| Land Project Manager: | Ally Harvey |
| Landscape Architect: | Graham Jones |
| Landscape Architect: | Sonja Suckling |
| Trainee Project Officer: | Samantha Cheadle |
The Land Team provide guidance and advice on a wide range of environmental improvement projects from small community gardens to larger landscape initiatives. Professional landscaping services include project initiation, fundraising, design and implementation.
Improvements to Burslem’s Key Gateway
Moorland Road is one of the key routeways in and out of Burslem, however due to a general lack of investment the roadside frontages were bland and unsightly. Groundwork therefore proposed a ‘green gateway’ project with £197,000 secured funding from SRB6.
The project consisted of soft and hard landscaping improvements along 5 frontages on Moorland Road. The core elements of the project were the planting of new trees and shrubs, construction of two remaining walls, new signage, high quality paving, with the completion of a new car park and installation of new steel railings.
The outputs of this project have added significant value to the regeneration of Burslem and have been part of the larger strategic plan of The Burslem Urban Design Masterplan. The smartening up of this gateway will improve visitor’s perception of Burslem as well as encourage economic growth in the area.
Improved frontage at the Burslem Enterprise Centre.
A34 and A500 Road Corridors and Burslem Park Mosaic
The funding body Greening for Growth in partnership with Groundwork, selected 3 ideal locations to enhance visitor perception of North Staffordshire and to improve the economic trading conditions for the local businesses.
The A34 and A500 road corridor projects focused on the improvement of main routeways into the area by boosting economic trading conditions with landscape improvements. Each of the businesses involved put a match funding contribution to secure the public grant offer. The range of works included new fencing, tree and shrub planting and at Asda (A500) the commencing installation of an art interpretation panel, which has incorporated the children’s art work from St Margaret’s Junior school. Due to the positive outcomes of the A34 project, planning permission for the refurbishment of the Parkhouse roundabout has been awarded.
The Burslem Park Mosaic project aim is to help enhance visitor’s perception of the town’s historic park. An artist has been commissioned, which he has created a design from consultation material generated from the local people. The making and installation of the mosaic will be taking place over the summer 2007 along with an opening event with Groundwork and Greening for Growth.
Artist’s drawing of chosen mosaic design.
New fencing and heather planting outside Macro, one of
the business frontages along the A34 road corridor.
Improvements into key gateways into the city
The idea with improving key gateways into the city is to provide the general public with a sense of knowing where they are within the area. Aspire housing in Bentilee and Blurton had secured funding from SRB6 to do this by creating key gateways into these areas.
Groundwork was consulted to help with the design and landscaping of 10 gateways around the two areas. The range of works included new signage and tree and shrub planting to create a notifiable entrance to the housing areas. At one site in Blurton a ceramic mosaic has been incorporated into one of the gateway signs, which the pupils from Blurton High School helped to produce. With help from an artist, pupils were encouraged to express their views of what Blurton meant to them. This project shows an example of encouraging the local people getting involved with taking pride and ownership of their environment.
Traffic Calming scheme and Alley Gating scheme
The community of Townsend approached us with 2 main problems of traffic issues in their area namely a lack of parking with residents parking on the pavement and the speed at which people were driving making the area unsafe. Groundwork put together a traffic management scheme to ease these problems including putting in dropped kerbs to encourage the residents to invest in off road parking and speed cushions in strategic points to minimise speeding. The work was secured with over £200,000 of funding coming from SRB6 and a match fund contribution from European Social Fund at £34,000. The work was undertaken by Groundwork’s ILM team using local labour, therefore encouraging the local people to gain new skills and contribute to the regeneration of their area.
Groundwork’s ILM team working on the dropped kerbs.
New speed cushions on the residential roads in Townsend.
The alley gating part of this project was to improve 2 alleyways in the area. Funding was provided by SRB6 with £30,000 secured to install 2.4 metre high gates to cordon each of the two alleyways to improve security and give the residents ownership of their areas. This will help build confidence for the residents and reduce the mis-use of the rear alley ways in the area making it safer to live.
One of the 2.4 metre high alley gates in Townsend.
Groundwork Enterprise Centre
Albany Works
Moorland Road
Burslem
Stoke on Trent ST6 1EB
T : 01782 829900
F : 01782
829901
E : stokeontrent@
groundwork.org.uk
