INSIDE. PHASE 1 OF POPPINTREE PARK OPENS Ballymun Regeneration Limited and Dublin City Council are REGENERATION NEWS

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1 REGENERATION NEWS MAY/JUNE 2010 ISSUE 89 INSIDE Special edition newsletter on Poppintree Park Beautiful wildflowers and grasses planted in swales around the park If you see anything of a criminal nature i.e. vandalism, burgleries or thefts, please contact the Ballymun Gardai at Kids from the Aisling Project experience the park for the first time PHASE 1 OF POPPINTREE PARK OPENS Ballymun Regeneration Limited and Dublin City Council are delighted to invite you to the opening of phase 1 of Poppintree Park. The park will be officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Gerry Breen on Wednesday the 14th of July. This will be followed by a full programme of activities, entertainment and music. The redevelopment of the park, which cost over 8 million euro forms part of the Ballymun Masterplan and the regeneration of Ballymun. The emphasis in the design of the park is to create a safe and high quality park environment for everyone to enjoy. The park includes many new features such as a playground area for 3-12 year olds, which includes additional planting and new trees such as cherries, birch and apple trees. The addition of the pond with a wildlife island and a wetland area planted with sedges, grassland and bulrushes has already attracted wildlife to the park. You can also follow a tree trail, where with the help of a tree plaque placed in front of each tree you can identify the variety of tree. In total 286 new trees have been planted in phase 1 of Poppintree Park along with 14,889 shrubs and hedging and 35,269 plants. If you would like to join us in this celebration come along to the opening of phase 1 on Wednesday the 14th of July at 11am.

2 Poppintree Park I 7 Balbutcher Lane E 8 6 Hollywell Belclare Terrace 5 Phase 2 C Storage 4 Cedarwood Green D C Legend Entrance P Pond with Wildlife Island W Wetland Area with Walk Age 3-12 A Attenuation Area Depot Changing Rooms Start of Tree Trail E Water Safety Buoys Emergency Access Wild Flower Meadow Daily Opening 10am Closing Times: December & January 5.00pm February & November 5.30pm March 6.30pm 7.30pm April 7.30pm May & September 8.30pm June & July 10.00pm August 9.30pm October 6.30pm 7.30pm Note: Change in times due to daylight savings 2

3 nformation Map Belclare Avenue D 9 A Belclare Drive Phase 1 W 10 Belclare Crescent P Marewood Crescent E 1 Barnewall Drive 3 Willow Park Road 2 Cedarwood Rise Willow Park Road Contact Numbers: Entrances: Open Park Garda & Emergency call 999 Please give due consideration to other park users. This is your park so please help the park warden to take care of it. 24hr CCTV Surveilance Children under the age of 8 years should be accompanied by an adult when playing near the water Open on 14/07/ Open approx Open approx October Open approx March

4 There are also new pathways and walkways to enjoy in the park ranging from the more formal oak tree lined avenue along the main axis of the park to the more informal grassed pathway in the storm water storage area. The variation in levels in the park offers a variety of views and landscapes. These range from low-lying wetland and pond areas to wild flower meadows and borders and the pathways and children s playground located at the higher level. As you walk along the paths and walkways there are a number of benches if you wish to sit and admire the surroundings. The playground is for children aged 3-12 and is located at gate 9. The playground equipment was specially selected for its high play value to children and consists of windpipes, swings, climbing nets and frames, slides and a wheelchair carousel. These blend into the surroundings of the park and will provide lots of activity not to mention fun for the children. The landscape design of the park within the playground is specially designed to offer a wide variety of play that can happen without the playground equipment. The next phase of the park will provide more playgrounds that will suit older age groups. Further details on the new features located in the park: Pond area: The pond is located at the lowest spot within the park. The pond will collect surface water from the park as well as rain water from the surrounding housing estates. There is also an island located in the centre of the pond. The island was created to allow wildlife to find a new home. This will improve biodiversity in the park and also allow visitors to enjoy watching water birds and other animals. Please remember that children under the age of 8 should be accompanied by an adult when playing near water. Wetland area: The wetland area is very important, as it is the natural water filter that will cleanse the water flowing into the pond. The sedges and rushes and other plants will in time not just filter the water, they will also provide nesting cover for birds. Over time the pond and wetland area will create a special eco system that encourages greater biodiversity within the park. Attenuation area: Directly beside the wetland area you will find the attenuation area that has the potential to hold the year storm water. This important measure was built as part of this new development to ensure that the adjoining areas would not be flooded if such an event occurred. For the majority of the time it can be used as an informal recreation area and hopefully once the grassland is established fully it can also be used for informal ball games. Park entrances: There will be new park entrances open on the day. Please check the map on the inside for locations of gates. The new park entrances consists of a mix of railings and concrete walls that help the public to easily spot the nearest entrance when going for a walk in the park. There are two emergency accesses in the current layout (see map) and the finished park will have three in total. There are three 24-hour CCTV surveillance cameras installed and currently in operation in the park. If you see anything that you are concerned about please contact one of the following numbers: Park Depot 8.00am 4.30pm: Ballymun Garda Station: Swales: Swales are areas that are planted with wildflowers and grasses. There are a number of wildflower areas located around the park. Swales help manage excess Continued on the back page 4

5 Please tear along the dotted line All entries will be entered into a draw and the winners will be notified by the 11th August Please send your entries to Debby Clarke, Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, Civic Centre, Main Street, Ballymun, Dublin 9. Closing date for all entries is 28th July 2010 Name: Address: Phone: Age: 5

6 surface water run-off during wet periods and are an important bio-diversity resource as they offer very high Eco Adventure Activities Drama Tree Trail Watersafety: numbers of plants and help to promote and encourage wildlife into the area. The wildflower meadows are particularly eye catching at the moment with large tracts of Ox-eye daisies. Opening day activities 14th July 2010 There will be lots of fun activities taking place in the park during the opening day. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in on the fun filled schedule of activities that are listed below: 11.00am Lord Mayor officially opens the park Puppet show Dance display and workshop Face painting Sports activities With water safety in mind a colouring competition has been included in this issue. The entries will be judged from the following categories: 6 years and under 7-9 years years 14 years plus The following prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will be awarded to the winning participants from each category. 1st - Leisure Centre Family Pass Plus Zoo Family Pass 2nd - Zoo Family Pass 3rd - Leisure Centre Family Pass For further information regarding participation in water safety sessions at Ballymun Leisure Centre, please contact Debby Clarke, BRL Play Development or For more information on water safety, check out the Irish Water Safety Ballymun Regeneration Ltd (BRL) Civic Centre, Main Street, Ballymun, Dublin 9 Tel: Fax: Web: brl.comms@dublincity.ie