UON academics supporting the voice of local residents to shape community’s new Active Quarter

A team of experts from the University of Northampton have been on a mission to hear from members of the community about the launch of an exciting new local project – the Active Quarter.

The Active Quarter represents an opportunity to provide good quality, safe and accessible areas of greenspace that meets the wants and needs of the town’s residents.

The space – which stretches across the south of Northampton town centre from Far Cotton through to Brackmills Industrial Estate and Hardingstone – incorporates a grand total of 15km of cycle paths, 44km of footways, and 158 hectares of greenspace, which includes public parks, playgrounds, golf courses and sport areas.

The development project is being led by a partnership of organisations who are passionate about improving the public spaces for our community – University of Northampton, Northamptonshire Sport, Delapré Abbey, Brackmills Business Improvement District, British Cycling, and West Northamptonshire Council.

Academics from the University of Northampton have been speaking directly with local residents to understand their views on how they would like their local greenspaces to be improved.

This research has helped residents shape three key developments – a walking route at Delapré Abbey, the development of a Cycling and Walking Hub at Delapré Abbey, and an audit of the cycling and walking routes within Brackmills Industrial Estate.

One of the University of Northampton’s key stakeholders in the project, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology, Dr Declan Ryan, explains: “Parks and other greenspaces are a vital public asset to support health, wellbeing, and community spirit.

“The area outlined within the Active Quarter is one which is close to the hearts of our local community, so it’s incredibly important to us that we incorporate the views of residents to help shape and design these community spaces for future generations to come.

“It’s worth highlighting that this project will not be stagnant – it will expand throughout the coming months and years, being led by the local community’s ideas to create a vision for the Active Quarter.”

To help launch this project within the community, second-year students from the University of Northampton’s Graphic Communication Design course have created a number of logo designs which the public can submit their vote on here. Voting closes at 9am on Monday 29 May.

The winning design will appear on a new Active Quarter website, which has been funded by the University of Northampton, and will be used to share updates on the projects taking place and opportunities to get involved.

If your community group or organisation would like more details about the research completed so far or to discuss how to be involved in the future, please contact Dr Declan Ryan who will arrange a visit.

Find out more about the Active Quarter on the West Northants Council website here.

Research Case Studies: How local voices have shaped practical action

1.    3 km Walking Route at Delapré Abbey

What happened: In August 2021, signposts were installed within Delapré Park to direct people, unfamiliar with the area, around a 3-kilometre walking route through the park’s wood, lake, and historic battlefield. At the beginning of the project, residents were asked what should be included on directional signs for recreational walking.

What residents said: Over 260 respondents said that directional arrows, total distance of the route, consistent colours and fonts, a map of the route, local information of interest, and emergency contact information were the most important items to include on directional signs. In addition, residents also recommended that the materials used for the directional signs should be in-keeping with the natural surroundings and not impact on the landscape. Some people even gave recommendations on how to achieve this, such as creating signs that also functioned as ‘bug hotels.’

What the researchers did: The residents’ suggestions from this survey were shared with ward councillors, unitary authority officers, and local greenspace groups in the hope of informing their future greenspace projects. Since then, the findings have been used by the Friends of Eastfield Park, with the support of Northamptonshire Sport, to design their own signposted walking route.

What happened: For the final stage of the project, researchers from the University of Northampton conducted go-along intercept interviews with 28 Delapré Park visitors.

What residents said: During their interviews visitors spoke about how valuable the park was for managing their wellbeing and mental health, as well as providing a space to socialise with family in friends. Furthermore, the presence of a café and staff at the park made visitors feel safer, which demonstrates that these facilities provide more than just food and drink for visitors. It was also identified that more benches and information about footpath surfaces, gates and stiles would help those with limited mobility choose what footpaths to use.

During the year that the walking route at Delapré Park was monitored, it was found that upward of 200 people per day, on average, were walking along some of the paths. The use of the paths was also impacted by the weather, with footpath use being lowest in the winter, which will be no surprise to regular visitors of Delapré Park. However, the data to support this local knowledge had not previously existed until this research project. Furthermore, it was found that 23% of people who were walking along the signposted route were following the new signposts and these people were commonly new or irregular visitors to Delapré Park.

What the researchers did: The findings from this project have now been used as evidence of Delapré Park’s visitors’ wants and needs, to apply for funding to upgrade some of the footpaths and signposts within the park. We are currently waiting to hear if Delapré Abbey and West Northamptonshire Council were successful with their funding application.

2.    Cycling and Walking Social Prescription Hub at Delapré Abbey

What Happened: In March 2022, a public survey and further monitoring of Delapré Park use was conducted as part of a Cycling and Walking Social Prescription grant application to the Department for Transport.

What residents said: The public survey had 300 respondents who shared their thoughts on how a Cycling and Walking Hub should operate. The majority of respondents said that they were supportive of the Cycling and Walking Hub and that they would use it to hire bikes at a fixed hourly-charge for unsupervised rides around the local area. Once again, respondents identified that footpaths and signage would need to be upgraded to help explore the local area as well as caution about having enough space for walkers, horse riders, and cyclists within the park.

What the researchers did: Unfortunately, the follow-up application to the Department for Transport was unsuccessful however, Delapré Abbey and West Northamptonshire Council are continuing to use residents’ views from the survey to explore other funding opportunities.

3.    Brackmills Industrial Estate Audit

What Happened: In November 2022, researchers from the University of Northampton audited the cycling and walking routes within Brackmills Industrial Estate to see if they met best practice design standards. The researchers created a report that identified current issues and recommendations that Brackmills Business Improvement District are now using to help plan their investment in the estate.

What residents said: It has been commonly mentioned that people want more information about possible walking and cycle routes to help them plan where they want to go.

What the researchers did: The researchers video recorded the cycling and walking routes to get user point-of-view videos to help local residents to see what the routes look like and where they go. The videos can be viewed on a map here and the researchers would like to do more work with residents to determine if these videos are helpful and how they can be improved.