Award winning park hailed as a model for others

A DUMFRIES park which prides itself on being open to all has won a national award at the Scottish Civic Trust’s My Place Awards. Catherine Street Inclusive Park was announced as the winner at a ceremony at The Trades Hall, Glasgow on Monday. The My Place Awards were created to celebrate community-led built environment projects that have transformed their locality. The park began its transformation back in 2018 when a working group led by parents of disabled children formed to campaign for an inclusive play space within the town. Following community consultation, the group successfully raised £225,000 from trusts, community fundraising and Dumfries and Galloway Council. The concept for Catherine Street Inclusive Park is “welcoming, inclusive and naturally playful.” It has a unique design with physical, social and sensory play in mind. [caption id="attachment_47805" align="aligncenter" width="680"]

AWARD WINNERS . . . Catherine Street Inclusive Park representatives Lisa callendar-Bone and Lynn Watret at the ceremony in Glasgow[/caption] Since opening in 2020, the park has been a hub of activity, supporting health and wellbeing. Described as a ‘community centre without walls’, the park encourages all age groups and abilities to share a space and spend recreation time side-by-side. Member of My Place Awards 2023 judging panel, Gordon Murray, commended the efforts of everyone involved the park’s success, he said: “Entries to the 2023 My Place Awards were of extremely high quality, but what made Catherine Street Inclusive Park stand out from the crowd was its engagement with the local community. The project achieved sustainable growth through embedding itself in the community, and is a model for future projects.”