Dell Park, Chepstow

Play Design

Podsmead, Gloucester

Clients:  Monmouthshire County Council, Chepstow Town Council & Friends of the Dell Park
Services:  Landscape / Play Design & Graphics

Background

The Landmark Practice has been working alongside Monmouthshire County Council (MCC), Chepstow Town Council (CTC), CADW and The Friends of the Dell Park group since 2018 in a community effort to restore and expand the current play facilities in Chepstow.

The existing play facilities are situated in the Castle Dell, adjacent to Chepstow Town Wall, a Grade I Listed structure and Scheduled Monument. The existing play space is small, run-down and in need of modernising. The play space currently consists of metal play equipment, furniture and safety surfacing. Although still serving the community well, the opportunity and need for a destination park became apparent quite quickly, following much community consultation and engagement. The proposals have been sensitively designed to nestle in to the historically rich landscape, doubling in size as a play area, with the addition of an embankment slide. We have had excellent client and community engagement, support and feedback from an early stage. Our Director and Head of Landscape, Andy Spargo, has attended events and fundraisers in Chepstow to respond to the local community and represent The Landmark Practice.

Noticing that many local parents and carers drive to Bristol to take advantage of the choice of parks and play equipment found there, Friends of the Dell Park group want to take the opportunity to create a destination park in Chepstow.

With such rich heritage, and such a fantastic client and community behind the project, the site holds masses of potential. 

Description

The design of the play area, including the selection of some of the equipment, has been very much led by the community and Friends of the Dell Park, who have been instrumental in getting the project to the stage it is at, and for raising funds to date. Planning permission was Granted in February 2024.

The original brief back in 2018 was focused on re-designing the current play area, to be inclusive and include for toddler play. However, in 2023, following support from the local community and client team, the brief was revised to include for the creation of a much larger play area (phased), and to include an embankment slide, thus creating the destination park that Friends of the Dell Park group envisaged.

The new design includes:

  • A bespoke tower and embankment slide, taking advantage of the topography of the site, with a circulation trail taking users back up to the top.
  • A range of equipment suitable for toddlers and inclusive play.
  • A range of equipment suited to older children and inclusive play.
  • A bespoke ship feature, a nod to Chepstow’s heritage in shipbuilding and the views of the River Wye on site.
  • Opportunities to further expand and create informal trails, natural play, and wayfinding down to Chepstow Castle.

Client Benefits

The Landmark Practice worked closely with the Friends of the Dell Park group to deliver a design that they felt met the needs of the community. Various sketches and ideas were presented to the community through their website and consultation events to generate feedback and ideas. Consultation feedback and ideas have been included for within the approved scheme.

TLP also worked closely alongside MCC and specialist play contractors to make sure that the scheme was realistic and met the needs of the local authority in terms of delivery and maintenance. We continue to offer support to the team and will oversee this project through to delivery.

“We’ve used the Landmark Practice as consultants to design a landscape-led project to replace and relocate the main play area in Chepstow, located immediately adjacent to the ancient town wall and a stone’s throw from Chepstow Castle, one of Wales’s most important historic monuments. The service and attention to detail has been outstanding and the site interpretation produced by the company has really brought the scheme to life before any installation work has taken place on site. The practice has been sympathetic to the setting and responsive at every stage of the process. I would thoroughly recommend the company to other potential clients looking for a bespoke design solution.” Mike Moran – Community Infrastructure Coordinator (MCC)

Working with

Services: CADW

Slide consultant: Massey & Harris