Sywell Country Park – feasibility study

Client: North Northamptonshire Council

Sywell Country Park is a popular countryside country park which has been developed at an Edwardian reservoir, built at the turn of the 20th century. The country park covers 143 acres and just under 50% is open water. Much of the Edwardian water treatment heritage infrastructure remains intact. Planning Solutions Consulting Limited was commissioned by North Northamptonshire Council to carry out a feasibility study to enhance the visitor offer.

Our work included a detailed assessment of the current visitor experience and visitor trends to identify the baseline position. The wider policy context was considered to build the strategic case for investment and the planning context was also reviewed. A detailed market assessment was carried out in terms of the residential marketplace living within specific drivetime catchments of Sywell Country Park and the country park sector was also analysed alongside the education marketplace and competitive landscape. A range of precedent examples of appropriate development initiatives were reviewed at other country parks, nature reserves and countryside sites. In the form of an action plan, a change plan was developed for Sywell Country Park – the starting point was a workshop with staff from North Northamptonshire Council. Financial impacts were identified and funding opportunities were considered as part of the work alongside a risk assessment.

Find out more about Sywell Country Park here. Image kindly provided by North Northamptonshire Council

How can we help?
If have any questions about carrying out a feasibility study for a country park please don’t hesitate to call Richard Linington on 07866 742628 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk