The importance of good outdoor space, strong public realm and easy access to good facilities has never been so important. Eventually these small park areas will form part of a wider network of parks so that no employee from any business will be more than a five minute walk from decent outdoor space.
Commissioned by the Manor Royal BID and designed by Allen Scott Landscape Architects in conjunction with specially chosen artists, the Microparks are inspired by the history and the stories of the people and businesses of Manor Royal collected by cultural wayfinding expert Richard Wolfstrome.
The first four parks were officially opened in January on the Corner of Rutherford Way and Gatwick Road, the corner of Rutherford Way and Priestley Way, the corner of Priestley Way and on Metcalf Way.
The project benefitted from a grant from the Crawley Towns Fund, a £21.1m allocation from Government to support economic growth and improve the environment across the town. Chris Maidment, Chair of the Town’s Fund said;
“The Towns Fund for Crawley has a range of priority projects to help our town embrace its full potential and to improve the lives of our communities, to build a sustainable economy. Manor Royal is a driving force for the economy across the region, so major investment in Gigabit Broadband, a new Innovation Centre in Manor Royal and the micro-parks project to encourage investment and support businesses in the Business District are vital. We would encourage residents to explore the environmental improvements brought about by the micro-parks.”
Cllr Peter Smith, Cabinet member for Planning and Economic Development said;
'The latest Micro-parks look fantastic and make a further improvement to the public areas in the Business District. Thanks are due to Chris Maidment Chair of the Towns Fund and Steve Sawyer executive Director of Manor Royal Business District for delivering these improvements to our Business community making Manor Royal a better place to work and to invest in.'
Steve Sawyer, Executive Director of the Manor Royal BID said;
“This is one part of a much bigger vision for improving Manor Royal. It’s important Manor Royal people have access to decent facilities and open space, and that the place generally looks good. We are grateful for the support of Town Deal Board for the funding and are already planning the next round of projects.”
Date Published: 02/02/2022