Holroyd Park has always had the potential to be a great place for people in Ravensthorpe to spend time, get active and connect with their community. But local people told us that, at times, the park didn’t feel like a place they wanted to use.

Through conversations with residents and local groups, some clear themes emerged. People wanted to make better use of the park, but concerns around litter, maintenance and safety were creating barriers to getting outside and being active. Rather than deciding unanimously what the park needed, we brought people together to work out what could be achieved collectively.

The Holroyd Park Delivery Group was established, bringing together local residents, community groups and the relevant services together e.g. the parks service and community service to look at how the park could become safer, more attractive, accessible and welcoming.

The group meets every two months to share ideas, identify opportunities and keep the improvements moving forward. A concept plan has also been developed to help shape the future of the park.

But some of the most visible changes have come from people simply rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in.

The Love Holroyd Park sessions take place on the last Thursday and Friday of each month and are open to anyone who wants to come along and help improve the park.

The sessions have brought together Ravensthorpe in Bloom, Ravensthorpe Residents Action Group, Transformers North and the parks team, working together on everything from clearing litter and vegetation to improving access points and sight lines across the park.

Together, volunteers have already collected dozens of bags of waste, and Drew the parks ranger has brought in the tools to help with clearing vegetation to improve the appearance, access and visibility of the space.

Listening to the people who use the park

A key part of the work has been making sure local children and young people have a say in what happens next.

We worked with more than 300 children at Ravensthorpe Junior School, which sits next to Holroyd Park, to understand how they feel about their local area and what they would like to see and do in the park.

The feedback highlighted the importance of creating outdoor spaces where children and young people feel confident and safe. More than a third of the young people we spoke to said they only feel safe ‘sometimes’ in their local area, showing that confidence in local outdoor spaces isn’t the same for everyone.

We also held focus groups with children at the school and with young people attending healthy holiday provision at Ravensthorpe Community Centre.

Their ideas are helping to shape new spaces and activities within the park, including improvements to play areas and a new community mural for the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA).

When asked what they would like to see, children told us they wanted:

• Better play facilities
• More organised activities
• More exciting outdoor environments
• Cleaner public spaces

Turning ideas into action

Some of those ideas are already becoming a reality. Improvements made to Holroyd Park so far include:

• Updates to the MUGA
• Two new walking routes
• New playground markings
• A new roadway for children to follow on bikes

The improvements were completed in time for the Ravensthorpe Summer Fun Fest, giving local residents the chance to use and enjoy the new features straight away.

It was a great opportunity to see the park being used for exactly what the community told us they wanted: getting outside, being active, playing, meeting people and spending time together.

The future for the park

The Delivery Group will continue to meet and look at what more can be done to encourage people to get involved and make the most of the park and the opportunities it provides to be active.

We’re also working with a local graffiti artist to create a new mural on the MUGA, inspired by designs created by young people in the community.

And we’re continuing to work closely with the parks service to explore what additional investment could be brought into the park, including opportunities to improve the playgrounds.

Holroyd Park is changing, but this is about more than physical improvements. It’s about creating a space that local people feel belongs to them: somewhere they feel safe, welcome and confident to spend time, be active and connect with others.

And, importantly, the community is helping to shape it every step of the way.