Craigie Street Pocket Park
Project Description
The Craigie Street Pocket Park is a partnership between Sustrans, Scottish Water, the local community group The Stobswell Forum SCIO and Dundee City Council to deliver a new high-quality pocket park in Craigie St along with streetscape enhancements in a number of other streets in the Albert Street District Shopping Centre.
Previously perceived as being dull and grey due to the prevalence of high-stone tenements the area suffers from urban decay and high levels of multiple deprivation and figures prominently in the latest Scottish Government SIMD report. The overall aim of the project is to support the Albert St District Shopping Centre and to start to change both local’s and visitors’ perceptions on what the area is today and what it could be like in the future.
The project created a high-quality pocket park in Craigie Street, closing off part of the street to vehicles and introducing Dundeeās first rainwater garden to address rainwater run-off, new high-quality seating, signage and cycle parking. Complementary works were also completed in other close by locations along the shopping street to improve pedestrian access, increase safety and improve the shopping experience.
Supporting Statement
The Craigie St project has all along sought to take the whole community on the development journey through both online and on-street consultations and discussion on what local people wanted to see in the heart of their community.This project is important because at its heart it's not really about the Craigie St Pocket Park it's about getting local people to believe that positive change is not only possible but deliverable in their community, we believe this project has started to change some views on the local area.
From a starting position of "nothing ever changes for the better " we now have we believe a majority in the local community calling for more regeneration projects to improve both the lived environment and increase the amount of quality communal community space available within the district shopping centre. The project partners have worked hard to deliver strong community support for the project before implementation ensuring a positive response even in the face of the necessary road closures and disruption during the construction phase.
Sustrans and the Stobswell Forum led the consultation phase which took place over an extended period of time brought about in some part due to the pandemic. This extended consultation brought benefits in allowing local people the opportunity to catch up with the project design and be comfortable with what was being discussed to a level that there has been almost no negativity around the finished project.
This project was always intended to be a project to show people what can be achieved if the community has the desire to see quality regeneration delivered.
Through the project, we have introduced high-quality materials and finishes and seen the inclusion of public art, colour and plantings to increase both social and commercial activity for the benefit of both shoppers and traders in the local area.
With the Craigie St project now complete the partnership has moved on to develop another pocket park in Eliza St also in the district shopping centre. We want to build an appetite within the community for positive change that local people themselves drive forward, we aim to rebuild our community from within and one street at a time.