GHP has been working in Stevenage on the feasibility of transforming an under-used space within one of Stevenage’s typical ‘sunken roundabouts’ into a showcase of sustainable materials and technologies within design of a multi-functional, sustainable open space. Having been impressed with the way that the GHP model was working on the Sunken roundabout project, Stevenage Borough Council approached GHP about being involved in the redevelopment of the gardens in the town centre, funded through ODPM Growth Area budgets. They are interested in working with GHP on a more creative approach to the community consultation prior to approaching ‘Parks for People’ and other funding sources to support the project. SBC has also expressed an interest for GHP to be further involved at the master-planning and development stages. Alison Cook, the Economic Development Officer at Stevenage Borough Council told us a bit about her background and her interest in the GHP model. Her colleague, Dave Wells, Strategic Development Officer (SBC) explains why they chose to continue working with GHP on this new project.

Originally from Middlesbrough, Cleveland, Alison Cook now lives in Cambridge. She completed her first degree in Art History and English Literature at University of East Anglia, and then went on to work mainly in IT and technology project management. During 2000-2001 she spent some time in Hong Kong as Project Manager for Cathy Pacific upgrading their IT equipment in North and South America. She then went back to her studies, completing her MBA at University of Bath, School of Management. Having gained an interest in the civil service whilst working on her dissertation on the Police Service, Alison went on to work in Westminster for the Office of Government Commerce (part of HM Treasury). She then moved to local government and joined SBC in Sept 2004.

Alison’s current role as Economic Development Officer at SBC is a varied one involving strategy, policy development and project management. Her work includes masterplanning, best use of Stevenage's employment land, and trying to understand and forecast the economic needs of Stevenage into the future. She works with the local and regional private sector to help deliver the economic vision and growth agenda of Stevenage, and with local, county and regional partners to deliver projects and share information. Much of her job involves securing funding to deliver our projects, and she has recently worked with funding partners such as EEDA and the EU. Alison was involved in the recently establishment of the Gunnels Wood Business Partnership to promote the Gunnels Wood employment area. She also spends much of her time visiting local businesses, and working in partnership on other initiatives such as projects linking the education and business sectors.

Alison is very interested in how the public sector uses the private sector to deliver public services and the complexities around this. She hopes that her job has a purpose and is making a difference, at some level, to improving peoples’ lives. Her interests outside work include skiing, walking, yoga, arts and design. Alison just moved to Cambridge and is currently 16 weeks pregnant.

Alison was introduced to GHP by Dave Wells when he was employed at the Herts County Council (and was also a member of the Gunnels Wood project team) and was really impressed at GHP’s innovative and arts-led approach to resolving local authority issues.

Born in 1977, and brought up in Ware, Dave Wells has lived in Hertford for the last 6 years. Dave has an arts and design background, having studied his degree in Furniture and Related Product Design at the former Bucks College, although his main area of interest was in architecture. On completing his degree, Dave became the first (and youngest) person to be selected to show designs with the Mobilly design collective at the Milan and New York international furniture shows in two consecutive years.

Dave went on to work for the Fire & Rescue Service as a graphic designer, before leaving to do a stint in the family business on a range of landscape design projects, mainly designing show gardens for large housing developers. He then spent four years working for the County Council, splitting his time between the Sustainability Team, producing the Quality of Life Report for Herts Environmental Forum, and the Regeneration & Partnerships Unit, working on a variety of Economic Development projects. Since graduating Dave has also managed to juggle a fair amount of freelance design consultancy, working on anything from garden design and tourism marketing literature to corporate websites and interior design.

Dave spends any free time he is able to get pursuing his interests including snowboarding, surfing, hockey, cricket, scooters and art. Having spent several years studying art and architecture at university, Dave hasn’t had all the creativity beaten out of him by local government just yet, and still squeezes out the odd painting for occasional exhibitions.

Dave came to Stevenage Borough Council's Regeneration Team as a Strategic Developments Officer in November 2005, while halfway through a Masters in Urban Regeneration. His main role is project managing the Council's input into the £500 million redevelopment of the town centre, but also starting a project looking at the Neighbourhood Centres and prioritising their potential for regeneration. His role as a project manager requires him to be a bit of a 'jack-of-all-trades', needing a bit of knowledge about a huge range of specialist areas in order to mesh together the different components of the project, so he says the last few months have been a steep learning curve!

In 2005, the SBC Regeneration Team successfully bid for £500,000 Growth Area Funding from ODPM (now DCLG), with the aim of improving Town Centre Gardens, Stevenage Town Centre's primary green space. Following on from this, SBC is also planning a bid to Heritage Lottery Fund's 'Parks for People' fund, in order to build on the park's important cultural and heritage status, turning the park back into a destination rather than just a through-route to the town centre.

Alison spoke to Dave about her experience of working with GHP on the ‘sunken’ roundabout, ‘Whilst we could have gone to many landscaping design companies and achieved a 'pleasant park', the GHP have taken our brief to another level. The workshops and partnership working have ensured that all parties have been consulted and feel that they 'own' part of this project. This has created an amazing amount of support and buy-in from many different agencies that would have been difficult for us to achieve on our own. Our brief has expanded to include the showcasing of environmental technologies, a public entertainment venue, new construction materials and has developed into a bold, innovative and never-been-done-before design that is drawing attention from across the region.’

Having had some involvement with GHP when he was at County Hall, for Dave, it seemed obvious to get GHP involved in the Town Centre Gardens project. He was very impressed by the effectiveness in GHP’s methods of community engagement, as well as the added value GHP brings to projects. With the current emphasis on community involvement, and the statutory requirement to consult the public on pretty much anything, there is a real danger of some communities getting 'consultation burn-out', and so an approach like GHP’s that really engaged the community without them feeling they were part of just another consultation exercise seemed pivotal for getting a true reflection of how they valued their park. With additional help from CABE Space, the team will be interpreting the findings of the consultation into a Masterplan Brief, informing the Parks for People bid, and a comprehensive management plan for the park.