Application form
Please make sure you have read all the notes carefully before you start to fill in the application form. This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically - it is available on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning. Please complete all five sections. The deadline for submitting applications is 29 August 2007. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.
1 Please provide a name and contact details of the lead organisation responsible for this work.
Name | Mike Galloway |
Job title | Director of Planning & Transportation |
Organisation | Dundee City Council |
Address | Tayside House |
Telephone | 01382 433610 |
Fax | 01382 433013 |
Email | mike.galloway@dundeecity.gov.uk |
2 If this is a joint application, please list the other partners who had a key role. You should also inform your partners that you are nominating the project for an award.
1 Dundee City Council | 2 Stobswell Forum |
3 Heritage Lottery Fund | 4 Baxter family descendants |
5 Historic Scotland | 6 |
3 Tick one nomination category
Title of entry | Baxter Park, Dundee |
Please complete the form on the following pages by providing a brief summary of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude with a key reason as to why you think this work merits an Award. Only the two A4 pages supplied here can be used and your text must fit within the boxes. The font size should be no less than 12pt.
The judging criteria are set out below. Please tick only the key criteria relevant to your entry:
You must describe, in your written submission, how the criteria which you have ticked relate to your project.
Description of project
The project involves the phased restoration of Sir Joseph Paxton's original landscape design as the setting for the restored pavilion, including the reinstatement of the railings, at Baxter Park, Dundee. The project also incorporates a new visitor centre, meeting facility and urban ranger base. The former tennis pavilion has been converted to a youth facility. Play equipment has been replaced and improved and the footpath network restored to its original layout. The works have been carried out with the encouragement and support of Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland. The works are a component of the wider regeneration vision for the Stobswell district of Dundee, an excellent inner city location close to the city centre in an area of multiple deprivation. This "Vision for Stobswell" includes an emphasis on leisure. In this respect the location of Baxter Park is ideal and the provision of a high quality open space within Stobswell will attract new residents and visitors providing a facility for community based activities. |
Describe the background to the project
Baxter Park is Dundee's, and possibly Scotland's, best formal Victorian park. It is the result of a donation made in 1859 of a gift of £50,000 from David Baxter and his sisters, local linen manufacturers. They commissioned Sir Joseph Paxton, UK's greatest Victorian park designer, to design the park and pavilion. The upper part of the Park is formally laid out with the pavilion, a classical building with a loggia of twin Doric columns, marking the transition to the more informal space in the lower Park. Paxton's original designed landscape has matured but the shrub planting has been obscured by changing landscape trends and inappropriate management. The decorative but functional cast iron railings had been removed. The pavilion and later bandstand had been the subject of vandalism and the tennis pavilion fallen out of use. Unsympathetic attempts had been made to "clean" graffiti from the stonework. By the 1990s the Park and buildings were in a sorry state. The Stobswell area was identified as a priority for regeneration in the Dundee Local Plan 1998 and the Dundee and Angus Structure Plan 2002. Consultants were appointed and a strategy for regeneration was approved. |
What are the aims and objectives of the project?
The aims and objectives of the project are to: restore a designed landscape which is unique in Scotland; repair a Category "A" listed building as the centrepiece of the Park; reinstate the cast iron railings to their original design to complete the streetscape; protect a valuable inner city green space; engage with the community to develop the proposals; provide an improved range of facilities to enhance the living conditions within the Stobswell area; provide a base for a range of activities based on the natural elements and wildlife within the Park; ensure all new build elements conform to the Council's "Sustainability Charter"; provide security to protect the investment; and thereafter, in partnership with the community, increase the number of activities and events the community might enjoy within the Park.
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Over what timescale has the project been developed?
The project has been phased over a number of years from 1992-2007. The work on the project required extensive consultation with the co-funders and the community. Preparation of development brief - 1992
Designation of Park as a Conservation Area (at the time "outstanding") - 1997
Preparation of conservation plans for the pavilion and planned landscape - 1998
Web project (health information for youths) in former tennis pavilion - 2002-2003
Reinstatement of railings - 2003-2004
Restoration of designed landscape - 2004-2006
Construction of the Park centre - 2003-2004
Restoration of Pavilion - 2005-2007 |
Explain the process and action taken
Having identified the opportunity and the need, the Council confirmed the support of the community and potential funding bodies. At each stage the draft proposals were displayed for community comment through updates with the Stobswell Forum. Alternative uses for the pavilion were explored concluding that the main space be a reception facility with café and toilets. Original designs were sourced and specialist casters commissioned to carry out the ironwork. Specialist stonemasons and suppliers were commissioned to provide replacement copes as needed on the wall and indents in the pavilion. As different elements of the project were completed each was brought into commission for a range of community events. Baxter Park was officially opened in summer 2007 by HM Queen Elizabeth II. |
Explain the role of the key partners
The City Council led the project providing funding, professional knowledge and technical expertise. As proprietor it has leased space within the pavilion as a café and the main space is let for receptions as well as for wedding ceremonies. The Heritage Lottery Fund provided funding and guidance in relation to community involvement and impact within the area. Historic Scotland provided funding and specialist technical and professional expertise in terms of the buildings, railings and the original designed landscape. The Stobswell Forum has organised numerous events including concerts, fun days, children's activities etc. The Council has supported these activities through the Community Regeneration Fund. |
What results were achieved?
Today the Park is completely restored. It is also an active space fulfilling all the roles expected as a valuable inner city open space and a nationally important planned landscape. The community has expressed its satisfaction by "adopting" the Park as its own and a "Friends" group has been formed. |
In summary, why does this piece of work merit an Award?
The project has secured the blend of a faithful restoration of both important historical landscape and building and new build, whilst providing a valuable active community resource. A long and complex process that has retained the enthusiasm, support and interest of a range of partners from funders to contractors to community groups. Often a restoration project such as this would not be complete without the "keep out" signs; in this case the clear message has been "come on in." |
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