim Castle Gardens, Antrim, Northern Ireland
  • Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.
  • Pittencrieff Park Dunfermline, Scotland.

In addition, 73 parks and green spaces have achieved “Much Loved” status, having been placed in the top 20% of all UK’s Best Park 2019 nominations throughout the UK. The “Much Loved” status recognises the support of local people who regularly use and love these parks and green spaces.

The UK’s Best Park Award recognises the role that parks play in our communities, supporting mental and physical health and providing a space for communities to connect. Recently Fields in Trust published the Green Space Index a new barometer of parks provision which revealed that over 2.6 million people across Great Britain live more than ten-minutes’ walk from a park or green space. With public sector cuts leading to pressure on parks and green spaces, there is the risk that a lack of legal protection could lead to more spaces being sold off or developed.

The charity is concerned that many parks and green spaces are under threat and are at risk of being lost to development or a cycle of decline and disappearance.

Fields in Trust Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths said: “We received a record number of 364 nominations for local parks and green spaces across the UK – each one setting out what is special about their own green space. Public support has been unprecedented with 36,800 votes cast demonstrating that people really do love their local park. Congratulations to Stanley Park, and to the dedicated volunteer friends’ group and Blackpool council that maintain and support the UK’s Best Park 2019.

Parks are important places where we all go to play, enjoy sport, relax in natural surroundings and connect with our neighbours. Fields in Trust is committed to protecting these vital parts of the UK’s community infrastructure for future generations to enjoy.”

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Best Park Shortlist Announced

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Best Park Shortlist Announced: Four parks from across the UK have been shortlisted in Fields in Trust’s search to find the UK’s Best Park. Castle Gardens, Antrim; Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil; Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline and Stanley Park, Blackpool have each been shortlisted following a public vote.

The UK’s Best Park is organised by green space charity Fields in Trust who, for over 90 years, have legally protected parks and green spaces ensuring they will always be available for future generations to enjoy. A record 364 nominations were received for UK’s Best Park 2019. Those nominations were supported by park users, communities, Friends of Parks groups, and landowners and an unprecedented total of 36,832 votes were cast for parks and green spaces across the UK.

Best Park Shortlist Announced

The shortlisted parks are:

  • Antrim Castle Gardens, Antrim. The nomination identified that Antrim Castle Gardens has completed a transformation “… from local gem to national treasure” and recognised the “passionate team driven by the ambition to put their place on the map”.
  • Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil was identified as “…a park for people of all ages and interests”. The park was celebrated for its “…sensory garden and meadowlands which provide a haven of tranquillity”; and “The woodland walks, a delight for dog walkers and nature-lovers …  it is a park for all”.
  • Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline, Scotland is known locally as “The Glen” and was celebrated for its diversity “… from kid’s areas to glasshouses, peacock sanctuary and historical features …. rocky waterfalls, imaginative paths, well-stocked, neatly trimmed flower beds and herb gardens”.
  • Stanley Park, Blackpool, was described as “… a beautiful, tranquil place away from the hustle and bustle of the Blackpool seafront”. The “great volunteers and staff who keep it in tip-top condition” were also recognised in the online nomination.

In addition, 73 parks and green spaces have achieved “Much Loved” status, having been placed in the top 20% of all UK’s Best Park 2019 nominations throughout the UK. The “Much Loved” status recognises the support of local people who use and love these parks and green spaces.

Fields in Trust is a UK-wide charity that since 1925 has been legally protecting parks and green spaces in perpetuity. The UK’s Best Park Award recognises the role that parks play in our communities, supporting mental and physical health and bringing people together. The charity is concerned that many parks and green spaces are under threat and are at risk of being lost to development or a cycle of decline and disappearance.

Fields in Trust recently published research, the Green Space Index, which revealed that over 2.5 million people across Great Britain do not have access to a local park within ten minutes walk from home. With public sector cuts leading to pressure on parks and green spaces, there is a risk that a lack of legal protection could lead to more being sold off or developed. Yet these vital outdoor spaces deliver health and wellbeing benefits to those that use them regularly. Fields in Trust research reveals that overall, parks and green spaces contribute £34 billion each year in health and wellbeing benefits to their regular users and save the NHS £111million each year simply in avoided GP appointments.

Fields in Trust Chief Executive, Helen Griffiths said: “The increased number of parks nominated, and a record number of votes cast, show just how much the UK’s local green spaces are cherished by the people who use them. Recognising the UK’s Best Park is a way of revaluing our green spaces for the physical and mental health benefits they provide to their local communities. I congratulate all our “Much-Loved” parks and green spaces and wish the four Home Nation winners well for the UK’s Best Park award which we will announce on September 12th. 

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Search For UK’s Best Park

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Search For UK’s Best Park: The Fields in Trust UK’s Best Park, 2019 is now open for a public vote to select the nation’s favourite local park. A total of 364 public nominations for parks and green spaces across the UK have been made – each one a much-loved part of its local community. Now it is time to choose the winners via an online public vote at www.fieldsintrust.org/best-park until noon on Monday 19th August.

Voting opens to coincide with “Have a Field Day” on Saturday 6th July, the annual celebration of parks and green spaces. Over 250 community-led events will engage thousands of people across the UK, people are coming together for picnics with their friends and neighbours, celebrating local parks and green spaces and joining a movement of fellow park users across the UK who want champion their parks and protect them for future generations to enjoy.

Search For UK's Best Park

Fields in Trust is a UK-wide charity that legally protects parks and green spaces in perpetuity. The UK’s Best Park Award recognises the role that parks play in our communities, supporting mental and physical health and bringing people together. The charity is concerned that many parks and green spaces are under threat and are at risk of being lost to development or a cycle of decline and disappearance. Last month Fields in Trust published research which revealed that over 2.5 million people across Great Britain live more than ten minutes’ walk from a park or green spaces. With public sector cuts leading to pressure on parks and green spaces, there is the risk that a lack of legal protection could lead to more being sold off or developed.

Fields in Trust Chief Executive Helen Griffiths said: “Our parks and green spaces are a vital part of UK community infrastructure. We know that they provide benefits to the physical health, mental wellbeing and community connections for people that use them, so we are delighted to see a record number of nominations for the UK’s Best Park award and it is encouraging to see so many people organising picnics with neighbours to celebrate how much they love their local park.  Fields in Trust is committed to protecting these valuable and much-loved parks and green spaces for future generations to enjoy.”

Nominations include small community gardens and large nature reserves, sports fields and playgrounds, each green space valued by its community and nominated by the regular park users who love to walk, run, cycle, relax, picnic and play with their children in the UK’s parks. The UK’s Best Park 2019 will see the park with the most votes in each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland shortlisted with the UK’s Best Park, 2019 announced in mid-September.

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SISIS Key At Beaumont Park

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SISIS Key At Beaumont Park: Cameron Flitten, head groundsman at De Montfort University at Beaumont Park in Leicester, believes that most of his maintenance programme can be achieved by using just two key pieces of SISIS equipment – the Multitiner and the Quadraplay.

Head groundsman Cameron Flitten has a number of strings to his bow when it comes to sports turf maintenance. After starting in the industry with an apprenticeship at a golf course, he went on to specialise in the maintenance of cricket squares, football pitches and rugby pitches in his previous position at Loughborough University.

SISIS Key At Beaumont Park

Cameron has now been in his current employment with De Montfort University for three years but revealed that it was in his former position where he first became acquainted with SISIS machinery.

“I used SISIS machinery at Loughborough so I already knew that they were brilliant pieces of kit. We never used to have any problems with the equipment; they were reliable, simple to use and did an excellent job every time. I tend to always go with what I know works so I was keen to get some SISIS equipment in here.”

In particular, Cameron uses the SISIS Multitiner 1.8m and the SISIS Quadraplay 1.8m at the impressive Beaumont Park which plays host to the university’s men’s and women’s football teams. The facilities are also used by the local community and with a high amount of recorded usage, regular pitch maintenance is essential.

One of today’s most useful pieces of kit in any groundsman’s armoury, the SISIS Quadraplay significantly speeds up maintenance tasks by carrying out more than one operation simultaneously – making it ideal for groundsmen like Cameron who have several sports pitches to maintain.

This single-pass maintenance system incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect.

“Quite simply, the Quadraplay is essential for us. We’ve got the slitter, the rake wires, the brush and a roller for it and we tend to use it regularly throughout the year. I like the fact that you can carry out a number of tasks in just one sweep which saves so much time. It provides the pitch with aeration, removes organic matter, gives the surface a good clean and then leaves an excellent finish,” Cameron explains.

The SISIS Multitiner is a tractor mounted drum-type aerator which is ideally suited to a range of applications from sports field maintenance, lawns and amenities. It has three drums with independent rotation and its interchangeable tines with a maximum depth of 100mm ensure excellent turf care when the time comes to aerate.

“At this time of year, we tend to use the chisel tines on the Multitiner because it ‘cracks’ the soil incredibly well and we find that it gives us a bit more depth. It’s great to be able to open the surface up especially when it is cold and wet.

“We rely on the Multitiner for drainage and aeration – to ensure that air gets into the surface and to keep the pitches draining freely. I would say that we try and use the Multitiner every couple of weeks and when the weather gets warmer, we switch to the solid tines. It only takes an hour to go over the whole pitch, so it’s incredibly quick compared to other machines on the market.”

“For me, these two machines help me carry out a huge part of our maintenance programme and we use them in tandem. They are well built, reliable and are key pieces of turf maintenance machinery for us here.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter & Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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Pitch Award For Nowlan Park

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Pitch Award For Nowlan Park: Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, has received their 2018 GAA County Pitch of the Year Award, sponsored by Campey Turf Care Systems.

As part of their prize the grounds team at Nowlan Park will receive a specially commissioned award and pitch supplies from Campey and fellow sponsors Irish Turfcare and ICL.

Pitch Award For Nowlan Park

The Kilkenny city venue was chosen in August 2018 after a thorough adjudication process, with McGovern Park, South Ruislip in London announced as the runner-up.

Other venues including Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon, Semple Stadium, Tipperary, Innovate Wexford Park, Wexford and Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow were shortlisted as high achievers in the competition for excellence in playing surfaces.

Assessment of the grounds nationwide was completed by Stuart Wilson, Pitch Manager at Croke Park and the GAA National Games Development Centre, and by Dr Stephen Barker of the Sports Research Institute, who visited all six venues.

The process involved scoring and feedback from referees during the National Leagues in spring and took into consideration a Pitch Quality Assessment based on performance standards, construction, management program, environmental conditions and usage levels.

The awards scheme is part of a wider initiative to improve the standards of playing surfaces around the country and to share some of the expertise and experience used at Croke Park and from the GAA’s National Pitch Committee.

Commenting on the scheme and the results, GAA President John Horan said: “I would like to congratulate all the team who are responsible for the pitch in Nowlan Park on winning this award. It’s a pitch that gets more than its fair share of important, high profile matches and thanks to the time, dedication and investment, there is a surface there worthy of the great occasions hosted by Nowlan Park.

“This is an important scheme for the GAA to champion and I want to thank Stuart Wilson and also the National Pitch Committee for setting standards and encouraging our ground staff around the country to ensure that our pitches are in the best possible condition for our great Games.”

Campey continues to place a high priority on recognising excellence within the professional turf care industry as well as conducting regular educational days for everyone from volunteers to full-time turf professionals.

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