Panfield Pocket Park
The development of Panfield Pocket Park has been welcomed by the villagers of Panfield and has really engaged the community in a way that has brought everyone closer together especially in this difficult time with the Covid Pandemic. The aim in our bid was: –
“This proposal is for the development of a “focal point” in the middle of the village that develops a green space into a garden park. There will be three garden areas that will be developed with the central garden also being a dedicated memorial garden. This will be interspersed with benches for residents of the village to enjoy the floral displays.”
PCA Application for Pocket Parks Grant Funding, 31st Dec 2019
As you will see later in this report, we believe that we have achieved this brief and have fully been supported by the residents of Panfield. To enable this project to be taken forward there are a number of key headlines that had an impact on this project; these are: –
The background to our new pocket park
Panfield is a small village in rural Essex with a population of under 1000. The village has an active community with many different groups like the Twinning Association, Friends of Panfield Church, Panfield Community Association and many different clubs and groups. The village has a community centre and village pub but what it really lacks is an outside space that brings the community together.
The original concept of having a Pocket Garden was proposed by a resident in the village after someone from the village erected a silhouette in the village of a soldier for Remembrance Sunday.
At our annual village fete (July 2019) we put forward the proposal of looking at developing this area into a Memorial Garden for the village. The fete had approximately 400+ visitors on the day and they were asked for their opinion if they thought this would be beneficial to the village and the type of design they would prefer. On this feedback we proposed to have one of the gardens as a memorial garden and use this to celebrate VE day and to remember all those that may have lost their lives in world conflicts from the Village.
The propose site for our Pocket Park was an isolated piece of green space that was created after the development of some new houses more than a decade ago. This area is about 0.08 hectares and is an ideal location to create a focal point for the village and residents and could be incorporated into future village events like VE day, Garage Sale, Christmas tree lights, carol singing, etc.
Before developing this site it was not used for any purpose and was just a barren piece of grassland. The site is surrounded by various housing including bungalows, semi-detached and a combination of private, housing association and shared housing.
The health benefits for the residents of Panfield are potentially huge. At present there is no focal point of attraction for residents to come out of their homes and just have a short walk or stroll around the village and meet other people.
Impact and Satisfaction
This is a new Pocket Garden and therefore it is not possible to measure the impact before and after as there is no data available from its previous use, which was a green barren space. What we will be able to demonstrate from a Panfield resident survey is the impact they feel the new Pocket Garden has had since its completion. In addition to this we have asked residents to share their thoughts, and these are included below as well.
The feedback gives an overwhelming endorsement that the Panfield Pocket Garden has achieved it aims by:-
- Creating a focal point for the village (100% of residents agree)
- Developing a place to meet and chat with friends, neighbours and family (86% of residents agree)
- Brought the village closer together (resident comments)
- Creating a place to enhance biodiversity (resident comments)
We believe that we have supported the residents wellbeing through the Pocket Garden during these difficult time by:-
- 98% Have enjoyed the Pocket Garden
- 100% Believe the silhouettes and themes enhanced the village spirit
- 99% Believe the lit Christmas Tree enhanced the village
Use if the Pocket Garden has been proven by:-
- 88% Believe the Garage Sale refreshment on the Pocket Garden enhanced the event
- 55% Attended the VE Day Celebrations
- 51% Attended Remembrance Sunday
As part of the condition of our grant we were required to submit a final report on the Pocket Park click on the link below to access the full report.
