Ground Control, an award-winning construction firm that recently completed the Children’s Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, will be carrying out the around £1.5 million project on Stone’s Westbridge Park.
A planning application for the scheme, which includes junior and toddler play facilities, a multi-use games area and a wheeled sports facility is to be submitted in the coming days. Major works are expected to begin on-site in April 2023 – and a completion date is earmarked for October 2023. As previously reported, Stone Food and Drink Festival is relocating for their 2023 event whilst the works take place, planning to return in 2024 to the newly developed event space.
The work will also see toilets, picnic and seating areas, enhanced pathways and landscaping with key space for local events and existing football provision incorporated in the design.
The wheeled sports facility will be built by specialists Bendcrete – who have constructed around 400 skate parks across the country.
Councillor Carolyn Trowbridge, Cabinet Member for Leisure at Stafford Borough Council, said she was excited by the detailed designs and very keen to see work getting underway as soon as possible and thanked everyone who had given feedback during the previous consultations.
People will have another opportunity to comment on the final designs when the planning application is submitted.
She said:
“This is a very important project that will benefit families, local people and visitors for years to come. I am really keen to see work starting as soon as possible but as we have seen from successfully delivering several major projects, the process to ensure we have everything necessary in place takes time and careful consideration.”
The council has said the huge transformation will encourage more people using the neighbouring Trent and Mersey Canal for narrowboat holidays to stop and visit the town – with a boost to the local economy.
The Local Authority said the work will complement the leisure centre and swimming pool which opened on the site in 2019 as part of a £9 million scheme – the largest single investment ever made by the borough council.
Cllr Trowbridge continued:
“Westbridge Park is such a key part of our overall leisure, tourism and visitor offer for Stone, with ready access to the canal and the town centre, providing accessible walking and cycling routes linking together the town’s key assets and supporting our objective to support and grow the visitor economy as well as supporting local businesses and providing a high-quality outdoor environment designed to enhance the health and wellbeing of residents and visitors alike.
“It also provides an important space for events – with the final design incorporating this and the existing football provision.”
Around 40 per cent of the funding for Stone leisure improvements has come from money the borough council receives as part of developments in and around Stone.
Stafford Borough Councillor, Jill Hood, told A Little Bit of Stone:
“As a working member on the board of the Leisure & Play Development of Westbridge Park I have seen cross-party members and officers working hard together over the last few years to deliver the plan for our park.
Westbridge Park is in my ward, and being fully familiar with the local area meant I recognised problems within the design put forward and was able to discuss them to rectify mistakes.
Within the plan, we have made sure our festivals will have the space to be successful and for everyone to enjoy.
The importance was recognised from the beginning that the entire play area would be fully inclusive for those children with physical impairments and for children who need a quiet area, such as for those with autism. The sunken tactile garden will be an ideal area for them to be.
The toddler play area has been designed to give parents scope to sit in shade under the trees in hot weather but also has enough open space to keep an eye on their little ones while they play on the equipment, which has been given much thought for the final design.
It was particularly exciting to be shown the design of the wheeled sports area and to know that our kids will not have to travel to Stafford, I asked, would it be suitable for a youngster in a wheelchair? The reply was, yes.
The park will play a vital part in the visitor experience to Stone with picnic areas and the riverside walks plus people coming to our park will spend in town and our surrounding areas, therefore, boosting the local economy.
It has taken too many years to come up with this plan so I’m thrilled that in April we will see the first shovel dig in to the earth to begin what is one of the most needed projects seen in Stone for years.
Every age group will benefit and it will become a community meeting point in all weathers.”
The latest design and more information can be found on the council’s website at Westbridge Park – A Destination | Stafford Borough Council (staffordbc.gov.uk)
