Oxhey Activity Park won the Excellence in Public Health and Wellbeing category at the prestigious Landscape Institute (LI) Awards 2021, which celebrates landscape led projects across the world...
Oxhey Activity Park - one of the most innovative environments for wheeled sports in the UK created by Watford Borough Council and Landscape Architects Southern Green - won the Excellence in Public Health and Wellbeing category at the prestigious Landscape Institute (LI) Awards 2021, which celebrates landscape led projects across the world.
The LI awards are presented to landscape professionals in recognition of their outstanding work, and to encourage excellence. Every year, they applaud those working on the most pioneering projects to have shaped, restored and protected the natural and built environment.
Working with Borras Construction and Freestyle Skateparks, Southern Green and Watford Borough Council completed the construction of Oxhey Activity Park in September 2020. The major landscape overhaul of the unused site included extensive wheeled sports facilities, a new café with a riverside terrace, accessible adventurous play facilities, improved walking and cycling routes and a range of biodiversity improvements to enhance the River Colne corridor.
The facilities provided cater for all types of boards, bikes, scooters, skates and blades and were designed to maximise participation of all ages, genders and abilities. Each feature has been carefully positioned to encourage users to progress from one space to another as well as try new activities.
Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “I am delighted that this major project led by Watford Borough Council has been recognised by the judging panel at the Landscape Institute Awards. Oxhey Activity Park is already proving to be a very popular place to visit and our investment has transformed the area into an exciting new sport, play and leisure facility. These awards are well deserved recognition for all those who helped design and deliver these wonderful new facilities”.
The LI Awards shortlist included 73 strong finalists, from a £250 million car-free, low-carbon housing development in Leeds to a waterfront master plan on the shores of the Yangtze River. The extensive portfolio of fantastic and interesting projects shortlisted, showed the competition that Oxhey Activity Park faced, as well as highlighting the overall success of the project.
This year also saw the open space being voted one of the top 15 parks in the UK and you can find out more about the facilities on the Oxhey Activity Park website.
