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• Developing community participation and horticultural excellence

• Date:

  10th June 2008

• Contact:

  Sarah Egerton

• Organisation:

  The Civic Trust

Green Flag Award-winning Carr Bank Park, which lies a short walk from the town centre in Mansfield, has become a focus for community activity and a hub of horticultural excellence with its award-winning displays.

The park was extensively restored with £857,433 of Heritage Lottery Funding in 1998, with renovations to various listed monuments, new planting, new seats and sculptural features designed to improve the appearance and amenities of the park.

As part of the restoration project, community consultation involved commissioning Chris Campbell as lead artist to coordinate the overall design scheme and work with schools to develop the themes of plant growth and the environmental life of the park. The refurbishment included workshops with schools across the Mansfield district involving children in the designs and contributions to the new park furniture. At the project’s close, the park boasted a new interactive play area, a community orchard, wildflower meadow, a Victorian Grotto and sculptural features.

Children’s work has also been incorporated into the visitor trail of yorkstone nodes which are sited at the key junctions around the path network. Decorative metalwork gates, railings and park furniture were also manufactured by the lead artist to create a lively and attractive environment.

Mansfield District Council invited local residents to form a friends group following the park restoration and The Friends of Carr Bank Park formed in 1999 enabling the local community to voice their suggestions as to how the park can be used and developed. They currently manage a free calendar of events and are running an activity for local children and their families once a month and weekly over the summer holidays with activities including sport, horticulture, the environment and the arts. A MENCAP group for people with learning disabilities also holds an active programme of events on site.

Over recent years, the park has become a centre of horticultural excellence, demonstrated by its success in various annual prestigious competitions. Floral displays have won Gold, Silver and Silver Gilt medals at the prestigious RHS Tatton Park flower show. Horticultural experts from the Mansfield District Council’s nursery enter this prestigious RHS Tatton Park flower bed competition each year. The flower beds are always based on local heritage and, previous entries celebrating Mansfield’s Market Town history, Robin Hood, Mansfield’s Cotton Industry and Roman heritage. A collection of medals ranging from Gold to Silver Gilt has been amassed over the years and upon returning from the flower show the bed is placed on display in Carr Bank Park for the remainder of the summer season for all to enjoy.

This year’s design ‘The Albert Sorby Buxton collection’ is inspired by local artist Albert Sorby Buxton, a water colourist from Mansfield. The display incorporates an artist’s pallet, viewed through a picture frame creating a living scene with a stream and a bridge.

The 2007 design, ‘Celebrating Mansfield Woodhouse’s Roman Heritage’ was inspired by the town’s Roman heritage. The park also won its category in the East Midlands in Bloom 2007 competition largely thanks to its floral displays.

This flower bed tells the story of an ancient villa, the ruins of which were discovered in 1786 by local artist and archaeologist, Hayman Rooke. The well, mosaic floor and brightly coloured walls are re-created using bedding. You can view the 2007 display at: http://www.rhs.org.uk/tatton/2007/exhibitors/flowerbeds/mansfield.asp

The park was formally opened in 1924 ‘for the benefit, enjoyment, recreation and health giving of the people of Mansfield’ a statement that is as relevant today as it was then.