Castlefields Park

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Castlefields Park

CastlefieldsPark is situated on the south west side of Calne just off the main A4 Bath to London Road. It is the only open space to form part of a direct ‘green’ link into the town from the wider countryside, forming a natural ‘wedge’ within an otherwise urban area. The land is owned by the District Council and is currently the subject of improvement works, including the recent completion of a ‘Pocket Park’, visible from the main road.

In 1999 the Council commissioned the River Marden and Castlefields Study. This study, led by Nicholas Pearson Associates Ltd., took an holistic view of the area and included the ecology, landscape and recreational potential. It contains detailed reports on river restoration and still forms the basis of the overall project plan.

There has been community involvement at Castlefields for some years and more recently this has grown into a co-ordinated approach to facilitating improvements within the park. This work group is led by CastlefieldsCanal and River Park (CARP), a voluntary group with charitable status, who have subsequently produced a Business Plan identifying the groups objectives, amongst other issues. Their objectives are:

To provide a community led catalyst for promoting and implementing far reaching and sustainable improvements to the area involving public bodies, landowners and local groups that share an interest.
To prepare a comprehensive long term vision plan for the park to increase awareness and understanding of the opportunities for improvement and how these can be realised through a strategic framework.
To initiate improvements on publicly owned land in the short and medium term (1-5 years) to demonstrate the value and feasibility of the vision plan, providing momentum towards its ultimate goals.
To encourage and help to facilitate improvements to be undertaken by special interest groups within the overall Vision Plan; notably further restoration of the Wilts & Berks Canal.
To provide a pro-active focal point for the funding of improvements through local authorities, government agencies and grant bodies.
To provide for the security and upkeep of the park through the promotion of agreements between landowners, local authorities and other bodies participating in the improvements and who share an ongoing interest in its future.

For more information on the Castlefields Project contact Michael Hasted on 01249 706489 or visit www.calne-castlefieldspark.co.uk