West Gorton Community Park
Setting standards for communal green spaces across the UK and Europe
West Gorton Community Park
West Gorton Community Park is a sustainable greenspace designed to encourage biodiversity, tackle drainage and create a sense of community in Manchester. A collaborative project involving Manchester City Council, The Guinness Partnership and the University of Manchester, with BDP commissioned to manage the landscape architecture and Groundwork Greater Manchester managing the community engagement element.
Accessible planters
Groundwork consulted the local community to ensure the park included elements that they agreed should form part of the space; this included gardens and space for planting and play.
BDP specified our modular raised planters for the community growing space. 10 rectangular planters were used, with several designs incorporating wheelchair-access planting stations. These provide space beneath the planter for the wheelchair and table-top area above for potting whilst allowing the users to access the growing space.
The planters are used to grow vegetables and herbs and are looked after by a group of volunteers who live in the 500-home development.
A sense of community
Researchers working on the project have already recorded a rise in the number of people using the community park, contributing to enhanced physical well-being. The combination of gardens, that residents can use as their own, greenspace and play areas West Gorton Community Park is a great example of how a functional park space can bring a community together whilst serving an important environmental purpose.
All images courtesy of BDP and Groundwork.