Mid Ulster District Council Public Parks and Play Strategic Plan

The Challenge

Mid Ulster District Council have a number of superbly appointed parks, walled gardens and marina facilities that possess international recognition through the Green and Blue Flag Awards. However significant areas of the council district lack localised public park amenities outside of smaller village play park provision.

Mid Ulster District Council engaged us to develop a comprehensive Public Parks and Play Strategic Plan. The Plan is a medium range planning document that provides direction for managing and developing public parks and play facilities, programs, infrastructure, resources, and investment over the next five year period to 2022. The Strategic Plan process assesses the status of public parks and play within the Council area and plans for a future that reflects the Corporate Priorities of the Council and needs of the community.

The Role

We were commissioned by Mid Ulster District council to collate all information regarding public parks and play provision across the 7 DEAs. In order to undertake this work we carried out work in two stages:

Stage One: Research and consultation

• Desktop review of existing strategies applicable to the region
• Inclusive consultation with residents, agencies/stakeholders, staff and Councillors to ensure incorporation of ideas and feedback into the Strategic Plan. This was through one-to-one meetings and public consultations across all 7 DEAs
• Public survey – representative of Mid Ulster District Council population
• Public Parks and Play Background Information – Review, summarise, and provide key findings, trends and best practice in public parks and play
• Collation of play park audits
• Map nature and extent of public parks and current play provision in Mid Ulster through ArcGIS

Stage Two: Parks and Play analysis and recommendations and development of an Implementation Plan

• Analyse and identify future opportunities and sites for development using supplementary information from the 2011 Census and Land and Property Services (LPS).

The Results

• A 5 year action plan outlining  proposed plans for development between 2017-2022 for 100+ sites with a summary of prioritised recommendations
• Cost summary for both capital and revenue costs and identification of potential sources of funding to help deliver the plan