Operation management
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MarkeatonManagementPlan2019-2024min.pdf
MARKEATON PARK
Green Flag Award
Management Plan 2019 - 2024
Outdoor cinema in Markeaton Craft Village
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CONTENTS
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
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1 Purpose of the Management and Maintenance Plan 6
1.1 Community Context 7
1.1.1 Markeaton Park Catchment Area 8
1.1.2 Community Profile Derby 8
1.2 Site Description 13
1.2.1 Location 13
1.2.2 Existing Site 14
1.2.3 Park Facilities, Infrastructure and Buildings 15
1.2.4 Use of Park 19
1.3 Ownership
Historic context
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1.4 Organisational Context 21
1.4.1 Derby City Council Structure 21
1.4.2 Management and Maintenance of Markeaton Park 22
1.4.3 Park Management 24
1.5 Policy Context 25
1.5.1 National 25
1.5.2 Local 26
2 Vision for Markeaton Park 28
2.1 A Welcoming Place 28
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2.1.1 Clear identity and sense of arrival 28
2.1.2 Appearance and upkeep 29
2.1.3 Good and safe access onto the park 29
2.1.4 Accessibility 30
2.1.5 Good signage to and in the park 31
2.2 Healthy, Safe and Secure 32
2.2.1 Health and well being 32
2.2.2 Equipment and facilities 32
2.2.3 Towards a safer park 35
2.2.4 Health and safety policies 36
2.2.5 Litter and dog fouling 38
2.3 Well Maintained and Clean 38
2.3.1 Maintenance of grounds and horticulture features 38
2.3.2 Maintenance and management of trees 40
2.3.3 Maintenance of buildings 41
2.3.4 Maintenance of park infrastructure and hard landscape 42
2.3.5 Site cleanliness, litter and waste management 44
2.4 Environmental Management 45
2.4.1 Environmental management 45
2.4.2 The use of resources 45
2.4.3 Waste Management 46
2.4.4 Chemical Use 47
2.4.5 Peat Use 48
2.4.6 Climate Change Adaptation Strategies 48
2.6.7 Woodland and Tree Management 49
2.6.8 Water efficiency 50
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2.5 Conservation and Heritage
2.5.1 Management of Natural Resources, Wild Fauna and Flora
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2.5.2 Conservation of heritage 53
2.5.2 Cultural Landscapes 53
2.5.3 Water management 55
2.6 Community Involvement 57
2.6.1 Community engagement and volunteering 57
2.6.2 Activities and events 63
2.6.3 Public consultation 67
2.6.4 Community and educational use 67
2.7 Marketing and Communications 68
2.7.1 Marketing Team 68
2.7.2 Marketing Strategy for Community Leisure 69
2.7.3 Marketing material available for Markeaton Park
2.7.4 Poster/Banner Display Areas
2.7.5 Park Rangers
2.7.6 Media Coverage
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2.8 Management 73
2.8.1 Implementation of Management Plan 73
2.8.2 Responsibility 74
2.8.3 Action Plan 77
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2.8.4 Training 75
2.8.5 Financial management 76
2.8.6 Monitoring and review 76
3 HOW WE WILL GET THERE 76
3.1 Recommendations Action Plan
3.1.1 Resources
3.1.2 Responsibility
3.1.3 Action Plan
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FOREWORD
The Friends of Markeaton Park is an established group, set up in 2008 and is a
registered Charity. The group is made up of up of a mix of people all with the main
aim of protecting and improving Markeaton Park and maintaining and developing the
Walled Garden. The Group encourage people to participate in activities for the
benefit of their health and wellbeing. To achieve this, our group of committed
volunteers use the Walled Garden as a base and have a lease for the area. Monthly
meetings are held either in the Garden or the Community Room. The Group work
closely with the Markeaton Park Development Officer and Senior Outdoor Events
Officer and organise a range of events from Bird Walks, History Walks and Craft
Fairs to the established Summer Festival, also known as ‘The Festival of Music and
Flowers’ event. The Walled Garden is open on Wednesday afternoons, Thursday
mornings and weekends throughout the year and plant and produce sales help raise
funds. Local people donate plants and the garden is a place of peace and tranquillity
as well as a place where everyone is welcome to come and help. In addition, the
group hold social events, including a quiz night and invite along other Friends
Groups and also BBQ’s. The group also encourage groups to visit the Garden such
as Cubs, Brownies and anyone who expresses an interest or wishes to learn about
or participate in environmentally friendly gardening activities.
The Park is also home to a number of clubs including Famous Trains, the Earl of
Harrington’s Angling Club, Derby Model Boat Club and both and adult and junior
Parkrun take place on a Saturday and Sunday each week.
The Friends Group is committed to encouraging not only the local communities to
engage with the park, but also those visiting from outside of the area.
Mel Bayes- Chair
Friends of Markeaton Park
Registered charity number 1168828
2020
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INTRODUCTION
1 Purpose of the Management Plan
The purpose of the Management Plan for Markeaton Park is to:
bring together all issues that affect management and maintenance in order to support a holistic approach to the park’s future management resource requirements and allocation
bring together all known and potentially significant projects that are envisaged to take place on Markeaton Park over the next five years, into one document and action plan
ensure community involvement by placing the needs of the users at the heart of future management and development of the park
set out a policy and direction to benchmark the park and enable management and policies to be analysed against best practice
provide a clear shared vision, ethos and objectives for the park
encourage a growing sense of ownership by all involved
work towards a sense of pride
act as a basis for identifying priorities for action In order to be a useful and user-friendly reference, this Management Plan will:
include a workable action plan
be practical in the short term and sustainable in the short to long term
support flexibility of responses
evolve with time
include timescales to allow monitoring of progress
Be readable. 1.2. Target audience and usage of the plan This Management Plan has been compiled by Derby City Council’s Parks Team, working in partnership with stakeholders, partner organisations and the community (the Parks Team Structure relating to parks is shown in Figure 1). Implementation of this Management Plan will be led by the Parks Team and responsibility for specific objectives/targets is identified in the Action Plan. The Plan will also be used by the Friends Group, Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club and the wider community for information and to take forward projects/actions that they have detailed in the Action section of the plan. 1.3 Evaluation Mechanism and Review Process The Management Plan, as a whole, will be reviewed annually by the Parks Team, in consultation with the appropriate officers from Derby City Council and other stakeholders. Any updates to the Management Plan will then be incorporated as appropriate. Minor adjustments (reflected in different coloured text) to the
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Management Plan will be needed from time to time, such as changing the order of events or who is leading on an item within the Action Plan. These changes will be agreed by the Parks Team. It is essential that, during the review process, the Management Plan remains in plain English, so that it continues to be easily read and used. The colour coding will also reflect chronological changes. The Action Plan identifies required actions, the resources needed in order to deliver these prioritised actions and how they are to be monitored. In this way, each of the actions contained within the Management Plan will be monitored against an anticipated output. 1.4 Site Details Markeaton Park covers 85ha and is located on the North West side of Derby. It is bounded on the east side by the A38, on the south by the A52 Ashbourne Road, to the west by the crematorium and Markeaton Lane and to the northeast by Kedleston Road. The park is bordered on the north, north east and south sides by residential areas: Allestree to the north, Darley to the east and north east and Mackworth to the south. To the east of the park a green wedge extends towards Derby city centre, while west of the park is open countryside which lies outside of the city boundary. The University of Derby is located to the north and occupies a site on the north side of Kedleston Road. The address is: Markeaton Park
Craft Village Markeaton Lane Derby DE22 3BG
It should be noted however that the address for postal correspondence relating to the park is: Parks & Active Living, Leisure, Culture and Tourism Derby City Council The Council House Corporation Street Derby, DE1 2XG
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1.1 Community Context
This section sets out what is known about the community that uses the park, using
information collected from the Local Plan, census and demographic information data
and from consultation exercises.
1.1.1 Markeaton Park Catchment Area Markeaton Park is designated as a City Park serving a catchment of up to 500 metres, which extends to cover a high proportion of Derby’s population as well as many of the surrounding rural communities located in the districts of Amber Valley and South Derbyshire. Visitor surveys also show that he park attracts people from beyond this distance, including the eastern and southern sides of Derby, from smaller surrounding towns such as Belper, Ilkeston and Ashbourne and from as far as Nottingham and Sheffield. Markeaton Park can therefore be considered to be of regional significance. Alongside its regional and city role, the park also provides a local facility for the surrounding neighbourhoods of Allestree, Mackworth and Darley. In considering the community context for the park it is therefore necessary to look at both the local area in which it is located and its wider catchment area from which it draws large number of users. 1.1.2 Community Profile
It is important to understand who our users are, who they could be. The profile helps to inform the management plan. Derby Derby is a fairly compact, free standing city with a population of approximately 256,2001 people. The city has grown from a population of approximately 230,7002 people in 2001 and is projected to reach approximately 278,8003 people in 2030. It is the largest urban settlement within Derbyshire. Derby lies on the River Derwent towards the southern end of Derbyshire. To the south there is the Trent Valley and to the north the Derbyshire Uplands and the Peak District. Together with Leicester and Nottingham, Derby forms part of the “Three Cities” sub region of the East Midlands. As the third largest City in the East Midlands, it is a regionally important centre, providing a wide range of employment opportunities and retail, commercial, leisure and cultural facilities and activities.
1 Office for National Statistics (ONS), Mid-year estimate of population (MYE), 2016
2 ONS, Mid-year estimate of population, 2001
3 ONS, Sub-national population projections (SNPP), 2014
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Derby has excellent rail connections to the Midland Main Line and good access by road to the M1, A52, A50 and the A38 including to East Midlands Airport. These have contributed to the City’s growth as an employment centre.
The built-up area of Derby extends to the City boundary along much of its length. The growth of the urban area has absorbed a number of previously separate villages which now form distinct suburbs, while new suburbs have also grown up recently within the city boundary but also in neighbouring districts where they adjoin the city boundary. Derby’s urban character is relieved and defined by “green wedges” of open land which help to maintain separate community identities. The City is surrounded by a rural area containing villages and a number of small towns which have strong links with Derby for jobs, shopping and entertainment. Its northern and eastern boundaries are defined by green belt which separates Derby and Nottingham.
Allestree, Darley and Mackworth While Markeaton Park is located in Allestree ward, it shares two of its boundaries with the adjacent Darley and Mackworth wards. These wards are primarily residential areas, though with a different mix of housing types and social profile. The residential area of Allestree lies to the north of the park and comprises a large area of private housing. The ward includes the main University of Derby campus just to the north of the park. Local services include a small shopping centre, a number of primary schools and the Woodlands Secondary school serving the north part of the city. Mackworth is split into two main areas by the A38. To the south of the park is a large social housing estate, with a range of local facilities. The area to the south east of the park is mainly mixed residential. Darley extends eastwards from the park. The area closest to the park is a mixed residential area that also contains a number of University buildings and some local facilities The Local Population Full demographic and socio-economic information for Derby can be found on the council’s Info4Derby website4 together with demographic information for Derby’s neighbouring local authorities, however, this section summarises key information and includes some comparative figures between the city as a whole and the three local wards.
4 The Info4Derby service will be changing shortly - if Info4Derby is unavailable, please see the Council’s
statistics and census information pages at http://www.derby.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/statistics-and-
census-information/
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Derby has low population density compared to other east midland cities5. However some local areas show high localised densities, including east Mackworth and south Darley, both within reach of Markeaton Park. In comparison to England, Derby has a younger than average demographic profile with an appreciably greater percentage of the local population being under 30 years of age. In contrast, the percentage of the city’s population in the older working age and pensioner age bands is smaller than within the country as a whole6. Approximately 43,600 people, or 17% of Derby’s population, live in the three wards surrounding Markeaton Park – this is shown in Table 17. However, the local population within these three wards shows several notable differences to that of Derby’s population:
whilst there are more than 7,500 school age children (aged 0-16 inc.) within Allestree, Darley and Mackworth wards, they represent 17.3% of the local population compared to 22% of Derby’s population
A significantly greater percentage of the local populations within Darley and Mackworth wards are aged 20-24 years – in these two wards, 14.5% of the local population are 20-24 years of age compared to 7.4% within Derby.
There are a significantly greater percentage of people of older working age and of retirement age in Allestree – 49.1% of people within Allestree are aged 50+ compared to 32.9% within Derby.
Table 1
Mid-year estimate of population for Derby wards and comparators, 2016
Area Male Population Female Population Total Population
Arboretum 10,800 9,200 20,000
Normanton 9,500 9,400 18,900
Alvaston 8,500 8,600 17,100
Sinfin 7,900 8,300 16,200
Abbey 8,200 7,500 15,700
Darley 7,700 7,500 15,200
Chellaston 7,400 7,800 15,200
Mackworth 7,500 7,400 14,800
Littleover 7,200 7,600 14,800
5 ONS, Census 2011, KS101EW – Usual resident population
6 ONS, MYE, 2016
7 ONS, MYE, 2016
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Derwent 7,100 7,300 14,400
Mickleover 6,900 7,400 14,300
Boulton 6,700 7,200 13,900
Allestree 6,600 7,000 13,600
Chaddesden 6,500 6,800 13,300
Blagreaves 6,300 6,800 13,100
Oakwood 6,300 6,700 13,000
Spondon 6,100 6,500 12,600
Derby 127,300 129,000 256,200
Source: Mid-year estimate of population (MYE), 2016
Please note: Figures may not sum due to rounding
Derby is a very diverse city and is home to people from approximately 175 nationalities. In 2011, the city was home to approximately 34,620 people who were born outside of the UK8 with the majority originating from Europe (including people from Eastern European and EU countries) and the Middle East and Asia (including people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh). In 2011, 24.7% of Derby’s population9 were from Black and Minority Ethnic, BME10, groups compared to 20.2% of the population of England. The largest BME groups within Derby in 2011 were Other White (9,751 - 3.9%), Indian (10,907 - 4.4%) and Pakistani (14,620 - 5.9%). In contrast to the population of Derby, a notably smaller percentage of residents in the wards surrounding Markeaton Park were from BME groups (Allestree – 7.3%, Darley – 15.2%, Mackworth – 12.1%). The 2015 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD 2015) identified that Derby was the 55th most deprived local authority in England (out of 326 local authorities)11. The city has become comparatively more deprived since 2010 when the city was ranked as the 88th most deprived local authority in the country. The level of comparative deprivation varies significantly across Derby, with much of central Derby falling within the most deprived areas nationally. Across the city, 19% of Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) fall within the 10% most deprived areas nationally; 33% of Derby’s LSOAs fall within the most deprived 20%. Figure 1 – Deprivation levels within Derby in relation to the location of Markeaton Park, 2015
8 ONS, Census 2011, DC2103EW - Country of birth by sex by age
9 ONS, Census 2011, KS201EW – Ethnic group
10 BME being defined as the population who are not white British.
11 Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), English Indices of Deprivation, 2015
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The area surrounding Markeaton Park varies greatly in terms of the level of comparative deprivation – this is illustrated in Figure 1. Notably, parts of Mackworth and Darley wards, adjoining the park, fall within the 30% most deprived areas in England whereas, in contrast, much of Allestree ward falls within to 10% least deprived areas in the country. Related to the city’s ranking on the IMD 2015, households in Derby have a comparatively lower income than the national average. In 2016, the median annual income of households within Derby was approximately £27,900 compared to £33,400 within England12. The difference in the income of households across Derby is illustrated in Table 2, confirming Allestree to be one of the most affluent wards in the city and Mackworth to be one of the poorest.
Table 2
Differences in household income within Derby, 2016
Area Median annual household income (£s)
Percentage of households with an annual income below 60% of the UK Median income
Abbey 26,500 29.7
Allestree 36,400 24.5
Alvaston 25,400 32.3
Arboretum 24,500 33.1
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Experian Ltd, Household income model, 2016
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Blagreaves 33,100 24.4
Boulton 26,000 33.8
Chaddesden 27,600 29.6
Chellaston 32,600 26.2
Darley 28,100 32.3
Derwent 24,300 36.9
Littleover 41,000 19.1
Mackworth 24,700 34.4
Mickleover 35,200 23.5
Normanton 26,000 28.6
Oakwood 36,100 21.0
Sinfin 22,200 42.2
Spondon 27,900 29.0
Derby 27,900 29.7
England 33,400 23.9
Source: Experian Ltd, Household income model, 2016
1.2 Site Description
1.2.1 Location Markeaton Park is located on the North West side of Derby. It is bounded on the east side by the A38, on the south by the A52 Ashbourne Road, to the west by the crematorium and Markeaton Lane and to the northeast by Kedleston Road. The park is bordered on the north, north east and south sides by residential areas: Allestree to the north, Darley to the east and north east and Mackworth to the south. To the east of the park a green wedge extends towards Derby city centre, while west of the park is open countryside which lies outside of the city boundary. The University of Derby is located to the north and occupies a site on the north side of Kedleston Road.
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Plan of Markeaton Park:
1.2.2 Existing Site Markeaton Park is considered to be Derby’s premier park and the most visited and popular park with in excess of 1.6 million visits each year. It covers approximately 85 hectares and offers an extensive range of recreational opportunities and sports facilities set within a mature and attractive parkland landscape that dates back to the Eighteenth century and once formed part of the estate of Markeaton Hall (now demolished). Markeaton Park was in part given and the remainder sold to the City of Derby by the Mundy family and much of the landscape character is indicative of Markeaton Hall’s 18th Century parkland. The southern half of the park is characterised by open parkland with short mown grass and mature trees standing singly and in groups, bordered on the south and east sides by woodland and belts of trees. Markeaton Hill located on the south side alongside Ashbourne Road is the highest point on the park and provides fine views north and west across the park. From Markeaton Hill the park slopes north down to the Markeaton and Mackworth Brooks. The southern side of the park was used as a
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World War 2 camp and a number of buildings still remain along with a parade ground that is now used as an event space. There are also two tennis courts and a multi-use games court. To the west of the car park is a nine hole pitch and putt course, which includes foot and disc golf. While to the North West the parkland extends down to a lake. The central area of the park contains the main area of historic interest, including the site of the now demolished Markeaton Hall, the remaining stables used for craft units, the Grade 2 listed Orangery used as a café, a number of walled gardens and ornamental gardens such as the formal terrace, the Rose Garden and herbaceous borders. This area is more intimate in scale and is broken down into small areas by planting, walls and buildings. To the north of the historic core lies a woodland belt that separates the parkland and historic core from the Mundy Play Centre located on the north side of the park. The woodland area contains a number of channels of the Mackworth and Markeaton Brooks that dissect the park. The Mundy Play Centre, a main car park and allotments occupy the northern part of Markeaton Park. The Mundy Play Centre provides a number of facilities including a paddling pool, play areas, donkey rides, wheeled sports area and boating pool. The majority of this area is flat though there are a number of artificial mounds. 1.2.3 Park Facilities, Infrastructure and Buildings Mundy Play Centre This is the largest play area within Derby and provides a comprehensive range of play activities and facilities. The majority of the play facilities are targeted at the under 12 year olds and include:
A large play area with bespoke award nominated play equipment from Proludic which designed following consultation with numerous disabled groups from Derby, spider net, swings, slides and a range of other play equipment.
Large paddling pool with three fountains that operates during summer months (*May – September)
Markeaton Park’s duck pond Markeaton Park’s historic Orangery
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Skyline high ropes course
Pay to use facilities including 2 fully accessible 9 hole mini golf courses, 2 bouncy castles, donkey rides and a car track
Toilets and refreshment kiosk
Picnic area
Small skatepark
Boating pond with canoes* and home to Derby’s model boat club (*April – October).
Facilities in the Play Centre are open weekends throughout the year and every day during the school holidays in February, Easter, May, summer and October with full details being displayed to inform visitors. The Skyline is a state of the art high ropes facility offering a variety of experiences from 2 levels of climbing a zip wire and tailored activities for the visitors to the park, Schools, clubs and organisations.
. Craft village This is a complex of buildings located in the old stables and Orangery centred around a central courtyard. The buildings include 10 individual craft units which
Mundy Play Centre adventure boat
designed by Proludic
The family favourite paddling pool in the
Mundy Play Centre
Skyline 2 fully accessible 9 hole mini
golf courses
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attract visitors to the park and offer a range of courses/activities. There is also the Orangery Café, offering a hot food menu, public toilets and a small community room available for hire. The Craft Village is a popular space with a range of events taking place during the course of the year, including an Outdoor theatre and cinema, craft and season fairs, sports events (such as the Cycle Sportive) and our established Family Festivities event. The Community Room is used for a variety of events. During the outdoor theatre and cinema season it is used as the ‘green room’. Various organisations book the room to deliver training sessions and meetings. Workshops and holiday camps are also a regular feature as are other events, including craft fairs and art displays.
Main Park The rest of the park provides an extensive range of recreational and sports facilities and activities including:
Three large car parks at Mundy Play Centre (300 spaces), Craft Village Car Park (165) and the main park (500 spaces) plus overflow car park used during the summer (100 spaces). Disabled parking is available at the Markeaton
Markeaton Park’s historic Craft Village The Orangery Café
Markeaton Park’s Community Room
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village entrance. Coach parking is available at the Mundy Play Centre car park.
Public toilets in the Craft Village and Mundy Play Centre
Small sports pavilion
9 hole pitch and putt/Footgolf & Disc course
Hard surfaced tennis courts and multi-use court
Cricket wicket/pitch (grass and artificial)
Orienteering course
Network of paths which include signposted run/walk routes
Boat and pedalos on the lake
Fishing on the lake (Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club)
Love Exploring app offering various trails
Various ornamental and walled gardens
Walled garden project
Allotments Other buildings In addition, there are two old buildings remaining from the World War 2 army camp. These are used by Famous Trains Model Railway (open 150 days a year to public) and by Cycle Derby whose aim is get more people in Derby on bikes.
Other infrastructure The park is well served by a range of entrances on all sides of the park and there is a circular path that incorporates the historic part of the park and runs along one side of the lake. This is very well used throughout the year by visitors to the park. Parkrun meet weekly on the park and are proud to say they’re one of the biggest groups in the East Midlands – with an attendance of over 600 people every week. The pathways provides the opportunity to enjoy the park in all weathers. The park contains a number of surfaced footpaths and roads that mainly cross the park to link the main entrances and facilities. The majority date back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when the parkland was laid out. Newer
Famous Trains Model Railway Cycle Derby
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additions are located around and in the Mundy Play Centre. There are a number of informal paths located within woodland areas in the park. The park is popular for family cycling and there are good cycle links around the eastern and northern boundaries of the park. Boundaries include a mix of open boundaries defined by woodland and tree belts. The boundary to the A52 retains the historic parkland stone wall. 1.2.4 Use of Parks Visitor numbers Visitor numbers are monitored by people counters at all the entrances and exits in the park and these highlight not only the number of visitors but the peak times and the use of the different entrances and exits. These are particularly useful when planning for the larger events. Organised Sport and Physical Activity Markeaton Park provides a number of sporting facilities which include a cricket pitch (grass and artificial), Footgolf , 9 hole pitch and putt course and a multi games court and two tennis courts The park is used for a range of other organised sport and physical activities but this does not tend to dominate or form a major part of the park’s offer. The park is also used for other organised sports activities including cycle training, orienteering, fun runs, charity runs and cyclo cross.
Education The formal and informal use of the park as an educational resource has been recognised by Derby City Council. There are many schools that visit the park, particularly in the lead up to the summer holidays from the City and across the region. Local schools have used the Craft Village for outdoor drama performances and there many options for schools to make use of the Skyline, orienteering course and community room. Events The park is the venue for a full programme of events and activities, with 100 events taking place in the park in 2019 ranging from the Race for Life and Pretty Muddy that attracts over 20,000 people to the park over the event to the Fake Festival (a ticketed music event). The park is also used by a range of community groups and organisations, including school trips. The events programme for 2020 is varied and will attract many thousands of visitors to the park. Many event organisers find the venue and its location so successful that they book for the following year resulting in the event calendar growing year on year. More event organisers are becoming aware of the park and this year the park hosts a Food Festival and a Bumble Bee Conservation Group Launch event which will see the introduction of a wildflower area and sculpture. Full details of this year’s events are available on: http://www.inderby.org.uk/parks
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Recreational Value
Markeaton Park provides a valuable green space within a densely urban area and
has an important relationship with its surrounding neighbourhoods of Allestree and
Mackworth. The circular path that was installed as part of the Heritage Lottery work
in 2015 is a huge draw to the park throughout the year and the natural features such
as the lake, brook and woodland are also a fantastic draw to those wanting to
sample the great outdoors. The Walled garden is leased by the Friends Group and
is open every Thursday morning, Saturday and Sunday for volunteers and visitors.
Plants, fruit and vegetables are for sale and visitors can enjoy a wonder around,
chance to have a go or just enjoy a sit in the garden. The variety of events on the
park caters for everyone and the Mundy Play Centre with its play area, pay to play
rides and paddling pool is a magnet for families.
1.3 Ownership
Markeaton Park is owned by Derby City Council and was acquired over a number of years through bequests or purchase of land. The park is covered by two Covenants that formed part of the bequest and sale of land to the Council which set out some key restrictions on how the park can be used and developed for recreational, educational and play use and imposes some restrictions regarding building on the park. The covenants are monitored by a board of trustees. A number of buildings within the park are rented out or leased to private businesses and residents along with a number of licences that have been granted to operators providing a particular facility or service, as follows:
Outdoor Cinema Race for Life and Pretty Muddy
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2 parks houses let out or leased as private residencies
17 acres let as an agricultural tenancy
8 craft units in stable buildings and 2 craft units in end pavilions of the orangery
1 lease providing catering rights over the south part of the park and a café in the orangery, also refreshment kiosk in Mundy Play Centre
2 concession licences to provide the, rowing boats on the lake and donkey rides in Mundy Play Centre.
Famous Trains Model Railway secured a grant and completely refurbished one of the World War 2 buildings and is run by volunteers.
Derby City Council also owns a number of pieces of land surrounding the public park that are adjacent to the park. These include:
Markeaton Crematorium
Allotments, managed by the Kedleston Road Allotments Association
1.4 Organisational Context
1.4.1 Derby City Council Structure
Derby City Council is a unitary authority with responsibility for providing all local services in Derby. Derby City Council’s constitution sets out how the Council operates and how decisions are made, and the procedures that are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people. Involvement of the public
Derby is a diverse city and the Council seeks to give everyone an opportunity to get involved in the work of the Council including residents, visitors and people working in the city. Different communities and groups have their own views and experiences and these are taken into account when making decisions and providing services. For further information on how on the Council and Democracy – please see www.derby.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/consultations/overview/ Allestree and Mackworth Wards have strong Neighbourhood Forums, which as well as the Friends group, provide an opportunity for people to come together to raise issues facing the Markeaton Park. For more information on the Forum visit: Allestree: https://www.derby.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/neighbourhood- partnerships/allestree-neighbourhood-ward/
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Mackworth: https://www.derby.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/neighbourhood- partnerships/mackworth-neighbourhood-ward/ If there are any issues raised with regard to Markeaton Park at these meetings, these are fed back to the Parks or Grounds Maintenance Team by the Local Ward Councillors or the Neighbourhood Manager. 1.4.2 Management and Maintenance of Markeaton Park
Management and maintenance responsibilities and budget control for the park are
spread across a number of Council departments and sections. Overall management
responsibility rests with Community Leisure – Derby Parks but other services
including Streetpride, Community Leisure and Property Maintenance have some
responsibilities.
Markeaton Park has for many years generated income. The main income comes
from the car parking charges and the Mundy Play Centre. There is an arrangement
in place with Derby University for student parking which allows students to park
during the week when the car park is not as busy. This assists the University and
generates a guaranteed income. The Mundy Play Centre offers a range of pay and
play facilities and during the summer additional attractions adds to the offer which
generates a further income. The Craft Village attracts visitors to the park and the
tenants pay an annual rent. Other income is generated from catering and the
commercial events on the park.
The table below summarises the areas of management and maintenance
responsibility.
Management and Maintenance Responsibility for Markeaton Park
Management responsibility
Community
Leisure – Derby
Parks
Streetpride Leisure Development
Buildings Health and
Safety and risk
assessments
Leases and
licences
Park and
outdoor
facilities
Health and
Safety and risk
assessments
Arboriculture and tree
management
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Site Inspections
Play area
inspections
Cycle path Visual checks Highways team
Events and
activities
On-site
assistance-
Rangers
Risk management,
bookings
Community Friends Group
Maintenance responsibility
Community
Leisure – Derby
Parks
Streetpride Property
Maintenance
Other
Buildings
Maintenance
and repair of
all Council
owned and
managed
buildings
Grounds
and
landscape
Repair and
maintenance of
hard landscape
features:
Paths, roads,
surfaces
Play areas,
Fences, steps,
small walls and
structures
Street furniture
Drainage
Maintenance
of soft
landscape
features:
Grass
cutting
Shrub beds
Bedding
Path
sweeping
Hedge
cutting
Arboriculture
and tree
Maintenance
and repair of
park
structures
(walls, piers)
Maintenance
of water
features
Community Payback:
General
maintenance
(repainting fences,
benches, water weed
removal etc.)
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management
Litter Site litter
collection
Litter bins
Water
features
General
clearance e.g. of
obstructions
Flood control works,
desilting
Earl of Harrington
Angling Club – Lake
and bank
maintenance
1.4.3 Park Management
Overall management of the park is the responsibility of Community Leisure – Derby
Parks, located within Communities and Place. Community Leisure is a service area
that brings together staff, resources and assets associated with the Council’s leisure
centres with the Council’s parks and open spaces. The service was created as part
of the corporate restructure of the Council in May 2010 under a new Head of Service
for Community Leisure. Within Community Leisure the Parks team is managed by
the Parks Development Manager. The day to day management of parks is split into
two area based teams, which are supported by staff in the Landscape Team and the
Community and Parks Buildings Team.
The Markeaton Park Development Officer is responsible for:
Developing Markeaton Park and Craft Village as a visitor destination
Providing a quality service that will increase usage, customer experience and participation
marketing and promotion
Implementing the management plan
Manage resources effectively to support and improve the service
Work with the Friends of Markeaton Park and other partners and community groups to increase use and their engagement in the management of the park.
Day to day management of the park
Growing income
Ongoing HLF requirements
Co-ordinating events/ public activities on the park
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1.5 Policy Context
The following policy documents and strategies are of relevance to the development,
management and maintenance of Markeaton Park. Central government is in the
process of making major changes to the planning system, while a number of local
policies and strategies are in the process of development or review. It will be
necessary to review this section on an annual basis to ensure that the policies and
strategies remain relevant and up to date.
1.5.1 National
It is recognised at the national level of the importance that parks and green spaces
make in improving the quality of people’s lives, through health and well-being, the
local economy, stronger communities and increased satisfaction with where people
live. This recognition has been built up through evidence to show the positive impact
that parks and open spaces can have.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
The NPPF was published by the Department of Communities and Local Government
in 2012 and sets out the Government’s planning policies for England and how these
are expected to be applied. The Framework includes a number of important points
that are relevant to Markeaton Park:
Design: Importance of good and high quality design in positively contributing to
making places better for people.
Importance of open spaces in promoting and delivering healthy communities:
The Framework recognises that:
‘Access to high quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and recreation can
make an important contribution to the health and well-being of communities’.
It cites the importance for creating opportunities for meetings between members of
the community who might not otherwise come into contact with each other, including
safe and accessible environments and high quality public space, which encourage
the active and continual use of public areas.
Conserving and enhancing the natural environment: The NPPF stresses the
importance of enhancing the natural and local environment by protecting and
enhancing valued landscapes, minimising impacts on biodiversity and providing net
gains in biodiversity where possible.
Conserving and enhancing the historic environment: The NPPF sets out the
importance of the conservation and enjoyment of the historic environment, the
desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets and
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putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation; the wider social,
cultural, economic and environmental benefits that conservation of the historic
environment can bring and the opportunities to draw on the contribution made by the
historic environment to the character of a place.
1.5.2 Local
Derby City Local Plan
The Derby City Local Plan - Part 1 Core Strategy was adopted by the Council on
Wednesday 25 January 2017. It is the key planning document for the City, setting
out a long-term strategy for the spatial development of Derby to 2028 and provides a
framework for promoting and managing development.
The Local Plan Part 1 forms the statutory development plan for the City, alongside
the remaining ‘saved’ policies of the City of Derby Local Plan Review (2006). It
provides both the development strategy for the City up to 2028 and policies which
will be used in determining all future planning applications submitted to the Council.
Interactive Policies Map - The Council's interactive Policies Map illustrates how the
policies in the Local Plan Part 1 and the City of Derby Local Plan Review affect
different parts of the City. Use the link to view useful information and links to relevant
policies.
The Local Plan identifies the following designations for Markeaton Park that are
relevant to its future management:
Markeaton Park is a designated open space and classified as a Regional Park
within the Derby Local Plan open space hierarchy.
Hosts a designated allotment site.
Is a wildlife corridor.
The Local Plan is supported by a number of Supplementary Planning Documents. Of
relevance to Markeaton Park is The Nature Conservation Strategy which gives
details of how the natural history of the City will be conserved. The Strategy includes
a policy framework that acts as an SPD in guiding decisions on development. In
addition it sets out how the City Council will:
manage open space to conserve and enhance biodiversity
help people access, understand and better enjoy Derby’s green heritage and
take forward key objectives in the Derby Community Strategy
seek to take action in partnership.
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The Derby Plan 2013-2015
The Derby Plan has been prepared by Derby City and Neighbourhood Partnerships
which is an alliance of over 250 public, private, voluntary and community
organisations in the city. It sets out the aspirations for Derby and the city-wide
outcomes that the partnership wants to achieve from 2013-2015.
The Council Plan 2019 - 2023
The Council Plan sets out how Derby City Council will deliver the vision and
outcomes for Derby as set out in the Derby Plan. The aim is ‘we want Derby people
to enjoy living and working in and visiting our great city; to be happy, safe and
healthy, with great opportunities and an enviable quality of life.”
The latest Council Plan is available to view here: Derby City Council Plan 2019 -
2023
Derby City Council Environmental Policy
The Council adopted its Environmental Policy in 1998 to recognise the important role
it can play in helping the environment as one of the largest employers and service
providers in the city. The revised Environmental Policy 2005 takes into account some
of the major changes that have occurred in this area, including the emergence of
Climate Change as the biggest issue we must address. It outlines how the Council
will play its role through improving its own activities and by working in partnership
with others.
Tree Management Policy
The Tree Management Policy sets out how the Council will manage its trees in the
most effective way and in accordance with best practice within the resources
available to it. The strategy is specific to tree felling and pruning, it does not cover
the management of woodlands.
Dog Fouling
Dog fouling does occur but while it is not considered to be a significant problem it
does require regular monitoring to ensure that it does not become a problem. Public
Protection Officers regularly visit the park to monitor and clear signage is displayed
in key areas. Occasional press releases highlight the consequences; this is
something Markeaton has taken a lead for all the parks in the city. Furthermore,
signage and Park Rangers encourage dog-owners to clear up do mess while the
Council promotes and sells collection bags to encourage owners to clean up.
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2.1 A Welcoming Place
It is important that the impressions people have of the park should be positive and
inviting so that they feel that it is welcoming and a place they want to visit and use.
These impressions will be gained from key features including:
Clear identity and sense of arrival
Appearance and upkeep
Good and safe access onto the park
Accessibility providing equal access for all that is inclusive
Good and accessible information and signage about the park
Informative and helpful staff
2.1.1 Clear identity and sense of arrival
The first impressions of the park by visitors, people living nearby and those passing by are gained from the appearance of the entrances, boundaries and views into the park that work to help create a sense of identity. Markeaton Park is bounded on all sides except for the far west corner by roads and is therefore very prominent to passing people. All boundaries are marked by belts of semi mature and mature trees or woodland belts. On some boundaries such as along the A38 the belts allow glimpses and views of the park beyond, while on other boundaries particularly along the A52 Ashbourne Road and Kedleston Road tree and woodland belts form a physical barrier that gives no or little indication of the park beyond. This barrier is reinforced by the lack of any defined entrances on these sections. The boundary trees and woodland are both a major strength and a weakness in defining and creating a sense of place that is welcoming. As part of the Heritage Lottery Improvements new signage has been installed throughout the park providing key information for visitors and highlighting the historic value of the park to the public.
Markeaton Park’s branded signage
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2.1.2 Appearance and upkeep
Markeaton Park gives the impression that it is generally well cared and looked after.
However this impression does not apply to the whole park – the boundary along
Ashbourne Road appears overgrown and uncared for, while the impression in
arriving through the main A38 entrance is of a shabby working depot. Maintenance
issues are fully covered in Section 2.6 Clean and Well Maintained.
2.1.3 Good and safe access onto the park
Due to its size Markeaton Park has a large number of different entrances and points of arrival. This are an amalgamation of historic entrances, new entrances related to its use as a public park and a number of informal access points created through long period of informal use. There is a hierarchy of entrances onto the park, but these do not necessarily reflect the level of use or importance in connecting to neighbouring communities. Primary entrances
There are 2 main vehicle entrances onto the park, one off the A38 at Markeaton Island and the other off Markeaton Lane. In addition the A38 entrance is also an important pedestrian entrance that links directly to a pedestrian crossing. For visitors arriving by vehicle, the entrances work at two levels – the immediate entrance and point of arrival from the surrounding roads into the car park and then as pedestrians from the car park to the rest of the park. A38 and main car park This is a main entrance into the park. Vehicles access via a drive direct off the A38, while pedestrians have a choice of using 3 routes. The WW2 camp has had a big impact on the park. While this forms part of the story of the park, one of the large brick buildings by the main car park has had to be demolished this resulted in a new large fenced compound. Mundy Play Centre car park is Signposted from surrounding roads and is primarily a vehicle entrance, with low levels of pedestrian use as there are few surrounding houses. This entrance and car park mainly serve the Mundy Play Centre, although there is access to the rest of park.
Secondary entrances
These are entrances that serve mainly local communities located adjacent to the park and serve primarily pedestrians.
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Markeaton Village This is an important historic entrance providing the link between the hall and the estate village. It is included as a secondary entrance as the public are not directed to this entrance and it provides only a local link and disabled parking. A52 Ashbourne Road The A52 is a busy road that segregates the Mackworth area from the park. There are no pedestrian crossings on this busy road, though there is one island providing a refuge. Entrances onto park have been defined and are linked to a circular path around the historic core of the park and encourage local people to use the park all year round. A38 bridge crossing Pedestrian and cycle access onto the park is provided via a bridge across the A38 that provides an important but under-used link between the park and the city centre via Markeaton Street. While the bridge provides a safe route across the busy A38, the bridge links to the circular path around the park. Kedleston Road entrances There are 3 entrances off Kedleston Road, 2 of which can be considered secondary. One provides a direct link to the residential area of Allestree and links directly to the Mundy Play Centre. The other provides a pedestrian and cycle link to the Derby University and the neighbouring cycle network. Both are served by pedestrian crossings. Tertiary entrances Kedleston Road, Markeaton Lane and Ashbourne Road all have existing smaller, less well used and local entrances used by local people accessing the park. They are rural in nature which is an important part of their character. 2.1.4 Accessibility An Access Audit for the park and the craft village buildings has been undertaken involving representatives from various disabled groups in 2019 and has been used to create a list of priorities for resources, becoming available in the future.
Markeaton Park entrance signage
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2.1.5 Good signage to and in the park
New signage was installed throughout the historic core of the park in 2015 which has encouraged park users to explore new areas of the park and learn more about the history of the park. The signage provides good quality up to date information. Professional signage is used throughout the park to provide details of key dates in the park.
New additional signage has been installed in 2019 to highlight the new walk/run routes. It has been carefully designed to complement the existing branding and signage
The park is signposted by a variety of brown tourist signs, which are currently under review with the view to also guide people to the Craft Village. Further new signage for the Mundy Play Centre will be installed in 2020
signage within the park is coordinated, and evenly distributed
Markeaton Park’s heritage information board
Recommendations
1. Implement recommendations of the accessibility survey identifying funding as
required.
2. Install new signage in the Mundy Play Centre
3 Identify funding to resurface the path near the tennis courts following issues with run
off.
4. Work with the Derby Park Volunteers to improve the draining on key areas around
the park
5. Review brown signs information with a view to adding the Craft Village.
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2.2 Healthy, Safe and Secure
Markeaton Park continues to be a healthy, safe and secure place for all members of
the community to use.
2.2.1 Health and well-being
The Council recognises the benefits of an active lifestyle in delivering improved
outcomes in health, education and quality of life. Markeaton Park provides a range of
facilities and activities that foster and promote health and wellbeing, from informal
use of the green space and its play facilities through to organised sport and physical
activities.
Close working with other Council Sections and outside partners deliver a range of
programmes that encourage physical activity. These include development of and
use of the Walled Garden, where the Friends of Markeaton Park offer volunteer
opportunities and run a programme of events and horticultural activities.
On Markeaton Park, Derby Parks work closely with Livewell, a sub-section of the
Leisure Facilities Team. Livewell is a healthy lifestyle service for people in Derby and
offers a free 12-month programme to help adults and children improve their health
and wellbeing. The project started as a weight loss pilot in 2011 run by Derby City
Council and since then it has become a successful wider service, funded through
Public Health. As well as weight management it now incorporates a variety of
different programmes including, stop smoking, child weight management
and increasing physical activity. Regular guided walks are held around the park as
part of the ‘walking for health’ offer and guidance sessions are administered at
Mackworth library, which is in close proximity to the park. The Livewell Service also
delivers a ‘Couch to 5k’ running group that helps people, who have never run before,
to prepare to take part in a 5 kilometer run. The park is often used for the training
sessions, and the weekly Parkrun on a Saturday morning that is held at the park,
acts as the race event for clients to attend at the end of the training programme. .
During the year at various times the park is also used for the Livewell Liveability
programme which is for people with a high BMI and that have mild to moderate
learning disabilities and their families. The park is seen as an ideal location to have
fun, get outside and support the group make long term lifestyle changes.
2.2.2 Equipment and facilities
The play area was revamped in 2013 and the adventure galley installed. This is a bespoke piece of equipment designed by Proludic following consultation with park users and local groups including families with children with learning disabilities. Proludic were nominated for an award for its design.
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Mundy Play Centre – Proludic equipment
A traffic light system was introduced in the Mundy Play Centre alongside the
paddling pool, one of the first of its kind in the country and paid for as a result of fund
raising following the diagnosis of a local radio present with melanoma cancer, who
sadly died. The idea behind the system is to educate park users as to when it is
safe to be out in the sun without protection. The facility has been well received and
as was intended is educating thousands of people who visit the park each year.
The new 2 x 9 hole mini golf course installed in 2019 is fully accessible and has been
a great success and is a draw for visitors throughout the year.
Markeaton Park run and walk routes, designed to encourage people to explore the park
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Maintenance and Inspections
The Council undertakes a formalised system of daily, weekly and periodic
inspections of the park and its facilities. Council Departments work closely together
to improve the standards of inspection regimes and maintenance of facilities. This
includes reviewing procedures and processes to ensure that they remain relevant
and deliver value for money in a time of financial constraints.
The Derby Parks team has developed a system of daily, weekly and periodic
inspections to respond to hazards, comply with Health and Safety Legislation and
operate in accordance with best practice. These are:
Twice weekly lay inspection of play area and sports facilities by the onsite
Park Ranger.
Monthly technical inspection of play area by the Play Area Technician.
Annual independent play area inspection.
Annual building and infrastructure inspection by the Corporate Health and
Safety Adviser.
Annual condition inspection by Parks Officer to include paths, boundary
fences, and other parks infrastructure not part a regular inspection.
Regular professional tree inspections by an Arboricultural Officer.
Annual building inspections by Property Services.
Weekly water hygiene testing by Park Rangers
Hourly water quality monitoring when paddling pool is in operation by a Pool
Plant trained Park Ranger.
Twice weekly water testing when the paddling pool is in operation by external
provider.
Daily driver/vehicle inspections undertaken by all.
Quarterly fire alarm and emergency light tests by Property Services.
Twice yearly fire drills.
All inspections are implemented by fully trained and qualified staff.
Defect reports can range from high priority dangerously leaning fences to the untidy
condition of a park bench. Regular progress meetings are held within the team to
ensure defect repair
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Providing toilets and first aid
There are public toilet facilities on the park located in
the Mundy Play Centre ( including 2 disabled toilets)
Craft Village (including 2 disabled toilets).
The toilets are open daily throughout the year all except Christmas day. The
toilets in the Mundy Play Centre are in need of refurbishment but the toilets in
the Craft Village are in a new building which was funded as part of the HLF
project in 2015 and are well used.
There is an old toilet block at the A38 entrance which have been boarded up for a
number of years and are on the asset list for demolition. These are scheduled to be
demolished as part of the A38 improvement works in 2021.
The Park Rangers are able to provide first aid.
Key members of staff are fully trained First At Work trained and first aid boxes are
held in the Mundy Play Centre, Craft Village, including the Orangery and the
Community Room.
A defibrillator is located on the wall of the toilet block in the Mundy Play Centre.
2.2.3 Towards a Safer Park
Promoting a safe and secure park encourages greater use of the park, while busy, active and vibrant places provide a strong sense of security. Consultation results show that a majority of people feel safe on the park and that safety concerns are not a major issue. The sense of safety is encouraged by the high levels of use of the
Recommendation
6. Implement annual defect repair programme following inspections.
Recommendation
7. Demolish the old toilet block to improve the entrance to the park
8. Identify funding to replace the paddling pool in the in the Mundy Play Centre
9. Identify funding to make one of the disabled toilets in the Mundy Play Centre into a
Changing Places toilet.
10. Install a defibrillator in the Mundy Play Centre
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park which promote self- regulation and provide high levels of natural surveillance. It is important that the levels of use continue to be maintained and that increased use is particularly encouraged during quieter periods and into the evening where possible. Personal safety is also supported by the presence of park staff. This is also supported by the businesses in the Craft Village and Mundy Play Centre. Markeaton Park is staffed by a mix of full time and Casual Park Rangers. The Casual Rangers provide cover at busy times and during school holidays. Park staff work closely with the local police, park users, local councillors, residents, other groups including Derby University. The Craft Village, Craft Village car park and Mundy Play Centre car park are locked overnight. An external security company provides overnight checks and there are motion censored cameras on the Skyline compound. The generally open landscape and wide paths with clear sightlines coupled with high levels of use ensure that natural surveillance on the park is good. The paths have encouraged greater use of the previously isolated areas of the park and have been designed to ensure good sight lines with regular management of the trees to remove dead wood and dangerous branches.
Recommendations
11 Consider management of vehicular movement across the park during busy periods, including restricting delivery times to the craft village and cafe. Seek to reduce conflicts between maintenance vehicles and public.
12. Continue and develop partnership working to tackle ASB issues
2.2.4 Health and safety policies
The Council has established policies and procedures in place to ensure that health
and safety issues receive high priority and are properly addressed. The Parks Team
has set up a Health and Safety working group comprising senior managers and a
corporate health and safety team representative to make sure the above are applied,
reviewed and updated. Health and Safety is also a standing item on the monthly
senior management meetings.
Risk Assessments
These are prepared to cover a wide range of issues ranging from day to day
management of the park (for example work of staff, activities, facilities, park features
37
and equipment), for the use, management and maintenance of buildings (fire risk,
water testing) and for specific large events.
Fire risk assessments have been undertaken on the main park buildings in line with
the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. These are kept in the Fire Log Box
along with a Fire Emergency Plan. The Fire Log Box also contains records of water
test, PAT test, the asbestos register and any fire equipment inspections/tests.
Specific and detailed COSHH and manual handling risk assessments are conducted
to control the more hazardous operations when general risk assessments highlight
the need.
Risk assessments are used to develop safe working procedures and codes of
practice that set out key hazards, controls and responsibilities in more detail.
Training and competency
Health and safety depends on well trained and knowledgeable staff. Derby Parks
ensures that all members of staff receive the appropriate training for them to perform
their duties and responsibilities. Training may be delivered through in-house courses,
on the job or by third party organisations.
Park Rangers receive training from the following range:
Compulsory corporate health and safety training -
IOSH managing staff safely – managers/supervisors.
CIMPSA national pool plant operations – plant room operatives.
First aid at work
ROSPA playground equipment inspection
Management of Legionella
Compulsory corporate manual handling
Fire awareness training.
Induction training on general ranger duties specific to their park –
manager/supervisor.
Reporting procedures
The Council has in place agreed procedures for reporting of accidents, incidents and
near misses and for the reporting of dangerous equipment or infrastructure. All park
staff and contractors’ record and report accidents, incidents and near misses on the
departmental accident report form. Accidents and incidents are discussed at the
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Senior Management Team meetings and assessed by Health and Safety Advisors.
Where appropriate, they will identify remedial action to prevent future occurrences.
2.2.5 Litter and dog fouling
To ensure a clean and safe environment and to minimise waste the following
operations are carried out on Markeaton Park:
Daily litter picks of the park
Paths are swept and kept clear of leaf litter and debris.
Community Payback carry out work on the park as requested, cleaning paths and other general housekeeping duties. The park is heavily used by dog walkers and while dog fouling is not considered to be a significant issue There are a large number of litter bins located around the park, all of which can be used for dog mess except those located in the play area. Signage and park Rangers encourage dog-owners to clear up dog mess while the Council promotes and sells collection bags to encourage owners to clean up. Public Protection Officers visit the park as part of their programmed work to monitor dog fouling and press releases and other material are used from time to time. Birds, in particular Canada Geese, are a significant nuisance in parts of the park. Some control measures are in place around the Mundy Play Centre to try and scare away birds to prevent them using the paddling pool and fouling in the play area, but there are areas where bird fouling is extensive. In addition birds can cause problems with the quality of the natural water bodies, especially around the duck pond where feeding is encouraged by good access and the sale of bird food in the craft village.
2.3 Well Maintained and Clean
A clean and well maintained park is important in creating a welcoming place that is
attractive, well used and cared for, a healthy and safe place to use, contributing to
the protection and conservation of the built and natural heritage and ensuring that
the use and development of the park is sustainable.
2.3.1 Maintenance of grounds and horticulture features
All horticultural and grounds maintenance work is carried out by the Council’s
Streetpride Grounds Maintenance Team as part of the city wide contract. The
Ranger Team compliments this work by carrying out additional general maintenance
duties.
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To achieve good standards of horticultural maintenance, staff:
use appropriate recognised horticultural techniques
majority of the grounds staff hold NVQ Level Two in Horticulture
minimize the use of chemicals and pesticides wherever possible
prune shrubs in accordance with best practice for the health of the shrub and
to encourage flower production
arrange replacement planting of trees and shrubs
regularly maintain all machinery to manufacturers' recommendations. For
example - daily machine maintenance, full winter service by Derby City
Council's maintenance garage
recycle green waste produced
Markeaton Park has key horticultural features including:
A Walled Garden maintained by the Friends of Markeaton Park
A Rose Garden which has been adopted by Making Spaces and is also
known as the Capability Garden. The group meet twice a month on the first
and third Friday and provide support for people living with dementia, their
family and carers. They also hold events in the garden such as Remberance
Service, summer events.
Shrub beds at various locations around the park
Naturalised narcissus and crocus areas in various locations around the park
lake
Allotments
Young/mature tree areas.
Woodland area
Hedges
Grass Cricket pitch
Community Payback working alongside Markeaton Park
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9 hole Pitch and Putt Course/Footgolf/Disc Golf
The following facilities are maintained by the Streetpride Team:
Large open areas of park grassland.
Woodland area.
Shrub beds.
Hedges.
BMX track.
Children's play area surface
In addition, the Grounds Maintenance Team carries out the following duties:
Majority of grassed areas are mown every three weeks from mid-March to
mid-November.
Fertiliser applied to fine turf areas to maintain a healthy grass sward.
Weed killing around obstructions where necessary twice a year.
Path sweeping.
Maintenance before and after park events.
Emptying of litter bins.
The majority of green waste produced on the park is put through a shredding
machine on site and used as a mulch / soil improver. Leaves are composted at a
designated site, at another location within the city.
The watercourses are inspected annually by an engineer from the Council’s land
Drainage Team to ensure the channels remain clear and that there are no hazards
that could lead to flooding.
2.3.2 Maintenance and management of trees
The park contains a wide variety of trees including woodland belts, veteran Oaks,
common Beech, Hornbeam, and Yew trees. Historically, the woodland adjacent to
Recommendation
13. Increase cleaning of footpaths in heavily used locations where bird fouling is a problem
14. Annually promote responsible dog ownership on the park and regularly arrange visits from Public Protection Officers for monitoring.
15. Co-ordinate tasks for Grounds Maintenance, Community Payback and the Derby
Parks Volunteers to maximise opportunities.
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the Mundy Play Centre is known as Aldercar Wood. 50 metres from the main path
there is a collection of ancient trees and one of the Oaks is hollow and has been set
on fire and is known as the ‘Poachers Tree’. It was reputed to be where the
poachers would shelter and is perhaps 500 years old. The trees are managed in a
sensitive manner in accordance with the Council’s Tree Management Policy.
Tree waste produced by the above tasks are chipped and shredded on site to avoid
unnecessary waste going to landfill. Some of the larger pieces of timber are left in
situ to provide habitats for species which live in or on dead wood and some of the
wood has been used to create sculptures in the park as part of the developing arts
trail.
2.3.3 Maintenance of buildings
Markeaton Park includes a wide range of buildings in various states of use and
condition. Responsibility for the maintenance of buildings is split between different
parties. Day to day operations such as opening, testing, inspections and cleaning are
the responsibility of Community Leisure for the majority of the buildings with the
exception of those that are leased or let out to private residents and businesses.
The existing day to day operation management and maintenance is considered
adequate and fit for purpose.
The maintenance of the fabric of the buildings, all building services and major
structures such as boundary walls is the responsibility of the Council’s Maintenance
Section who control the budget and prioritises any repairs or maintenance work
needed.
The buildings and structures are:
Mundy Play Centre Ticket Office and toilet building
Mundy Play Centre kiosk (managed by Derby Live)
Craft Village – Craft Units, Community Room
Toilet block in Craft Village
Orangery Café
Pitch and Putt Hut
Famous Trains Building
Cycle Derby Shed*
Old toilet block at entrance to the park off A38 (condemned and on the list for
demolition)
boundary walls
Donkey shelter
2 x 9 hole Mini Golf Courses
boat house
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2.3.4 Maintenance of park infrastructure and hard landscape
Maintenance of the parks hard landscape features and equipment is reactive and is
prioritised depending on the nature of the work. All health and safety issues take
precedence and due to budget pressures there is not a planned programme of
maintenance work such as painting of street furniture and railings. Some painting
work is carried out by Community Payback each year.
Boundary walls and fences are inspected on an annual basis and any repairs
required on health and safety grounds are carried out as a priority.
Rangers, other Park staff and park users also identify any repair work needed and
these are passed to the Markeaton Park Development Officer to prioritise and action.
Some of this work is carried out by the Rangers during quiet periods.
Play Area
In accordance with current best practice, the play area and the skate park are
inspected on three levels:
A regular visual inspection carried out by the on-site Rangers who have
received training in basic playground inspection by ROSPA or an equivalent
course.
A monthly engineer’s inspection which is carried out by the City Council’s
Playground Technician.
An annual inspection by a suitably qualified and experienced consultant
All inspections and findings are recorded and filed for future reference. Works
arising from these inspections are actioned by the playground engineer or the
Landscape Team.
Lighting
‘Street’ lighting in the park is maintained by Balfour Beatty. Any defective or
damaged lights are reported by the on-site Ranger to the Markeaton Park
Recommendation
16. Renew markings on the ground throughout the Mundy Play Centre including the
edging to the Canoe pond.
17. Replace the safety surfacing to the bouncy castle compound.
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Development Officer. Timings on the lights in the main car park, alongside the duck
pond and in the Craft Village are all on timer and altered according to the seasons.
Paddling Pool
The qualified Ranger completes a daily inspection and cleans the pool every day.
This includes cleaning the base of the pool, litter picking, clearance of the drains, ,
checking the area for any obvious signs of glass or sharp objects and testing the
water quality for pH, free chlorine and combined chlorine.
Microbiological monitoring is also carried out twice a week to check the quality of the
water and the presence of any harmful micro-organisms.
To ensure water quality and the efficiency of filtration, the filters are backwashed at
least twice a day. To ensure a supply of disinfectant, contents of the acid and
chlorine tanks are checked at least three times a day.
At the end of the season, the Council’s pool plant maintenance contractors empty
the system and the circulation and chemical dosing plant are protected to ensure
there is no damage due to freezing over the winter months.
Before the season starts again, the pool is thoroughly cleaned, the plant equipment
is sterilised and microbiological tests are carried out by the Council’s pool plant
maintenance contractors.
Paddling Pool – Mundy Play Centre on a busy summer’s day
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Orangery Café and Mundy Play Centre Kiosk
Derby Live runs the Orangery Café and the Mundy Play Centre kiosk. Hot food is
available at the Orangery Café and the Mundy Play Centre kiosk serves ice-cream,
cake, confectionary and hot/cold drinks.
One ice-cream concession operates in the park and the licence is reviewed annually.
Additional catering is permitted for larger events and there is an agreed charges list
in place.
2.3.5 Site cleanliness, litter and waste management
Litter and dog fouling
Large capacity bins have been located in strategic places in the park. There are 240
litre bins housed in black metal casings in the historic core and 240 litre bins in
plastic housings in the Mundy Play Centre. A few smaller 10 litre bins remain but it is
the intention to ultimately remove these when funding allows.
1100litre bins are located at the entrance off Kedleston Road for Ranger use and these are used to remove the large quantity of waste which is generated particularly in the Mundy Play Centre and from litter clearance. While the park is generally clean and tidy, litter can be an issue on very busy days, although with the introduction of the new bigger capacity bins there are not usually any issues with overflowing bins and people leaving litter alongside bins. Dog fouling does occur but while it is not considered to be a significant problem it does require regular monitoring to ensure that it does not become a problem. Signage and park rangers encourage dog-owners to clear up dog mess while the Council promotes and sells collection bags to encourage owners to clean up. Regular campaigns also highlight owner’s responsibility to clean up any dog fouling. Graffiti and vandalism Graffiti is either removed or painted over as soon as possible after its appearance. Priority is given to offensive and obscene images or language on play equipment and other structures in the park. A level of graffiti is tolerated on the skate park, where it forms part of the culture, but anything deemed inappropriate is removed. Vandalism is dealt with as quickly as possible. Anything that may be unsafe is either removed or fenced off until it can be repaired or removed. While vandalism is not a big problem if not dealt with quickly it can lead to deterioration in the quality and appearance of the park.
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Cleansing
The Rangers carry out cleaning duties on site. This includes the cleaning of the
Ticket Office, toilets in the Mundy Play Centre and Craft Village. There is also a
cleaner employed by Derby Live who cleans the Community Room as required.
2.4 Environmental Management
Managing Environmental Impact
Extensive work is undertaken to reduce the Environmental Impact of Markeaton Park directly, but also the wider Council. This includes: 2.4.1 Energy Efficiency
The Council is gradually reducing energy use in buildings throughout the City and
Markeaton Park has benefited from this initiative. The toilet block in the Craft Village
which was built in 2014 uses energy saving measures. The Visitor Centre,
Community Room and additional Craft unit all benefit from extra insulation,
thermostat controlled heating, automatic lighting and so on. Heating, lighting and
machinery are only used when needed and turned off when not in use. This is
regulated by the close monitoring of the energy budget for the park.
The park has been fitted with exterior lighting columns in the Craft Village which are
designed using the latest technology with energy consumption being the lowest level
possible. A high efficiency fully modulating condensing boiler has been installed in
the kitchen of the Community Room and also in the Orangery Café.
2.4.2 Use of Resources Recycled paper issued on Markeaton Park and by the wider council which operates a wide range of electronic management systems. The recently completed Council House where the Parks team are based is a very modern workplace with mobile work stations and only a small locker for personal items. There is no capacity for
Recommendation
18. Phase out remaining 10 litre parks bins and replace with bigger capacity bins.
19. Install bin housing at the entrance to the park off Kedleston Road to improve the
pedestrian entrance to the park and security of the bins.
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paper storage and this system has substantially reduced the use of paper to a very minimal level. The Council specifies low energy standards on all new computers and monitors. Staff are encouraged to switch off monitors when not in use as this saves a lot more energy than putting it in hibernation mode. Any other electrical goods should also be switched off when not in use and at the end of the day.
2.4.3 Waste Management
Waste is currently stored in three areas of the park prior to disposal. The waste
produced in the Mundy Play Centre and from litter picking is contained in 1100 litre
bins and 360 bins at the Kedleston Road entrance and waste from the Orangery café
is contained in 1100 litre bins behind the toilet block in the Craft Village. A further bin
store area used by Grounds Maintenance can be found in the compound off the
main drive.
There are no recycling facilities on the park despite the large amount of litter that is generated on the park.
Where there are recycling facilities on other parks, there is an ongoing issue with contamination. A small group from the Parks Team are looking at ways to be greener across all the parks with the intention of using pilot schemes which if successful can be applied to other parks. Instead, currently where possible we aim to educate and encourage local residents to reduce, reuse and recycle. This is undertaken in a number of ways, mainly through working alongside the Recycling Team within Streetpride. The Recycling Team attend many of the events on Parks such as the Superhero Picnic in the Park and the Family Festivities Event. The aim is to spread the word and encourage as much recycling as possible. For further information on the campaign, please visit www.derby.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/recycling-rubbish-and- waste/education/. When litter picks are undertaken and where possible, materials are recycled. A campaign has also been undertaken to encourage people to take their litter home, both enabling items to be recycled in people’s domestic waste as well as reducing the litter issue on Parks. All employees and Councillors are encouraged to minimise waste, re-use materials or recycle where ever possible including recycling paper, toner/printer cartridges on the parks.
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2.4.4 Chemical Use Current Grounds Maintenance practices are regularly audited when herbicides are
used. The use of herbicides on Markeaton Park is for occasional path edging and
around obstacles such as benches and young trees. A strict no spraying policy has
been introduced within the Nature Area and herbicides are used as a last resort on
all remaining planted areas.
Grounds Maintenance managers are BASIS (British Agrochemical Standards Inspection Scheme) registered and no chemicals can be applied without their authority. All grounds maintenance personnel storing and using herbicides are trained to NPTC (National Proficiency Tests Council) standards and must complete a PA1 and PA6A course if using a hand held applicator and a PA2 course if using a mechanical sprayer. Training personnel in the storage, transportation, application and disposal of chemicals ensures the Council is fulfilling its legal requirement and a best practice approach. Herbicides have been used to help undertake a block control of difficult to reach Himalayan Balsam. This has been undertaken by a licenced operator. When Balsam is accessible by volunteers, this has been pulled by hand or strimmed. The materials are left in piles to rot onsite. The Friends of Markeaton Park and Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club do not use any herbicide or pesticide.
There is a problem with the water quality of Markeaton Brook which contains high
levels of nitrates that are washed down from agricultural areas upstream. The
effects are particularly noticeable on the canoe pond, which can suffer from algal
blooms. Each year barley straw is added to control the algae and in 2017 the canoe
pond was completely drained down and cleaned.
Recommendation
20. Explore opportunities to introduce waste recycling in the park on a pilot scheme.
21. Encourage greater responsibility by the public for removing their own litter to
either take home or deposit in the bins around the park.
Recommendation
22. Strictly regulate the use of herbicides.
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2.4.5 Peat Use Peat is not used on the park as soil improver or for growing plants on the park. All purchasing of plants and trees are sourced by the Grounds Maintenance team
which adheres to the Council's Environmental Policy 2005. Excess plant material is
sent to the nearby ‘Vital Earth’ recycling plant for processing and the resulting
compost is sold at local recycling centres at a discounted rate.
When sourcing materials for Markeaton Park, the Landscape Design Team uses
reputable suppliers for all materials, and fully considers the environmental impact of
the materials purchased. Forest Stewardship Council timber is used as standard
practice across the park and, where possible, recycled materials are used in hard
landscaping.
Wood mulch on shrub beds in the park
2.4.6 Climate Change Adaption Strategies Derby’s Climate Change Strategy Derby’s Climate Change Strategy sets out the City’s ambitions to embrace the challenges that climate change will bring in a proactive way. It acknowledges the severity and size of this issue, the impacts it is likely to have across the world and the role of humans in shaping our climate. The aim of the strategy is to address this global issue at a local level in a way which benefits people, the economy and the environment.
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The Strategy is a starting point for future action, providing a framework on which we can all work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, address challenges and opportunities that a changing climate may bring. The Strategy is made up of 6 core actions:
1. A thriving sustainable economy 2. Smarter travel options 3. Energy efficient homes 4. A secure local and renewable energy supply 5. Being prepared for a changing environment 6. An active community
As part of this strategy, there are a number of activities within Parks and the wider Grounds Maintenance Team which are contributing towards addressing these. This includes:
use of electric cars to travel around the city
council house is powered by Water turbine on the River Derwent and Solar Panels
conversion of street lighting to Led lighting, reducing electrical consumption whilst at the same time reducing light pollution.
preparing for environmental change. This has been of a particular impact on parks, with the extreme dry weather over the summer and wet weather over the winter.
. Nominated persons with overall responsibility for environmental management include
the Parks Development Manager and Community Parks Officers. All contractors
maintaining the park are made aware of the Council’s Environmental Policy.
The Council is continually measuring, recording and evaluating its environmental
performance, whether it is air quality monitoring or recording local wildlife
populations. Data collected from studies at Markeaton Park and neighbouring parks
across the city assists the Council in continually reviewing and seeking to improve its
environmental performance.
2.4.7 Woodland and Tree Management
More sustainable ways of managing the park are being practiced around the nature
area including meadow management where appropriate. This style of land
management not only provides environmental conservation benefits, but also
reduces the carbon footprint of a machine mowing the site every two weeks.
All Council vehicles are modern, state of the art machines, and range from 5% bio-
diesel to fully electric cars. All drivers have to take an eco-driving course to minimise
pollution generated by their vehicles and the Council is continually experimenting
with new pollution reduction technology. Hand or electric tools are used instead of
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petrol driven machinery, where appropriate, and all chainsaw oil used is now bio-
degradable. All staff working at Markeaton Park are aware of the facility to record
pollution incidents and complaints. Strict controls set out by the Council aim to
achieve no incidents or complaints.
2.4.8 Water Efficiency
The Council's Building Maintenance Section ensures all leaking taps are repaired
with extreme urgency. They also ensure all fixtures and appliances are water
efficient and, when updating these appliances, using the most up to date
technologies available. Push-down taps are widely used in the parks buildings,
reducing unnecessary water loss. Water bills are always monitored by Park
Managers to identify leaks and target inefficiencies.
There is no scheduled watering of permanent planting at Markeaton Park. Tree
replanting works take place during the autumn allowing new planting to establish
during the winter and early spring months before the onset of summer.
2.4.9 Air Quality
Derby City Council has a statutory duty for local air quality management (LAME)
under the Environment Act 1995. Regular reviews and assessments of air quality in
and around the Markeaton Park area are set against standards and objectives
prescribed in regulations for the purpose of local air quality management. Air quality
is a consideration in decision making across all departments in the Council.
It is widely accepted that green spaces in heavily built up areas act as a ‘green lung’
for the local community. Markeaton Park has a valuable mix of trees and shrubs
which help to improve local air quality as well as combating climate change.
Council employees are encouraged, where possible, to minimise vehicle journeys by
walking or cycling. The ‘cycle to work’ initiative has been designed to give all
employees a chance to purchase bikes at affordable rates and spread the cost over
several months. Many of the Park Rangers and other parks staff use bicycles to get
to and from work.
2.5 Conservation and Heritage
2.5.1 Management of Natural Features, Wild Fauna and Flora Markeaton Park is an important oasis of biodiversity within its immediate urban environment and many people visit the park not only for the range of facilities, but also to sample a semi-wild experience offered through the appreciation of various habitats and wildlife.
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The park is blessed with a number of core habitats such as the lake, brook, areas of woodland, rough grass and scrub. The area along the side of the Brook provides a valuable wildlife habitat. Animals more commonly seen in open countryside can be found within this part of the city, because the Book provides an important corridor through which wildlife can travel. Overall, the park is modestly equipped with a mosaic of habitats, providing food, water, shelter and breeding places for many species to co-exist. A typical improvement to an existing habitat to improve biodiversity is the installation of bird and bat boxes, and the creation of deadwood habitat piles for small mammals, amphibians, and invertebrates within the shelterbelt woods. There are few official records of fauna on Markeaton Park, however the Friends of Markeaton Park do have an interest in Nature Conservation and keep records of observations made by themselves as well as those reported by members of the public, in particular the birdlife. A bird walk is included on the Love Exploring app in the park and highlights 10 locations with birds that can be seen at each. There is also a Bird trail on the web site that can be downloaded. A wide range of bird species have been witnessed on site including species such as, Great spotted woodpecker, Green woodpecker, Jay, Kingfisher, Blackcaps and Grey heron, to name a few. Mammal records for the park include, Fox, Squirrel, Hedgehog, Mole, Field vole, and several species of Bats. The lake and brook with their associated vegetated margins are important sites for amphibians and aquatic life, providing habitat for fish such as Pike and Perch, amphibians such as Newt, Frog and Toad and invertebrates such as Dragonfly and Damselfly. With regard to Markeaton Park, the park’s value to wildlife has been recognised and action has been taken to conserve it. Bat boxes and bird boxes are located around the park and are monitored on a regular basis. Regular bat trappings sessions are organised with five species caught on the last occasion in 2019, which were: Soprano Pipistrelle, Common Pipistrelle, Daubenton's bat, Natterer's bat and Noctule. Unfortunately there were no trappings of the target species, the Serotine, but this bat was present (heard on bat detectors) at all three sessions. Flora associated with the river, includes brooklime, watercress and fools watercress, whilst the banks are dominated by tall grasses such as Reed canary-grass, false oat grass and cock’s foot, and herbs of nettle, hogweed, knapweed, comfrey, tansy and Himalayan balsam. Patches of bramble are also to be found, and occasional hard brush, meadow crane’s bill and cow parsley. Himalayan balsam an invasive exotic, has also developed along the watercourse and control of this this on a seasonal basis is a common task for ‘Friends’ groups across the city, where their sites include watercourses. The continued increase of invasive crayfish populations is becoming a major threat to the natural ecosystems throughout the UK, yet there is little progress in the
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containment and prevention of further population establishments. It is for this reason that a joint project was launched in 2018 with the National Trust, Derby University and Derby City Council. The native Austropotamobius pallipes is predicted to go extinct within the next half-century. A local Derbyshire population located at Kedleston Hall is on the forefront of the extinction with the invasive Pacifastacus leniusculus looming a couple of miles downstream. Obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the current invasive crayfish situation through population demographics has allowed a targeted approach to be made to prevent the extinction of the indigenous species. A large-scale data collection was conducted in 2018 and 2019 allowing for a repeat mark-recapture study to be completed. Results indicated that a population of 989 adult P. leniusculus (2019 data) currently resides within Markeaton Lake. This is known to be infected with the crayfish plague Aphanomyces astaci, a disease to which could potentially wipe out the entire native population found upstream. Management strategies were therefore conducted such as castration of males and the removal of females. This was targeted at reducing the population directly and to prevent further growth. Following the completion of this study, it has been agreed that the project will continue in 2020 and subject to funding in future years to ensure invasive population control, and to guarantee the preservation of the threatened native species.
Recommendations
23. Identify new opportunities to work in partnership to improve the wildlife in the
park
24. Continue to work with National Trust and Derby University to manage the
crayfish plague in Markeaton Lake.
Markeaton Lake Markeaton Brook
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2.5.2 Conservation of Heritage
Markeaton Park is an important historic park of regional and local significance. Its heritage value includes a historical designed landscape with a variety of different features, natural and wildlife value and social value. A separate Conservation Management Plan has been prepared for the park that is the guiding document for the conservation of the heritage of the park and should be referred to for a full understanding of the history of the park, its heritage value and the guiding principles for its restoration, improvement and management of its heritage. Markeaton Park is valued by users for its value for wildlife and nature, as demonstrated by the large number of people who are involved in recording its natural features. The heritage value of the park as a designed historical landscape is less clear. While there are a number of individuals who show considerable interest in the history of the park and hall. The archeological remains of the old Hall have prompted more interest and the Friends of Markeaton regularly include history walks in their programme of activities. An arts trail is currently being developed for inclusion on the Love Exploring app and it is intended to encourage the creation of a History Group dedicated to bringing the history of the park alive.
2.5.3 Cultural Landscapes
A full description of the history of the park is set out in the Conservation Management Plan, including historic Ordnance Survey maps and images showing how the park has changed over time. Since the Roman period Markeaton Park has been regionally significant. The clues to the development of the present day parkland can be read on the ground or interpreted from documentary research, aerial photographs and from the sequence of maps of the area. The earliest historical records start with the line of the old Roman Road. The later medieval route of the Derby to Ashbourne road can still be traced in the park, its significance enhanced by the fact it was used by Bonnie Prince Charlie on his march to and from Derby. Further historical traces of the working origins of the park can be seen at the former mill site in the centre of the park, a good local example of early industrial history associated with the agricultural development of the estate. There are also remains of ridge and furrow, indicating the use of the park for arable agriculture preceding the enclosures of the mid to late eighteenth century. More radical change to the landscape of Markeaton occurred in the late eighteenth century with the building of a new Hall and significant improvements to the grounds, replacing an earlier medieval hall and grounds. What is now considered to be the historic core of the park, including the Grade II listed orangery was built at that time and the parkland was landscaped in the natural style as promoted by William Emes. While Markeaton Hall was demolished in 1964, recent archaeological excavations
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have confirmed that the footprint of the foundations to the Hall are still in place, and the setting of the building in the parkland landscape can still be imagined today. Whilst the park is not a recorded example of Emes work, he was one of the many artistic associations between the Mundy family and the influential personalities in Derby at that time, such as Erasmus Darwin, Joseph Wright of Derby and Joseph Pickford. The artistic and aesthetic significance is therefore the creation and management of a designed landscape that draws on many of the aesthetic, scientific and philosophical ideas of the time. The pleasure grounds surrounding the Hall continued to be developed in the 19th century and it is a good example of an attractive semi-formal park where people continue to promenade and enjoy the spectacle of mature trees and planting. The special heritage value to the local community is the continuity and familiarity of the park over time and the strong association the park has with people’s daily lives, and the capacity for the park to adapt to changing needs and demands of the users into the 21st century. The 20th century saw the start of the public park making phase, initiated in 1903 with a gift from Emily Mundy of 6 acres in the north east corner of the park for the purpose of providing ‘a park or playground for young children’. This was to form the beginning of what became later known as Mundy Play Centre. After her death in 1929 the remainder of the 80 hectare park was either gifted or sold to the City Council for the express purpose of recreation and open space for the people of Derby in 1930. This unique transfer of the former estate for recreation uses during a time of economic uncertainty is still benefiting local people today and has fulfilled the initial vision of the former owners. Further changes came when the park was used as an army camp in the Second World War, providing another layer of history that while utilitarian in character, do represent a significant heritage period in living memory within the park. The surviving buildings and hard surfaced areas have been adapted for current use
Markeaton Old Hall, demolished in 1964
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2.5.4 Water Management
Markeaton Lake is one of the focal water features on Markeaton Park, adding greatly
to the park’s overall landscape interest. It is very important for its wildlife, historical,
geological and also its present day amenity value. The lake is used from Easter to
October for rowing boats and pedalos and is managed and fished throughout the
year by the Earl of Harrington Angling Club, The Derby Parks Volunteers (DPV) and
Earl of Harrington have carried out various conservation and construction tasks
during 2018/19. Works have included improving the lakeside habitat by adding pre
planted coir rolls and weaving hazel stems to protect the bank and further work is
planned.
Volunteer work – Markeaton Lake Markeaton Lake – Pedalo’s
Recommendation
25. Protect the Yew trees alongside the Craft Village.
26. Develop a History Group as a sub group to the Friends of Markeaton Park.
27. Engage with the public and provide more information on the heritage of the park
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Markeaton Brook is fed from the north and runs through the City. It is open through
until Ford Street and is then culverted through to Bass’s Recreation Ground where it
joins the River Derwent. The Brook is officially classed as a River by the
Environment Agency who maintains it. The City Council have the riparian rights and
therefore the Senior Technician for Water and Flood Management carries out twice
yearly inspections of the banks which run through Markeaton Park.
He looks for pollution, erosion of the banks, fallen trees and anything that could
affect the flow of water. The water flow can be controlled at the Mundy Play Centre
where flood water can be diverted to the northern flood relief culvert which is located
just off the Mundy Play Centre car park and was built in the 1930’s.
The canoe pond is the focal point of the Mundy Play Centre. It is used by the
Markeaton Boat Club on a weekly basis and for events. From Easter through to
October the canoes operated by the Ranger staff are in the water and are very
popular with young park visitors.
Canoe Pond – Mundy Play Centre
.
Recommendations
28. Continue to work with volunteers to survey, promote and undertake management work to improve biodiversity and support its protection.
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2.6 Community Involvement
2.6.1 Community engagement and volunteering
It is important that the wider community is actively involved in the management of the
park and that there are processes in place to engage with park users. Community
engagement is recognised as a priority for Derby Parks.
Friends of Markeaton Park (FoMP)
The Friends of Markeaton Park (FoMP) was founded in 2008 with the purpose of
helping to improve the amenities and to provide activities to enhance the public
enjoyment of the Park.
Initial activities included balsam pulling, litter picking and maintenance of the rockery
off the terrace. Other activities such as veteran tree counting, pond dipping, bird
walks, fungus forays were added.
In 2014 the Friends Group were granted a 3 year lease on the Walled Garden and
as part of the Heritage Lottery works the Bothy was restored. In 2018 they were
granted a 10 year lease to give them the stability required to apply for various
funding streams that required a longer lease.
The Garden provides volunteers with the opportunity to gain new skills, be active and
get involved with the park.
The Walled Garden is open throughout the year on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday
morning and Saturday and Sunday.
Everyone is welcome. Fruit and vegetables are grown for sale and visitors can enjoy
a wonder round or just a chance to relax in the tranquillity of the garden. The group
have a high profile presence on the park and organise a range of events from history
and bird walks, to Craft Fairs and there big annual event in the summer. .
The group have obtained charity status and the Registered Charity Number
1168828.
The stated objectives of the group are:
1 To promote the conservation and protection of Markeaton Park, Derby,
and Derbyshire for the benefit of the local community and visitors, in
particular by managing and restoring the Victorian Walled Garden.
2 To advance education in environmentally friendly gardening skills and
horticulture and by providing guided walks, workshops and
conservation projects, which will raise awareness of environmental
issues; and
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3 To provide or assist in the provision of facilities in the interests of social
welfare for recreation for other leisure time occupation of individuals
who have need f such facilities by reason of their youth, age infirmity or
disability, financial hardship or social circumstances with the object of
improving their conditions in life
Friends of Markeaton Park Open Day
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The Friends of Markeaton Park are the main route for volunteers to engage with the
park. The group offer a varied selection of activities dependent upon interests and
these can range between:
Volunteer in the community garden
Organising and delivering park events
Craft activities in the park
Meeting and greeting park users with a smile
Applying for external funding
There are also ‘one off’ volunteering sessions for groups of no more than 20 either
in the Walled Garden or the wider park for groups (employers, Brownies,
Schools,etc) .
The Friends Group keep a record of the volunteer hours and these are included in
the Derby City Council volunteering statistics and are a useful record when applying
for funding to demonstrate the level of commitment and the contribution the group
make to the park. Average volunteer hours are around 1,200 hours every quarter.
The group have been successful in obtaining funding since their inception, and have
had success in applying for supermarket ‘bag scheme’ funds, allowing them to make
extensive improvements to the garden with the aim of making it fully accessible.
The Markeaton Park Development Officer plays a key role in maximising
opportunities to involve the community including facilitating events and developing
partnership opportunities.
Discussions and meetings are taking place with Derby University to develop
partnership opportunities and projects which range from ‘one off’ sessions to long
term projects. This have more recently included projects with Business students who
are looking at the A38 mitigation, art for the park and work with their marketing
students.
Making Spaces have taken on a three year licence, following an initial 2 year project
to adopt the Rose Garden and this is now referred to as the Capability Garden.
Making Spaces support people with living with dementia, their carer’s and families.
They meet twice monthly from March to October on the first and third Friday from
10.00 – 12.00 am and as the weather permits once a month from November to
February on the first Friday.
The Group are improving the garden with planting of new plants within a new
planting scheme and also commissioned a piece of art, an allium flower head made
of metal which depicts the brain and the cells dying off.
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Three wood sculptures have also been added to the garden, these include two
butterflies and a bumble bee and the garden is much loved, providing a place of
peace and tranquillity and contemplation.
As a result of this project Making Spaces have been nominated for awards and are
working to identify opportunities to bring more to the garden.
A programme of events has also been developed to engage with the families and
these include a Remembrance Service and other events which utilise the Community
Room in the Craft Village.
Fresh air and physical activity are a proven means of maintaining health and
wellbeing.
The Capability Garden encourages ownership of the garden and a connection with
the park.
Markeaton Park is generally viewed as a city park serving the whole of Derby and
wider afield. While there are a number of neighbouring and identifiable communities
that would view Markeaton as their local park, there are no single identifiable
communities that would view Markeaton as their local park.
Recommendations
29. Promote a sense of ownership and pride in the park
30. Ensure a programme of events is delivered to encourage community
involvement
31. Identify and apply for sources of external funding to support continued
investment in the park
There are other opportunities to engage and volunteer on the park and these
include:
Volunteering Opportunities
Friends of Markeaton Park – the Friends Group encourage anyone to come along
and help out in the garden. This is a great opportunity to learn and be active and to
be part of a friendly and supportive group.
Derby Parks Volunteers (DPV)
Derby Parks Volunteers were set up in 2015 after The Conservation Volunteers
(TCV formally BTCV) Derby Branch closed down. The group meets on Tuesdays
and Wednesdays throughout the year and carry out a whole host of activities from
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access improvements to hedge laying. More information about the group can be
found on their website.
The Derby Parks Volunteers (DPV) have carried out various conservation and
construction tasks which have included improving the lakeside habitat by adding pre
planted coir rolls and weaving hazel stems to protect the bank, constructing two new
dipping platforms along the brook, planting standard parkland trees, balsam bashing
and footpath construction/improvements.
A quarterly of programme of works is developed for all the parks and each year
Markeaton is considered for a variety of works.
Markeaton Park has benefits from skilled Derby Parks Volunteer time equating to
thousands of pounds for any match funding for grant applications. Their work is
always to a high standard and the dedication to each task is exemplary.
Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club
The Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club is a not-for-profit organisation who runs the
club solely for their members. The Earl of Harrington lease five waters in the City,
including Markeaton Park Lake and as part of the conditions, they provide volunteer
Baliff patrols. This generally involves three volunteers each month for around 27
hours. They also carry out maintenance works to the banks, planting and manage
the fish stocks. www.theearlofharringtonsac.co.uk
Famous Trains Model Railway
The Famous Trains Model Railway is a registered charity and is located in a large
refurbished WW2 building off the main car park and provides an opportunity for
visitors to learn about the history of the railway with a 00 scale layout based on the
Chinley Station in Derbyshire. Famous Trains is open 150 days a year (every
Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm) and is operated purely by
volunteers who are able to enjoy developing the track and trains and encouraging
the visitors to engage with the model railway. www.famoustrainsderby
Parkrun – weekly throughout the year
Markeaton Parkrun is one of the biggest Parkrun events in the East Midlands and
requires around 45 volunteers each week acting as safety marshals to facilitate the
event. New volunteers are always encouraged and some of the volunteers are able
to complete their Duke of Edinburgh badges as a result of this volunteering
opportunity.
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Ad hoc Volunteering projects
The Markeaton Park Development Officer is keen to accept help/volunteers from all
sectors and develops projects to accommodate requests from organisations which
have in the past included National Grid who carried out a variety of tasks in the park
over two days, including installing a new path to divert park users to help prevent
compaction of the root system of the yew trees along a desire line next to the Craft
Village.
Other opportunities have been accommodated by the Friends Group in the Walled
Garden and this has included Toyota sending a group of apprentices for a week to
carry out a variety of tasks to improve the garden.
National Grid Volunteers
Volunteer Parkrun marshals
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Derby Green Spaces Forum
In June 2013 the Derby Green Spaces Forum was formed with just a few members.
The forum was set up to allow friends and community groups to share knowledge,
experiences and best practice about their local parks, open spaces and nature
reserves. Since the inaugural meeting, the forum now host over 20 friends and
community groups and has been recognised nationally by the Love Parks Team. An
Annual Award evening is held at the University of Derby each year and the
University have become a key partner to the forum. The Friends of Markeaton Park
are regular attendees of the forum and often host the meetings.
2.6.2 Activities and Events
Markeaton Park is a regional park which hosts over 100 events each year. The park
continues to attract new events each year and has a high profile. Events range from
small scale community events to large events attracting thousands of people. The
park has great facilities, easy access and a central location.
The Community Leisure Team has an officer dedicated to the booking of events on
parks and for event management and works closely with the Markeaton Park
Development Officer to develop the events programme. The officer communicates
clearly with event organisers to ensure events are well planned and aspects, such as
health and safety, site access, trading laws, insurance, equipment hire, emergency
planning and site clearance are addressed. There is a formal procedure for booking
events on parks which ensures the Council can retain an appropriate level of control
regarding which events take place on parks and also ensures they are delivered to a
high standard.
Event Programme for 2018/19 – generating an income of £37,420.42
Directly plus additional income and benefits to the park
A Wild Walk
Allotment Networking Event
Baby Reflexology Workshop
Bat Trapping
Big Fun Run and Dog Jog 2018
Bike Marking/Security Advice With Local Police
Bumble Bee ID Training
Bumble Bee Survey
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Capability Garden Event
Capability Garden Remembrance Event
Capability Garden Wimbledon Theme
Colour Dash
Colour Dash 5K
Colour Rush 2018
Crayfish Project
Cricket Match
Cycle Derby Cyclo Cross
Cycle Derby Notts and Derby Cyclo Cross
Cycle Derby Sportive 2018
Cycle Sportive September 2018
Derby Colour Run 2018
Derby Fake Festivals
Derby Model Boat Club 2017/2018
Derby Model Boat Summer Regatta
Derby Model Boat Venetian Night
Derby Sketching Club Art Exhibition 2018
Derby University Consultation
Derby West Urban Orienteering
Derby Yoga Festival
Derwent Art Group
Designasaur Workshops
Destination Derby - Arriva Eco-Bus Launch
Dig for Victory 2018
Eventive Funfair Summer Fair 2018
Eventive Funtime 2018
Family Festivities 2018
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FOMP - Bat Walk at Markeaton Park
FOMP Bird Walks for Beginners
FOMP Craft Fair
FOMP Meetings 2018
FOMP Pond Dipping at Markeaton Park
Gayton Junior School
Giles Davies Art Workshop
Giles Davies Workshop
Giles Davis Design Workshop 2018
Harrington Nursery School
Harrington Nursery School
Inspiring Derby Week 2018
Internal Parks Bookings
Jingle Jog 2018
Jumping Clay Bookings
Junior Park Run 2018/2019
Livewell
Markeaton Park Outdoor Cinema 2018
Marketing Internal Meetings
Mayors Charity Car Show 2018
National Allotment Association
Nordic Walking Leader Training Day
North Midlands Cross Country League 2018
Notts and Derby Cyclo Cross 2018
Open Meeting
Outdoor Events Internal Meetings 2018
Park Run 2018/2019
Parks Department Bookings
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Parks Events Internal Meetings 2018
Pretty Muddy & Race for Life 2018
Rainbows Bubble Rush 2018
Resolution Run - 5K and 10K
Ripplez
Romeo and Juliet
Royal School For The Deaf 2018
Run And Talk - Mental Health
Squashbox Theatre
SSP Cyclo X Inter Schools Competition
Starlight Trail Relays
Step Up Beat Hate
Sunnyside Spencer Academy
Superhero Picnic 2018
The Football Association
The Tempest
University Of Derby - Geo Science Student Induction
University Of Derby Filming
Willington Art & Craft Group Exhibition
Yoga Day
In addition to these events, there is Park Run every Saturday throughout the year
which attracts over 600 runners each week and is one of the most popular Parkrun’s
in the East Midlands with around 45 volunteers each week giving their time to
facilitate this event. In addition there is a Junior Park Run each week in the park on
a Sunday.
The Parks Newsletter and Facebook page advertise all park events along with the
web site.
Recommendation
33. Continue to develop and support the range of events and activities taking place on Markeaton Park.
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2.6.3 Public consultation
Extensive public consultation regarding the park has been carried out over a number
of years and has helped build a detailed picture and data base of a general and
detailed understanding of:
Who uses the park, why, what for, when and for how long?
Perceptions of the park and its facilities
Establish current and future needs and demands
Feedback on the improvements.
It is important that the consultation carried out is used to benchmark and provide a
baseline against which improvements to the management, maintenance and
development of Markeaton Park can be monitored and measured and in order to do
this an annual consultation is carried out with the Reach Out Panel.
In addition University students carry out an annual consultation. They also do a
presentation to the Markeaton Park Development Officer as part of the project and
highlight any ideas for improving the park.
2.6.4 Community and educational use
The park is regularly used by school parties for ad hoc visits and some use the
Community Room, which can be used for them to meet or use as part of the visit, or
indoor classroom use. Livewell regularly use the park to deliver sessions to groups
of people who are made up of self-referrals or GP referrals. The purpose is to
support and educate people to lose weight, stop smoking and lead a healthier
lifestyle.
The Skyline course offers sessions for schools and organisations to facilitate team
building and the course is complimented by the on-site orienteering course and path
network of identified run and walk routes.
Cycle Derby are based in the Park in one of the old WW2 buildings adjacent to the
main drive and offer a range of Adult lessons, Inclusive sessions and learn to ride for
kids.
The sessions are 1 -1 using a specially adapted fleet of bikes catering for all ages
and abilities.
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Recommendation
32. Develop and encourage increased use of the park for educational use and activity. 33. Work with Derbyshire County Council to explore forest school opportunity for the park. .
2.7 Marketing and Communications
Markeaton Park hosts a wide variety of events throughout the year, ranging from
small community led activities to large organised events attracting thousands of
visitors. Derby City Council acknowledges the value of all these events by ensuring
they are planned well and promoted to the public. In addition to the promotion of
formal events, the Council, in partnership with other organisations, ensures there is
relevant, well designed and interesting information on the park which promotes the
variety of visitor facilities available and provides interpretation about the valuable
features of the park, such as its designated nature area.
2.7.1 Marketing Team
The Leisure, Culture and Tourism Section have a dedicated marketing team which
supports the Parks team. They promote facilities and activities for people in the city
via posters, leaflets, website and social media.
The Leisure Events page is updated on a regular basis to promote events on parks
and open spaces across Derby. This page receives a high volume of hits. This is
used as the main promotional source for parks events.
The Marketing team work with Derby Live to put parks events into the Derby Live
‘What’s on Guide’ which is published on a quarterly basis. . This reaches thousands
of people on the Derby Live database.
The team also attend a number of events during the year to promote the service.
Events are tweeted, put on the Parks Facebook page, put into internal newsletters,
incorporated in the Markeaton Park leaflet and some key some key events are also
advertised on banners and on head holds which are in the park in the lead up to
events. .
We now have a monthly Leisure Events Newsletter which is sent out to a large data
base by email. The events are also promoted on the Visit Derby website. In 2018/19
we had over 100 events that took place on Markeaton Park. A range of Community
Leisure publications are produced, including the Community Leisure Activity Guide,
which promotes the whole leisure offer, including parks, and is widely distributed
across the City. Markeaton Park is highlighted within this and a leaflet specifically for
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Markeaton Park is produced once a year and distributed by an agency across the
East Midlands and included in leaflets racks across Derby and Derbyshire.
Opportunities for promotion through external advertisers are utilised where possible
and opportunities are taken to cross-sell the service. The Team link with the
corporate design team, to ensure promotional material adheres to the corporate
guidelines.
The Marketing Team meet with the Markeaton Park Development Officer and
Outdoor Events Officer on a monthly basis and review current work plans and inform
forward planning of future marketing activity.
2.7.2 Marketing Strategy for Community Leisure
Markeaton Park is part of an overall marketing strategy for Community Leisure and
there is a specific Marketing Plan in place for the park. As a department, the
marketing aims are to:
promote key parks across the city and the variety of different facilities on offer
within them
use and promote individual events and activities to raise awareness on the
facilities on offer
encourage people into our parks, creating a sense of pride, ownership and
active living
contribute to meeting the city councils corporate objectives
2.7.3 Marketing material available for Markeaton Park
There is an existing range of marketing material which is available for Markeaton
Park. This includes:
Welcome boards to the park.
Markeaton Park Leaflet, providing information on the types of facilities and
includes a map of the park.
Corporate brochure
Issuing of press releases and publicity
Facebook and twitter postings
Over the last few years, Social media has become an increasingly important information channel to get the message across to local people visiting Markeaton Park. Derby Parks Team manages and maintains the Derby Parks Twitter and Facebook page with an ever increasing number of people subscribing to the pages. At the present time this is 6060 ‘followers’ on Facebook and 844 ‘followers’ on Twitter.
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In addition, the Friends of Markeaton Park Friends also have a presence on Facebook. As well as through the City Council’s https://www.derby.gov.uk/report-it/ website, this enables people to get in contact with the Parks Team directly to ask questions and raise concerns. The links with Social Media messages to get across directly to local people. Derby Parks is also represented on the following website - https://www.inderby.org.uk/parks/ . The aim of this website is to be a one-stop shop for the Leisure, Culture and Tourism Section of Derby City Council. The website provides details on each key park within the city, including Markeaton Park. The team are working continuously towards improving the website and keep it up to date. The Friends of Markeaton Park also have their own website which promotes all the
activities that they arrange.
Markeaton has achieved a certificate of excellence for three years running and is
now in the Hall of Fame. Here are some extracts from Trip Advisor.
“Park is situated on the edge of Derby. Parking at the Mundy play centre. Lots to
do in season with a large play area and a boating lake. In the winter nice paths to
wander around and waterfowl to watch on the lake. You can see the site of the Old
Markeaton Hall and wander round the craft centre.”
4* Rating
. . .
“A big, green oasis in the city.”
5* Rating
Derby Park’s Facebook page
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Recommendations
34. Continue to develop online information for the web pages to promote the park
and link all activities, events and information including Friends of Markeaton Park
website.
35. Ensure regular use of social media, Facebook and Twitter as an effective
channel of communication
36. Provide information about the park including activities, facilities, volunteer
opportunities, interpretation and management using a variety of different means
and channels of communication
2.7.4 Poster/Banner display areas
There is display of notices in the Community Room in the Craft Village, along with
advertising frames in the toilets in the Mundy Play Centre and in the Craft Village.
Notices are displayed on the backs of the doors and as you enter. There are also
notice boards in the Orangery Café, and the Friends Group have notices displayed
at the entrance to the Walled Garden and in a framed noticeboard under the arched
entrance to the Craft Village.
Banners are also displayed on the tennis courts of the main car park and in the
Mundy Play Centre, both of which are high profile locations.
Recommendations
37. Promote advertising opportunities to generate income for the park.
2.7.5. Park Rangers
The Park Rangers at Markeaton Park are extremely knowledgeable about many
aspects of the park including the history of the park, the wildlife that inhabits the park
and will answer questions from members of public. The Rangers wear an
identifiable uniform and there is an on-site Ticket Office in the Mundy Play Centre
where the Rangers are based.
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Ranger end of season social
Casual Rangers are employed to work during the busy season, which includes
Easter and the summer holidays. At the end of each season in September the
Markeaton Team get together for a social activity. Prior to the social evening
everyone is invited to provide feedback and this is used to inform the planning for the
following season.
2.7.6 Media Coverage
Many of the events that take place on the park attract media coverage on the park
and it is becoming more of a regular request for film crews to visit. BBC Radio Derby
regularly visits the park and does outside broadcasts.
Press releases are used on occasions to highlight projects and the response is
generally very good resulting in media covering and often radio interviews.
National Initiatives
The value of Markeaton Park has been promoted since 2016 with a further event
planned in 2020 or the Greenspace’s Love Parks Week which takes place in July
each year. . Greenspace encourages those involved with parks and open spaces to
host events to promote the value of parks to the public and to provide an opportunity
for the public to get involved with their local park. The event has been themed
Superhero Picnic in the Park and is used to raise the Green Flag following the
announcements of the results and to maximise publicity.
Recommendation
38. Encourage constructive feedback to develop facilities on the park.
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Superhero Picnic in the Park
2.8 Management
2.8.1 Implementation of Management Plan The recommendations set in out in previous sections have been used to develop a proposed 5 year Action Plan that sets out the actions required to improve the quality of Markeaton Park. The Action Plan sets out the recommendations along with more detailed actions identified to date that need to be implemented in order to deliver the recommendations. Further actions may need to be added against the recommendations as work on the delivery of the plan progresses to take account of changing circumstances. The Action Plan is about delivering real improvements to the park that will benefit users and encourage increased use of the park. The Plan is to be used to generate an Annual Work Plan that will deliver those actions identified for the forthcoming year. The annual work plan will need to be flexible enough to enable it to respond to changing political and financial priorities and circumstances. It therefore needs to be prepared during October to November as part of the Council’s business planning and budget setting process for the forthcoming financial year.
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The delivery of the Action Plan will require a mix of existing and additional resources. To assist with the future development of Markeaton Park, a SWOT analysis has been undertaken to look at the opportunities, strengths, potential threats and the weaknesses to be addressed. This has helped the development of the Action Plan.
Strengths Weaknesses
Excellent commitment and involvement from the voluntary groups undertaking events, activities and improvements into the park
Some facilities are coming towards the end of their life and in need of replacing
Working with partners to maximise opportunities
Well used and regionally respected park
Opportunities Threats
Partnership working with Derby University
Impact of the A38 improvement works (to be confirmed in August 2020 and work to be carried out from 2021 – 2024. Mitigation options which may lead to reduced visitor numbers.
Lack of finance, possible future reductions to the parks and grounds maintenance budgets
Explore further opportunities for the voluntary groups to work together
Funding raising activities with the support of the various groups involved in the site
Where possible the resources have been identified and include:
1. Existing revenue including existing staff time 2. Additional revenue – new sources of revenue to be identified 3. Other capital that needs to be secured, either through external funding
applications or as part of the Council’s capital allocation process 4. Partnership funding where partners would provide some or all of the
funding 5. needed to deliver the recommendation
2.8.2 Responsibility The Action Plan has been drawn up in consultation with the key stakeholders and user groups on Markeaton Park. The Plan identifies responsibility for delivering against the recommendation. Responsibility has been given either as a Section, team, and individual post within the Council or as a User/stakeholder organisation. Named individuals are not given. Where a section is named the Head of Service has overall responsibility for delivery
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but on the ground delivery will require actions by staff across all the service area teams. Where a team is named the team manager has overall responsibility for delivery but on the ground delivery will require actions by staff across that team. Where an individual post is named that post holder has specific responsibility for delivering that action either as part of their job description or the action requires a person at that particular level to deliver the action.
2.8.3 Action Plan Aim Lead Group Action Date/Year Progress Completion
Stage*
No. Welcoming Place 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
1
Implement recommendations of the accessibility survey identifying funding as required.
DCC Parks Quick wins have been implemented and further discussions are ongoing
2 Install new signage in the Mundy Play Centre
DCC Parks and Marketing Team
Draft signage has been created
3
Identify funding to resurface the
path near the tennis courts following
issues with run of.
DCC Parks Potentially some Section 106 money which will become available
4
Work with the Derby Park
Volunteers to improve the draining
on key areas around the park.
DCC Parks Work is scheduled with the Derby Parks Volunteers
5 Review brown signs information with a view to adding the Craft Village
DCC and Highways England
Healthy, Safe and Secure
6 Implement annual defect repair programme following inspections.
DCC Parks
7
Demolish the old toilet block to
improve the entrance to the park
DCC Parks working with Highways England
Potential to be included as part of A38 improvement
works
8
Identify funding to replace the
paddling pool in the in the Mundy
Play Centre
DCC and DCC Parks as well as other key stakeholders
Highlighted to senior management
9
Identify funding to make one of the
disabled toilets in the Mundy Play
Centre into a Changing Places
toilet.
DCC Parks and key stakeholders
Currently obtaining quotations
10
Install a defibrillator in the Mundy
Play Centre
DCC Parks Derby Model Boat Club have agreed to fund defibrillator
11
Consider management of vehicular movement across the park during busy periods, including restricting delivery times to the craft village and cafe. Seek to reduce conflicts between maintenance vehicles and public.
DCC Parks, Craft Village tenants Derby Streetpride and other partners
12
Continue and develop partnership
working to tackle ASB issues.
All park partners
Clean and Well Maintained
13
Increase cleaning of footpaths in heavily used locations where bird fouling is a problem
DCC Parks rangers, maintenance and Community Payback
14 Annually promote responsible dog ownership on the park and regularly arrange visits from Public Protection
DCC Parks working alongside DCC’s Communications
Press release planned for early 2020
Officers for monitoring. team and Public Protection Officers.
15
Co-ordinate tasks for Grounds Maintenance, Community Payback and the Derby Parks Volunteers to maximise opportunities.
DCC Parks
16
Renew markings on the ground throughout the Mundy Play Centre including the edging to the Canoe pond.
DCC Parks Quotation being obtained
17
Replace the safety surfacing to the bouncy castle compound.
DCC Parks Quotation obtained – work to carried out in April 2020
18 Phase out remaining 10 litre parks bins and replace with bigger capacity bins.
DCC Parks and Grounds Maintenance
Subject to funding availability
19
Install bin housing at the entrance to the park off Kedleston Road to improve the pedestrian entrance to the park and security of the bins.
DCC Parks following on from funding availability
Design prepared – subject to funding availability
Environmental Sustainability
20
Explore opportunities to introduce waste recycling in the park on a pilot scheme.
DCC Parks A small group has been formed to explore options
21
Encourage greater responsibility by
the public for removing their own
litter to either take home or deposit
in the bins around the park.
DCC Parks and Communications team
22 Strictly regulate the use of Grounds
herbicides. Maintenance
Conservation and Heritage
23
Identify new opportunities to work in
partnership to improve the wildlife in
the park.
DCC Parks and Friends group
24
Continue to work with National Trust
and Derby University to manage the
crayfish plague in Markeaton Lake.
DCC Parks, University of Derby and National Trust. *subject to funding
Plans in place for 2020
25
Protect the Yew trees alongside the
Craft Village.
DCC Parks and Grounds Maintenance
Tree maintenance team to monitor
26
Develop a History Group as a sub
group to the Friends of Markeaton
Park.
DCC Parks A small number of people have committed and the first meeting will take place in May. Posters currently in Markeaton Park and other key local locations
27
Engage with the public and provide
more information on the heritage of
the park
DCC Parks, Markeaton History Group and Friends Group
28
Continue to work with volunteers to
survey, promote and undertake
management work to improve
biodiversity and support its
DCC Parks, Friends Group, University of Derby, Bat Conservation Group and RSPB
protection.
Community Involvement
29
Promote a sense of ownership
and pride in the park.
DCC, DCC Parks, Friends Group, Markeaton History Group and partners
There is a real sense of pride in the park and it hosts a regular community of users e.g. Parkrun and dog walkers
30
Ensure a programme of events is delivered to encourage community involvement.
DCC, DCC Parks and partners
Full programme of events for 2020
31
Identify and apply for sources of external funding to support continued investment in the park
DCC Parks and Friends Group
32
Develop and encourage increased use of the park for educational use and activity.
DCC Parks, Derbyshire County Council and Friends Group
33
Work with Derbyshire County Council to explore forest school opportunity for the park
DCC Parks and Derbyshire County Council
Working with Derbyshire County Council’s Outdoor Education team
Marketing and Communications
34
Continue to develop online
information for the web pages to
promote the park and link all
activities, events and information
DCC, Friends Group and Communications team
including Friends of Markeaton
Park website
35
Ensure regular use of social
media, Facebook and Twitter as
an effective channel of
communication.
DCC Parks and Communications team
DCC’s Communication team and parks officers regularly update social media for the public
36
Provide information about the park including activities, facilities, volunteer opportunities, interpretation and management using a variety of different means and channels of communication
DCC Parks, DCC, Friends Group, Markeaton History Group and partners
37
Promote advertising opportunities to generate income for the park.
DCC Parks, DCC and Communications teams
38 Encourage constructive feedback to develop facilities on the park.
DCC Parks and Communications team
Annual staff survey
*Completion Stages
Green – completed
Amber – in progress
Red – to be completed
Purple – on-going activity
