Walsall park visitors to go on record
Date Published : 18 December 2008
Visitors to popular Walsall parks will be recorded from now on after people counters were installed at two of the borough’s premier sites.
The counters have been put up this week at Walsall Arboretum and Palfrey Park, which retained its Green Flag status this year.
Walsall Council’s Greenspace Improvement Service is behind the initiative which will enable it to accurately record visitor numbers rather than rely on estimates and user surveys.
Councillor Louise Harrison, Walsall Council member for leisure, said: “The accurate data will help to demonstrate how popular and well-used Walsall’s greenspaces are.
“In the case of Walsall Arboretum, the data collected will be used to record a baseline figure for park usage to be used for comparison purposes in the future once a £7.9m restoration programme has been delivered.”
A Stage 2 lottery bid for the park is currently being prepared and the visitor data will be used to support this application. The bid will be submitted in March 2009 and if it is successful, £4.9m lottery funding will be secured to part fund the Arboretum Restoration Programme from late 2009 into 2012.
Councillor Harrison added: “The Palfrey Park information will be used to support the further retention of the Green Flag award by demonstrating how many people enjoy this greenspace and to support future funding applications to secure money to develop the site further.”
The counters are being trialled at the Arboretum and Palfrey Park and could be installed at other parks in the future.
Residents are reminded that they can complete an online questionnaire on Walsall’s parks and countryside sites by logging on to the greenSTAT website via www.whatsonwalsall.co.uk
All of Walsall’s parks, countryside areas, allotments, play areas and green spaces are listed on the site and the feedback gained will be included in an annual report.
And an exhibition detailing the Arboretum Restoration Programme is on display at Walsall Central Library until the end of December 2008.
For more information contact the Greenspace Improvement Service on 01922 654318 or 01922 650788.