Report transcript in: Reporter Kate interviews Helen

Please Report the Errrors?

right. Ok,

right.

So, um,

do you think you're kind of a regular user of Longford Park? Yes. Yeah, probably.

I visit the park a few times a week, maybe three times

each week. Yeah,

I would say so. What? What do you go there for?

So, um,

mostly to play. So I would say, um,

to play in the kids' play area is that the

official play areas and then to play in some of the

more nature kind of based areas, like the areas where the rocks and the

trees are,

um, and then to visit the cafe. I think the cafe is a really big bonus. Um,

you know that the park has so yeah.

And just to walk, to be in nature, just to walk in a really

lovely tree. Kind of heavy environment.

And and, yeah,

and a quiet away from the cup of the cars and the noise and the pollution.

yeah,

so I love for that as well.

Are you usually with other people, you know, with

age?

Yeah. Usually with babies and my own Children. So, um,

yeah. So, usually with

ages that range from

one year old to 10 Children that are 10 years old.

Yeah.

So would you use different parts of the park depending on who you're with?

Yeah. So I think, um,

yeah, with older Children and actually with the 12 year old,

my son has enjoyed the basketball court.

with older Children, the basketball courts and the tennis courts are more useful.

And then with younger Children, the play areas are really good.

And with really little Children from there with babies.

And the wooded areas are really nice because it's a nice, um, exploration

area for little kids. And

they yeah, you don't need to.

So if you're with, say, two or three little babies, it's nice.

It's quite a safe environment where the rocks and the trees are,

and they can just crawl around if they're crawling or walk, and

it's not so much lifting them and putting them into swings and things.

So that's quite nice for a change to, you know, to kind of just, um, play in a

more open ended way. Um,

yeah, and then

for all the all the kids

up to about 10 seem to love the play equipment. So

the

and

the the time and frames are all quite

quite well, sort of

matched to

up probably 0 to 8.

The need

for

0 to 8 year

old

is that the little kids play park or

if you think both together, but, yeah, there's definitely

a lot in the in the little play park

near the cafe for, um, for the the younger half of that age bracket. So the 0 to 4

And

so,

yeah, I mean,

I think the the installation of the big climbing frame

in that park has opened it up to older Children.

So that's good. So I think Children up to

eight years old can definitely enjoy that a lot and and have a,

you know, enjoy the challenge of the climb and everything.

Um, and then I think the zip wire provides good play for Children. Who are that?

Little bit older. 8 to 10.

And Yeah, and I guess maybe I have to tell it

is a little bit more difficult to convince

Children to go there.

Um, they like to go to the cafe at that age. Definitely.

And maybe yeah, and my son did like to go to the

basketball courts in the warmer weather, but

I think for, um,

for him. Now he's on about 12.5. I

think in the winter he probably wouldn't find a lot to do except he eating

and

eat cakes at the cafe and getting hot chocolate.

Good. Is there anything that you think could be there that would persuade him to go?

Yeah, maybe, Um,

I think a kind of park or style area or a

skateboarding area. I mean, in some ways, it might encourage

you to hang out and be antisocial, but

hopefully not, Um, hopefully it would be used, you know,

in a positive way.

Um and I think, Yeah, I think even if he didn't take part in the skateboarding,

he used to skateboard board.

But he doesn't so much now.

I think he probably would quite enjoy watching friends skateboard there.

It would just give

that age group the 12 to 16 age group somewhere to go to hang out

that kind of thing. So, yeah, I've seen parks,

and there's a good park in Edinburgh

near my mother in law's house. And it is a really, really good skate park,

right?

Yeah, and it seems to be used in the right way in a positive way,

and

it's incredible how many sort of 10 to 16 year olds are there using

using the area, Um,

and keeping fit and healthy and having fun. Yeah,

yeah, it's quite quite nice to see. Really, That does sound good,

I guess. There's probably not that many local places where, like,

not

that

people can just go themselves.

Yeah, so I think when you're told

you would have to drive really to some of the places I think

Fields Park has a skateboard

area, and then there's some others in Stockport and further a field.

But yeah, you would have to.

You would have to take public transport or or drive, get, get someone to drive you.

So, yeah,

I think it would be nice to have something that's just local

for the Children who live in this area.

Um, do you think there's anything that would be good?

Um, that's not there for younger kids or or for adults, for yourself.

So for younger Children,

Yeah, there's, I think,

I don't know.

I don't know if the weather stops this practise, but I've been to parks in

other countries in Europe and they tend to have, like, lovely big sandpit areas,

and we don't have anything like that in the Longford park.

And I think kids really enjoy sandpit areas. The nice the sun,

obviously very tactile and sensory.

And, yeah, they can just go with buckets of faith and pretend they're on the beach.

Yeah,

So I think I think San area would be lovely.

And it's just a lovely surface. In fact, some parts that

the ground is sand, and

that's really

it's a lot nicer than some other surfaces

rather than gravel surfaces.

When they fall, they have the name.

And

yeah, so maybe something sand based would be nice for a little one.

Um, and you get obviously with sand and parts. They often have

these kind of diggers metal diggers or yeah,

like Children seem to really love and fun

and things like that that you can pour the sand down. So,

yeah, I think kids get really engaged in that kind of play.

Yeah,

that's

really I think all most of the other is is pretty much catered for.

How about for

yourself

to see,

so yeah, I don't know. I guess the tennis courts are good for adults. And

and again, the basketball courts can be enjoyed by adults as well.

I think they could. I think maybe the basketball courts could be improved a little.

I think the the wire around the

you know, the the enclosure are kind of a little

bit,

um,

just a little bit scruffy looking,

but, um, yeah, maybe that could be improved

if it if it looks more appealing, it might

look more appealing to go there. I don't go as much. I did

before. I had my own Children. But they play takes over when I go to the park now. But

I did go to the tennis court before having Children when I lived in.

was a really good facility to have. So

yeah, so that's good. And the Frisbee golf is good.

I think that's a really good My husband enjoys that as

well.

It's another good, um,

another good facility for for adults.

Um,

and the cafe is great. I do think the cafe is really good.

It brings people together, and

it's just a nice and kind of

environment in this sort of tree

area of the park to have, you know, a hot drink and whatever, and

yeah,

it just feels quite quite nice to sit there instead of

sitting by the side of the road in the cafe.

Yeah.

So yeah.

Yeah, really nice setting. So I think that's lovely. And

other than that, nothing that I would personally get much too

of.

I think tennis is pretty much a fairly like,

universal sport that most people can get involved in.

I mean, I know my son and husband like volleyball. They probably love a fan

volleyball court, right?

Pretty

massive.

Yeah,

but

yeah. In

in Europe and other countries in Europe, they do,

that is quite a regular thing to see,

um,

outdoor volleyball courts and based volleyball court in a park setting.

So, yeah, that's something I guess we don't have.

I don't think I've ever seen in the park in England, but

it's very common in in Germany and Holland and France and other other other

countries, European countries, so

that

that is

something that maybe people would enjoy,

but yeah,

that's

all. Really,

I think,

Yeah, I think it's good.

I think overall, the park is, you know, has something for everyone.

do you feel like, um, you're happy with the amount of visits you make to it.

It's not like that. You would go more really

more going on or

Yeah, no, I think, yeah, I think I'm happy.

I think it's nice when they do put on an event, it definitely draws you in.

And I think that the, um,

allotments people who attend the allotments have opened up the allotments and,

you know, they've sold cakes and plants and things,

and that's been really nice.

It's been nice

to do

to do that. And I guess that doesn't seem to happen as much as it did.

Maybe because of covid.

Um, yeah, that. Yeah. I think events are

definitely makes you go.

And

but yeah,

I think,

Yeah, I think it it's

I would probably go as I would use it,

um, in a similar way, even if there was a lot more on.

But yeah, the odd event would be nice to go to think.

Yeah. So,

yeah, the Christmas tree little area is nice.

Little things like that just just change it and it? Yeah, it's special for kids.

They love to go and see all the

you know, if anything changes in the park. I think Children really appreciate

something new to explore, isn't it?

And it's in an environment that they're happy and familiar with. But,

you know, it can be quite exciting to see a whole group of trees, for example,

suddenly arrive and they can run through them.

Yeah.

So all them types of things are are really good. I think

the

more things that can happen,

the better, really. But

yeah, but whether I would go to every event, there were lots of events I don't know. I

don't know.

have time.

Other things that happen at the weekend. Yeah,

but you have to, you know, attend or whatever. So but, yeah,

I think it is nice when they do events.

And it does definitely get people to go there to go and visit.

My kids love it

to see something different,

so Yeah.

Ok, uh,

is there anything else you want to any other

reflections on the park that you'd like to add?

I don't think so.

Um or is there anything that you particularly don't like?

I mean, rubbish. I do feel like bins

are a little bit of an issue I don't know.

I feel like they could have put a second bin in the

play area near the cafe.

There's only one B in that

that play area. So if you're on one side with a group of Children, which I often,

um, you have to

walk quite a distance to the bin and then

and then obviously get yourself back to the Children that you're caring for.

So that's Yeah, that's that's quite convenient.

Yeah, there always have been two bins

up until when the bins all got changed to the recycling bins.

Um, and it is great that the recycle bins, but the problem is they do

feel a lot as well.

They're often full and, you know, it's just

Yeah, I mean, in the summer, especially.

It's not so bad in the winter, but in the summer,

it seems like they don't get emptied regularly, you know?

Um,

yeah, and it would Yeah, it would be good for that to happen.

And also another thing to be

present in the

in the area.

The cafe, the play area near the cafe. But

yeah, I think apart from that, it's fine.

Yeah, just keeping up with the with dealing with the red,

I guess, is

always a nice shape. But

I know what you mean. Spoil your trip, though.

I think

great. Usually overflow with

bags.

Yeah, absolutely.

And it kind of like you go to the park to get into nature and to get away from

dirt and pollution, and then you see all the refuse pollution,

and it feels a little bit disheartening

to kind of have to look at that while you're meant to be in this really serene,

natural calming environment.

So, yeah, I think that

that's what can kind of, like feel, make people feel quite irritated.

So, yeah,

that that rubbish in it and and and the gorgeous setting of

the park can even grate on you a little bit more,

but yeah.

Yeah. So that's all. OK.

All right. Great. Well, thank you.

No problem.

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cat@curatorsof…

Post date

14/11/2021