Jon Sheaff and Associates were engaged by Mansfield District Council to develop a new masterplan for Berry Hill Park in Mansfield as part of the council’s £12.5 million Towns Fund application to central government. The £2.94 million park restoration project was one of the council’s most significant Towns Fund projects.

Mansfield District Council 

2021-2022

The masterplan for Berry Hill Park was based on the development of a natural capital account for the park that quantified the value of ecosystem services that the park provided. These values were incorporated into the plan for the park that set out a variety of scenarios in respect of future economic performance.

Elements of the masterplan for Berry Hill Park include the implementation of a wetlands boardwalk, new playground development, commissioning of public art, new developments to existing facilities, and communal areas. Further detailed consultation was undertaken to explore specific and detailed aspects of park use and how the design should respond to these. Based on this and the RIBA 2 cost plan, further design exploration was developed for the park and the building, including detailed studies in respect of the environmental functioning of the latter. The final design proposals were incorporated into the RIBA stage 3 report.

In parallel, the Design Team’s business planning consultant developed the Green Book compliant business case for investment in the park. This was based on the development of a natural capital account for the park that quantified the value of ecosystem services that the park provided. These values were incorporated into the business plan for the park that set out a variety of scenarios in respect of the future economic performance of the asset.

Issues, Challenges and Outcomes

JSA assembled a Design Team including an architect, structural and services engineers, quantity surveyors, business planning consultants and environmental economists.

The design team made use of advance consultation carried out by the council to develop spatial planning for park, including the identification of a position for the new proposed park hub building and the functions that the building would support. This culminated in the development of fully-costed RIBA 2 proposals for the park and building which were presented to the client in mid-January. The proposals were consulted on with key stakeholders through a series of online workshops, events in the park and through the use of an interactive online gallery space. Given the extremely pressured delivery programme, the design team had to make rapid progress in design development by analysing and developing the components of a ‘destination park’. Through discussions with the client, it was resolved that these would consist of:

  • a park for events.
  • a park for play.
  • a park for public art.
  • a park for biodiversity adapted to climate change.
  • a better equipped park with restored infrastructure.

Services

  • Masterplanning and detailed design
  • Natural Capital Account creation
  • Park design