Release Date:  16-Jul-2008

Anyone who has visited St Paul’s Park recently will know just what a fabulous park it is - and now it has won a national design award.

St Paul's Park beat off stiff competition from around 100 parks and green spaces throughout the UK to win a prestigious national design award. The coveted award recognises innovation and good practice in urban green space design. It will be presented by Laura Sharman editor of Local Government News to council officers: Oli Roberts, parks projects officer and the two landscape architects who designed the new-look park, Don Ward and Lucy Empson. 
 
The park was announced winner of the 'urban green space category' in the Local Government News Street Design Awards. The awards which have been established for over 20 years are judged by award sponsors, including the Royal Town Planning Institute and Green Space, a national charity working to advocate the economic, social and environmental benefits of better planned, designed and managed parks.
 
The winning announcement follows a successful £350,000 make over of St Paul’s Park, in partnership with Neighbourhood Renewal and Places for People, supported by Big Lottery Fund. Local people and children from local clubs worked with the city council and St Paul's Unlimited Community Partnership to help design the park.
 
In addition to a unique event space designed for circus performance and circus training in partnership with Circomedia, St Paul's Park also boasts:
· a special fenced area with play equipment for toddlers and young children
· a teenage activity area for basketball skills and other ball games
· a climbing wall and ‘twin-fly’ play equipment,
· a newly-created ramp and curved seating feature for skateboarders and BMX riders.

Councillor Rosalie Walker, Bristol’s cabinet member for culture and healthy communities, said: “I am delighted with this national award. St Paul’s Park is a first class example of how the council is working with its partners to create the very best parks and green spaces for local people to enjoy - and ultimately help improve our neighbourhoods and make a real, lasting difference to local communities.

“St Paul’s Park is not only a natural environmental haven in the heart of the city, it also has challenging and imaginative play areas and equipment, encouraging young people to get active and develop a life-long love of outdoor play and creative exercise.”

Oli Roberts, parks project officer said, "Before we started St Paul’s park was considered unsafe by the local community and was only used as a cut through. The new design has transformed the park into a vibrant focal point for community activity and the positive feedback from local residents has been amazing. We are really pleased the success of the park has now been recognised at a national level through winning the 'urban green space category' in the Street Design Awards."
 
Future plans for the park include applying for a Green Flag award, which is the national standard for the best parks and green spaces in England and Wales, and the employment of a new park keeper to work alongside existing St Agnes park keeper, Constantine Blake. 

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