BOROUGH OF POOLE
ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW GROUP
1ST APRIL 2004
REPORT OF THE HEAD OF LEISURE
POOLE PARK – CATERING DEVELOPMENT
1. Purpose of Report
1.1 To seek Member’s consideration for the development of a new catering and boating facility in Poole Park.
2. Background
2.1 The recently adopted management plan for Poole Park included the following key aim:
‘To provide for visitors to the park a safe and stimulating environment, where they can expect high quality services set within a well managed landscape’
2.2 It is recognised that meeting this aim is critical to ensuring the park realises its full potential for visitors, and in particular the people of Poole. This aim touches on a variety of aspects of the park including its landscape, infrastructure, events and facilities. All of these elements can individually or collectively influence the attraction of the park to visitors and are important. It is however the opportunity for new facilities that this report will focus upon.
2.3 The recent past has seen the decline in various visitor facilities within the park. The Mini-Marina was demolished in 2003 as it had deteriorated and was no longer being operated. The boating on the saline lake ceased two years ago, leaving an unsightly compound adjacent to the water’s edge. This compound has now been cleared. Whilst the clearance of these structures is to be welcomed, it has raised concern amongst Council officers and concessionaires in the park that without any replacement facilities the park will offer less and less to visitors over time.
2.4 Use of the park is vital to its character and success, and so thought has been given to what draws visitors to sites such as Poole Park. It is clear that whilst the landscape of the park is in itself a draw, for many, especially those with young children, there needs to be more. The miniature railway, play area and existing café with indoor play area are popular, but there is great scope to make more of the large saline lake. It is however, the viability of any water based venture that will determine whether it can be pursued. A boating based concession as operated before would probably fail for the same reasons the last one did. It is therefore considered that such a venture needs to be accompanied by another attraction creating the opportunity for both to feed off each other. To this end officers have been exploring options to link boating with another new facility for the park.
3. A New Restaurant for Poole Park
3.1 For some twenty years the catering concessionaire for Pool Park has been Adrian Forte. He has sole rights under his lease for catering in the park and currently operates the Cygnet Café and ice-cream kiosk. The Council has enjoyed a productive and successful relationship with Mr Forte over the years, and Mr Forte’s businesses are seen as an important influence on how the park is currently perceived and enjoyed.
3.2 Adrian Forte has approached the Council with an expression of interest in developing a new catering facility in the park. The proposed location would be on the site of the former boat compound, on the northern edge of the lake, close to the west car park (a site plan will be available at the meeting). It is proposed that this new development would be designed to make maximum use of its waterside location, whilst being in harmony with both the historic park landscape and the valuable trees located on the site. Furthermore, it is anticipated that that the restaurant would be designed to incorporate a boating facility, creating a new and exciting hub of activity around an area of land that until recently was inaccessible to the public. The boating element will be managed by the Council or a separately selected concessionaire. Access for all will remain to the land around the new building, ensuring that all visitors, irrespective of whether they are customers or not, would benefit.
3.3 It is considered that the development of a new catering facility accompanied by boating opportunities in the park will bring new visitors to the park and create more activity over longer periods. During the evenings this will result in a greater number of people wandering through the park, and it is hoped that this will marginalise, and deter, those that visit the park after dark to cause damage or anti-social behaviour. More legitimate activity in the park throughout the day, but especially in the evenings, is considered a valuable and worthwhile objective and one that will offer benefits to both visitors and local residents alike. The development would aim to offer a quality experience consistent with its historic setting and would complement the existing café nearby. The development would be delivered at no cost to the Council.
4. Consultation
4.1 At present this proposal has not been translated into detailed building designs. Before Mr Forte commissions such work it is important that Members have had the opportunity to consider the proposal in principle. Providing in principle support is given for a new building in the park at the location identified in Appendix I, this project will be progressed to detailed design and the planning permission stage.
4.2 Prior to submitting a building design for planning approval, it is intended that informal consultation will take place with interested parties. This will be designed to engage with as many users of the park as possible, and will include the Friends of Poole Park. It is hoped that through such involvement the design that progresses for planning approval will have a significant level of support from those who use and value Poole Park.
5. Recommendation
5.1 Member are requested to:
5.1.1 Approve, in principle, the proposal to develop a new restaurant facility incorporating boating within Poole Park
5.1.2 Authorise officers to work in partnership with the Park’s sole catering concessionaire to develop the proposal, with a view to public consultation and ultimately an application for planning approval.
CLIVE SMITH
HEAD OF LEISURE
Contact:
Matti Raudsepp, Open Spaces Manager, 01202-261377
Background Papers:
None
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