Growing your Outdoor Place
Outdoor spaces provide an excellent platform to bring the ‘Embrace a Giant Spirit’ to life. They offer the opportunity to develop brand-aligned experiences which build on the four ‘key inspirers’ – Big Hearted, Original, Stories and Legends, Land, Water and Sea.
Gosford Forest Park – Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council
Gosford Forest Park near Markethill in Co. Armagh has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years. Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council (the Council) took over the management of Gosford Forest Park from Forestry NI at the beginning of 2019. Since then, the Council has redeveloped the Forest Park which has now become one of the must visit outdoor spaces in Northern Ireland.
The change has been driven by substantial investment but more importantly by a well-considered approach to ensure the forest’s unique characteristics have been maximized in a sympathetic way to ensure differentiation and in turn market penetration.
Highlighted below are the key factors contributing towards the success of this project.
Start with a vision
Given the potential of the circa 240 hectares of mixed woodland and open parkland, the Council was very driven and clear from the outset regarding what success would look like. The stated vision was:
‘to become one of the top five Forest Park’s in Northern Ireland providing a five-star, family focused, forest holiday experience’ which set the tone for the ambition of the project.
Initial scoping highlighted this would be achieved by:
- Providing a high-quality, authentic ‘Forest Park’ experience
- Creating a family-friendly destination with a package of activities, experiences and accommodation
Aspire to be the best in class
From the outset the Council set out to be the best in class, this mindset was informed by extensive benchmarking of best practice locations in Great Britain.
The ambition to transform the Forest Park into ‘Ireland’s Greatest Forest Adventure Trail’ was informed by visits and engagement with key staff at exemplar Forestry England sites such as Alice Holt Forest, Moors Valley Country Park and Forest, Grizedale and Dalby Forest.
Masterplan
A well-considered masterplan is the road map to success, it will provide a phased approach to the development of your outdoor place i.e. laying out what needs to be delivered first and how subsequent steps will be incorporated. For example, where will your car park be positioned to service your phase 1 play park but also service your phase 2 visitor centre.
The Council undertook a detailed master planning process which considered:
- Current use including any aspects not related to the visitor experience e.g. agriculture
- Visitor flow and connectivity between different parts of the outdoor place i.e. the customer journey from entrance to exit
- Key assets of the place e.g. points of interest
- Key constraints to future development e.g. ground conditions, ecology, topography, planning regulations, traffic flow
- Integration of visitor services
- Integration of outdoor recreation experiences – walking trails, cycling trails, adventure play
- Ongoing management structures and requirements
All proposed development was underpinned by sustainability to ensure any development was not detrimental to the environment in which it is located.
Crunch the numbers
The development of outdoors spaces will require significant capital investment and in turn ongoing management and maintenance resource. Council therefore commissioned a detailed green book economic appraisal to inform further decision making and build confidence with external funders.
Deliver with a difference
The Council undertook a phased delivery of the masterplan with the key elements including high quality walking trails, family mountain bike trails, re-branding and signage, however the stand-out experience was the development of Ireland’s Greatest Adventure Trail.
The five iconic play structures linked by a two kilometer woodland trail was designed to satisfy the growing demand of child-oriented experiences in the Northern Ireland tourism market but also provide the perfect platform to convey the unique character of the place. Informed by engagement with the local community including workshops with local schools – the play structures have drawn upon local stories and inspiration from Dean Jonathan Swift who stayed at the estate during part of the time he was writing the iconic Gulliver’s Travels.
Grow the offering
The Council is not resting on its laurels and is continuing to invest – recently developed glamping pods will further enhance the opportunity for families to engage with the outdoors and increase dwell time.
Since the Council took over management of the Forest Park in 2019, it has increased its visitor numbers by over 50% from approximately 279,000 to 430,000 per annum.
For more information on Gosford Forest Park please visit getactiveabc.com