More than half of British adults visit a park or green space each week. For many, these places are essential for health and wellbeing, as well as serving many other functions, but, asks Philip Clayton, are they accessible to all?
Public parks, as many of us realised during the COVID-19 lockdowns, have been taken for granted for too long. My nearest park is Central Park in Peterborough. Spend some time in its popular café and you will spot dog-walkers, runners, roller-skaters, cyclists, students en route to college, volunteers looking after the recently replanted sunken garden, groups of people with special needs such as dementia, and residents from nearby care homes.
As for the facilities, there are tennis courts, a baseball court, an outdoor gym, a children’s paddling pool and play areas, a bowling green, a sensory garden and an aviary, as well as the war memorial and grave of our unlikely First World War hero, Jimmy, a donkey.
There are dog shows and music concerts in the park, and I held my own wedding reception in the café’s event space and, on another occasion, attended the wake of a best friend there.
Britain’s 27,000 public parks, gardens and green spaces record hundreds of millions of visits each year. Recently, 46 per cent of the population reported that they spend more time outside, with recreation, exercise and mental wellbeing cited as key reasons for doing so.
As the country’s population grows, more public ‘green’ spaces will be needed, while existing sites will probably require some kind of rejuvenation to satisfy the demands of today’s varied users.
Providing solutions that will ensure accessibility for all is an exciting challenge that many designers will be keen to meet.
Getting started
Ruth Essex is Placemaking Director for the Maindee District Centre Renewal Project and as such, is involved in creating ‘pocket parks’ and play space areas in Newport.
‘Recently, I enjoyed working with a designer who’d mostly worked on private gardens (see case study, page 33),’ she says. ‘I feel that with garden design, the emphasis is often more [about] beautiful than used space. For urban green spaces, though, it’s vital to consider maintenance and resilience; also, the space needs to be convivial, so the design process usually has a different beginning.’
Identifying what types of access are needed, and learning which demographics have the greatest requirements, is also important. Ian Watkins is Access Adviser at the Centre for Accessible Environments, a leading authority on inclusive design.
‘An access audit provides information on barriers to access in an existing site, with recommendations on how to overcome them,’ he says. Engaging an inclusive design consultant at the design stage of a new project will provide the designer with all the access considerations that are relevant, and ensure the outcome is effective.
As well as understanding local ‘green’ space strategies, there are legal and regulatory constraints that also need to be identified and accommodated. Ian cites the Equality Act 2010 as especially important. ‘This Act describes the legal duties an organisation may have in terms of making a park or garden accessible,’ he explains.
‘For private gardens that are occasionally opened to the public, there would be very limited duty to make sure the site is accessible. Larger organisations [however] may be classed as service providers under the Equality Act and therefore have an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure gardens are accessible to visitors with a disability.
‘If the garden is owned by a public body,’ he adds, ‘there’s a Public Sector Equality Act duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination.’
MAINTENANCE, RESILIENCE, AND SCOPE FOR CONVIVIALITY ARE ESSENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR URBAN ‘GREEN’ SPACE DESIGN.
Next steps
Adopting a ‘pan-disability’ approach, that encompasses all disabilities regardless of their nature, is essential, Ian feels. ‘The term also signifies a perspective that seeks to recognise and address the needs, rights, and experiences of individuals with diverse disabilities across various domains of life, including social, educational, and employment contexts,’ he says.
Involving the community early on in a project can create a sense of ownership and generate creative energy. ‘I’m a believer in “programming the space”,’ says Ruth. ‘By this, I mean hold little events, create mock-ups of how the park might look, invite people along to see what you’re doing and make the design process iterative. Take care to identify groups that have less of a voice to ensure an inclusive approach.’
She also suggests looking at what is already provided by existing ‘green’ spaces nearby. Work out priorities for the new park; smaller sites can accommodate several uses but if, for example, an area for contemplation is part of the plan for the new site, then it might be better if an activity area for older children is created elsewhere, in a separate park.
A NEW POCKET PARK
Ruth Essex worked with garden designer Emily Crowley-Wroe, a pre-registered member of the Society of Garden + Landscape Designers (SGLD), on the Gateway Garden, a pocket park created to transform a prominent but neglected site on a road junction in Maindee, Newport, into a beautiful garden where local people can come together in a safe, nature-rich environment.
The design began life as a show garden at the RHS Malvern Flower Show in 2025 before being relocated to its permanent site soon after the show closed. Over the next few months, Emily worked with Ruth to adapt the design to make a community garden on the mostly concrete and weed-filled site that had long been used as a shortcut and informal car park for the amenities nearby. It was also intended to provide the local community with what, for many, is their only access to a planted place where they can sit, socialise, help look after the garden, or simply walk through it and enjoy the passing of the seasons.
Putting plans into practice
The goal for a new public park should be to make the space inclusive for all, and welcoming, safe and friendly for different cultures.
Provide step-free access, ramps, and wide, unobstructed pathways, and make play areas accessible for all children – Ruth champions an approach she describes as ‘playability’.
‘I try to integrate play into design. Often, small changes can create play opportunities. It boosts social cohesion by bringing people together in the space – children get closer to plants and nature while adults who bring them benefit too; it’s all interconnected. You have to consider seating and comfort for older users, but the great thing is that a space that suits both elderly people and children is likely to suit everyone,’ she explains.
It may be difficult to make all areas of a park accessible but Ian urges designers to take an holistic view. ‘If barriers to access exist, such as unavoidable natural gradients, alternative experiences can be provided. For example, perhaps there is an historic rose garden where wheelchair access is limited but you could consider providing similar roses in a location that is accessible, so wheelchair users can experience the fragrances and colours of the roses too.’
Teresa Rumble, Senior Access Advisor at the Centre for Accessible Environments, suggests other key areas to consider. ‘Information, both on-site and before arrival, is vital. It’s not always obvious what is important: surfaces and gradients of paths, for example. Avoid classing areas as ‘accessible’ or not; instead, give details so people can make up their own minds,’ she says.
‘Seating also needs thought; choose shady areas as well as sunny ones, and firm, level ground, and always have seating around the play areas so parents and carers can sit while they watch their children. Visual contrast is also important – make it possible for people to see seats from a distance so they can head for them.’
Ruth mentions safety. ‘Ensure good sight lines. Permeability provides safety – you want lots of routes out of a public space; people must never feel cornered,’ she says.
Teresa suggests artificial lighting. ‘Many councils are against it because of maintenance and light pollution, but [lighting] has a huge effect on safety, or the perception of safety, for people. Avoid creating dark spots or hidden areas next to access routes. Provide some wider, straighter paths for those who simply want to walk through rather than linger. Footfall boosts safety,’ she says.
While all this detail may sound daunting to a designer, Ruth is encouraging. ‘The main thing is to understand the communities who will use and look after the space in years to come; they must also be invested in the decisions. The creativity and plant knowledge that designers bring is so valuable, but they just need to be open to learning about different constraints and requirements around creating well-used and well-loved public spaces.’
Teresa also has advice to offer. ‘Remember you are making a garden everyone can enjoy, so always apply the general principles of inclusive design; place people at the heart of the process, acknowledge human diversity and difference, and offer dignity, autonomy, choice and spontaneity.’
USEFUL RESOURCES
- British Code of Practice for designing, constructing, and managing inclusive, accessible built environments, BS 8300:2018
- Centre for Accessible Environments, cae.org.uk
- Equality Act 2010, legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
- Maindee District Centre Renewal Project, maindee.org
- Publicly available specification for Design for the Mind, Neurodiversity & the Built Environment, PAS 6463:2022
- Sensory Trust, for guidance in planning a sensory garden; sensorytrust.org.uk/resources/guidance/sensory-gardens-planning
- Scope, for guidance in planning an accessible playground; scope.org.uk
- Examples of accessible green space include: Battersea Park, London; Bute Park, Cardiff; Canary Wharf, Docklands (Jubilee Park and Eden Dock); Eastside City Park, Birmingham; Pinewood Way Play Area, Salisbury; Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline; Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London; Roundhay Park, Leeds; RHS Garden Bridgewater, Salford; and Thompson Park, Burnley.