Westbridge Park - A new destination park for Stafford Borough Council
Overview:
As part of a wider strategic development of parks and leisure facilities by Stafford Borough Council, Westbridge Park in Stone, Staffordshire, was redeveloped and opened back up to the public in 2024 as a new destination play area, venue for outdoor events, and an area to relax in nature.
As a design and build project, the design, redevelopment and construction brought together Ground Control landscape architects, ecologists, construction teams and, due to the park's location adjacent to the River Trent, drainage and flood risk consultants to deliver on Stafford Borough Council’s brief.
Landscape Architecture and Design
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Inclusive design creating a variety of play space for different ages
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Detailed design and support with planning applications and associated supporting documents
Play Area Construction
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Design and build of distinct play areas and surrounding features
- RIBA Work Stages 3 – 7
The project team worked closely with the client, Stafford Borough Council, to understand and implement the desired outcome.
Other key stakeholders included the Stone Canoe Club, Scouts, Canal & River Trust, and local councillors to ensure that the park was suitable for its users and to ensure their aims, objectives and overall vision for the park were implemented.
Scope of Works:
Working with the Stafford Borough Council masterplan, the park's redesign aimed to retain the region and country park's character whilst achieving the initial aims of enhancing the leisure, tourism and visitor offerings.
As part of the project, our team played a major role in planning, preparing key documents and managing the application on behalf of Stafford Borough Council. This included the preparation and submission covering a pedestrian crossing, a new outbuilding, drainage requirements for the car parks, and a new skate park, which was completed by a specialist contractor. Due to the proximity to the River Trent, the design also required close coordination with a flood risk consultant and considerations were also made as the park was an old landfill, which meant several land contamination surveys had to be completed.
Creating a destination play area
Due to the park's size, Ground Control landscape architects divided the part into multiple zones to cater for different interests, ages, and abilities. The most prominent is a mixed-aged play area, comprised of play equipment that provides accessibility, enables adventure and features many exhilarating play structures. Key focal points within this area include a tall play tower that stands at the centre, a challenging bouldering structure, and additional accessible play equipment.
The design of these elements reflects the county's character with the bouldering structures reflecting the nearby Peak District which has many famous bouldering and climbing routes, and a high tower akin to the kilns that once sat prominently in the region’s historical landscape.
Intertwined into the park's wooded areas is a natural ‘Woodland Play Area’ that provides an adventure trail and focuses on informal play. Built from sustainable materials, the trail and play equipment complements the natural woodland aesthetic with ample opportunities for imaginative play and den building.
Construction also included a new zipline, multi-use games area (MUGA) and a new skate park/wheeled sports facility to provide opportunities for older children and young adults to be part of the community. This was constructed with specialist contractor Bendcrete Skateparks who created a challenging and exciting skate bowl.
A park for the community
Imperative to the design and build was ensuring that the park could have multiple uses and become a hub for the community.
To enable places to relax and reflect, a new sunken garden was created on the outskirts of the park boundary, away from the hustle and bustle of the new play areas and designed with flowing circles based on inward reflection to help create a sense of safe enclosure.
Sunken into the landscape, the garden had a ramp incorporated for accessibility and landscaping focused on creating a relaxing sensory aesthetic. Further relaxation points can be seen across the park with street furniture installed throughout the footpath network in areas rich in nature.
With local events, such as festivals and local sports teams in mind, the design incorporated accessible open space, with a reinforced access track laid close to a newly constructed ranger office and toilet. The inclusion of these allows for a full calendar of local events to be supported and for the program to grow.
There were also several upgrades to the park's infrastructure, including:
- Installing an extensive network of new footpaths with signposted walking routes
- Upgrading and refurbishing two existing car parks
- Installing new signage and street furniture
Works in a Flood Zone
Part of the park sits within flood zone 3, which meant the design required close coordination with the Flood Risk consultant to ensure the interventions within these zones were suitable and designed to accommodate the fluctuating levels of the River Trent.
Throughout the project, community engagement was key, with the project teams working and consulting with Stone Canoe Club, Scouts, Canal & River Trust, and local councillors whilst also taking into consideration the future use of key events which occur within the park such as the Stone Food and Drink Festival.
The park was opened to stakeholders and community groups where our teams provided the opportunity for children to engage in planting by potting plants to take home, taking a wildflower ‘seed bomb’ to plant wildflowers, or planting bulbs on site, followed by a successful official opening in April 2024.
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