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33-475: Apex Leisure and Wildlife Park is an urban park and wildlife centre in Highbridge , Somerset, England. The park was created on the site of a former clay pit and brickwork manufacturing site and provides a link between Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea . There are various facilities including an outdoor gym , a lake and birdlife. In the 19th and early 20th centuries clay was extracted for brick and tile making on

66-451: A 10-minute walk , provides multiple benefits. A park is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and maintained by a local government. Grass is typically kept short to discourage insect pests and to allow for the enjoyment of picnics and sporting activities. Trees are chosen for their beauty and to provide shade , with an increasing emphasis on reducing an urban heat island effect. Some early parks include

99-580: A fully public park. Within the park is also a gravestone, dated 1926, in memory of a donkey called Judy who gave "21 years of service", providing rides for children in the park. The Doric Lodge, which was situated by the Sunburst Gates at the main entrance, was destroyed by bombs in 1940. There is a lake in the middle of the park, originally for boating, which is used today for fishing. The foundations of its formerly Grade II listed boathouse, which may have been built by John Robertson and which burnt down in

132-492: A larger scale at Birkenhead Park . Prince's Park also influenced its near neighbour, Sefton Park . Richard Yates gave the park to the city in 1849. In the August of the same year, the park was used for a fair, which was well-attended and raised money for local hospitals. The event included various marquees and a hot air balloon flight. A lithograph exists, which documents this event. An obelisk and former drinking fountain in

165-566: A wide range of plants and birds. Water birds spotted include mute swans, cormorants, pochard ducks and tufted ducks, coots, Canada geese and moorhens. Urban park Depending on size, budget, and land features, which varies considerably among individual parks, common features include playgrounds , gardens , hiking, running, fitness trails or paths, bridle paths , sports fields and courts, public restrooms, boat ramps, performance venues, or BBQ and picnic facilities. Park advocates claim that having parks near urban residents, including within

198-401: Is a 45 ha (110 acres) municipal park , 2 mi (3.2 km) south east of Liverpool city centre. In 2009, its status was upgraded to a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage . The park was originally a private development (though open to the public) by Richard Vaughan Yates, the cost of which was expected to be met through the development of grand Georgian-style housing around

231-474: Is a children's play area, a cafe, a lake, toilets, picnicking, a skate park, an outdoor gym with a cross trainer, arm pull down, chest press, seated rower, shoulder press, spinning bike and leg press. There are model boating facilities and a BMX track. Burnham and Highbridge Parkrun takes place every Saturday morning at 9am. The area covered is 42 acres (17 ha). There are semi-natural habitats with lake, reed bed, scrub, woods, wildflower and grassland used by

264-547: The La Alameda de Hércules , in Seville , a promenaded public mall, urban garden and park built in 1574, within the historic center of Seville. The Városliget ( City Park ) in the City of Pest , what is today Budapest, Hungary , was a city property when afforestation started in the middle of the 18th century, from the 1790s with the clear aim to create a public park. Between 1799 and 1805 it

297-602: The Village of Yorkville Park in Toronto , which won an award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Parks are sometimes made out of oddly shaped areas of land, much like the vacant lots that often become city neighborhood parks. Linked parks may form a greenbelt . There is a form of an urban park in the UK (officially called a "recreation ground", but commonly called a "rec" by

330-593: The UK, with around 2.6 billion visits to parks each year. Many parks are of cultural and historical interest, with 300 registered by Historic England as of national importance. Most public parks have been provided and run by local authorities over the past hundred and seventy years, but these authorities have no statutory duty to fund or maintain these public parks. In 2016 the Heritage Lottery Fund 's State of UK Public Parks reported that "92 per cent of park managers report their maintenance budgets have reduced in

363-515: The United States and the world, though cow grazing did not end until the 1830s. Around the country, the predecessors to urban parks in the United States were generally rural cemeteries . The cemeteries were intended as civic institutions designed for public use. Before the widespread development of public parks, the rural cemetery provided a place for the general public to enjoy outdoor recreation amidst art and sculpture previously available only for

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396-827: The United States are Central Park in New York, Lincoln Park in Chicago, Mission Bay Park in San Diego. In the early 1900s, according to Cranz, U.S. cities built neighborhood parks with swimming pools, playgrounds and civic buildings, with the intention of Americanizing the immigrant residents. In the 1950s, when money became available after World War II , new parks continued to focus on both outdoor and indoor recreation with services, such as sports leagues using their ball fields and gymnasia. These smaller parks were built in residential neighborhoods, and tried to serve all residents with programs for seniors, adults, teens and children. Green space

429-490: The confines of a serpentine carriageway, put in place the essential elements of his much-imitated design for Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead . The latter commenced in 1843 with the help of public finance and deployed the ideas which Paxton had pioneered at Princes Park on a more expansive scale. Frederick Law Olmsted visited Birkenhead Park in 1850 and praised its qualities. Indeed, Paxton is widely credited as having been one of

462-449: The designed landscape as a setting for the suburban domicile (an idea pioneered by John Nash at Regent's Park in London) and re-fashioned it for the provincial town in a most original way. Nash's remodelling of St James's Park from 1827 and the sequence of processional routes he created to link The Mall with Regent's Park completely transformed the appearance of London's West End . With

495-432: The early 1990s, can still be seen at the south end. In 2009 the park had its status upgraded to a Grade II* Historic Park by English Heritage , making it one of five such parks in the city. English Heritage gave four reasons for upgrading the park's status. These were that it was the first major park created by Paxton, and that it inspired other designers, who incorporated elements of the park in other urban parks throughout

528-494: The establishment of Princes Park in 1842, Joseph Paxton did something similar for the benefit of a provincial town, albeit one of international stature by virtue of its flourishing mercantile sector. Liverpool had a burgeoning presence in global maritime trade before 1800, and during the Victorian era its wealth rivalled that of London itself. The form and layout of Paxton's ornamental grounds, structured about an informal lake within

561-779: The form of walking, running, horse riding, mountain biking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing; or sedentary activity such as observing nature, bird watching, painting, photography, or picnicking. Limiting park or open space use to passive recreation over all or a portion of the park's area eliminates or reduces the burden of managing active recreation facilities and developed infrastructure. Many ski resorts combine active recreation facilities (ski lifts, gondolas, terrain parks, downhill runs, and lodges) with passive recreation facilities (cross-country ski trails). Many smaller neighborhood parks are receiving increased attention and valuation as significant community assets and places of refuge in heavily populated urban areas. Neighborhood groups around

594-525: The large amount of open space and natural habitat in the former pleasure grounds, they now serve as important wildlife refuges, and often provide the only opportunity for urban residents to hike or picnic in a semi-wild area. However, city managers or politicians can target these parks as sources of free land for other uses. Partly for this reason, some of these large parks have "friends of X park" advisory boards that help protect and maintain their semi-wild nature. There are around estimated 27,000 public parks in

627-451: The name of the previous brick and tile company bought out by Colthurst Symonds. The clay pits were required for storm water drainage for the council's drainage scheme and this involved creating a link between the two towns via a public park. The clay pits were sculpted into one lake, during excavation an ordance dump of bombs, mines and grenades left by the Ministry of Defence during 1939 - 1945

660-567: The need to provide substantial space to congregate, typically involves intensive management, maintenance, and high costs. Passive recreation, also called "low-intensity recreation" is that which emphasizes the open-space aspect of a park and allows for the preservation of natural habitat. It usually involves a low level of development, such as rustic picnic areas, benches, and trails. Passive recreation typically requires little management and can be provided at very low costs. Some open space managers provide nothing other than trails for physical activity in

693-462: The park bears the inscription: During his time in Liverpool, James Martineau had a house in the park. Around 1863, the housing in the vicinity of the park contained the home of the parents of Edward Gordon Duff . Immediately prior to World War I , the headquarters of the 6th Rifle Battalion were based at Prince's Park Barracks. In 1918 the park was acquired by Liverpool City Council , becoming

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726-404: The park was built was purchased by Richard Vaughan Yates, an iron merchant and philanthropist, in 1841 for £50,000. The creation of Princes Park showed great foresight and introduced a number of highly influential ideas. First and foremost was the provision of open space for the benefit of townspeople and local residents within an area that was being rapidly built up. Secondly it took the concept of

759-481: The park. Prince's Park was designed by Joseph Paxton and James Pennethorne , opened in 1842 and named for the newborn Edward, Prince of Wales . The plan was drawn by John Robertson and Edward Milner supervised the work. Construction was completed in 1843. The original gates can still be seen. With its serpentine lake and a circular carriage drive, the park set a style which was to be widely emulated in Victorian urban development, most notably by Paxton himself on

792-420: The past three years and 95 per cent expect their funding will continue to reduce". Parks can be divided into active and passive recreation areas. Active recreation is that which has an urban character and requires intensive development. It often involves cooperative or team activity, including playgrounds , ball fields, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and skateparks . Active recreation such as team sports, due to

825-452: The principal influences on Olmsted and Calvert's design for New York's Central Park of 1857. Another early public park, the Peel Park, Salford , England, opened on 22 August 1846. Boston Common was purchased for public use grazing cows and as a military parade ground and dump in 1634. It first started to get recreational elements in 1728, arguably making it the first municipal park in

858-518: The public.) and some EU states that have mostly recreation grounds for kids to play within a park, but may also have a duck pond, large grassy zones not meant exclusively for sports, many trees, and several bushy places. When it occurs as a separate facility on its own, without any parkland, at a street corner or by a shop, the play facility is called a playground . Princes Park, Liverpool Prince's Park in Toxteth , Liverpool , England ,

891-475: The site. A railway line to Burnham-on-Sea ran along the current north-eastern part of the park. A brickworks manufacturing bricks, roof tiles and pipes operated on the site with four kilns. Manufacturing ceased in 1966 ending the brick and tile trade in the Highbridge area. In 1969 Burnham-on-Sea Urban District Council bought the land holding of "Colthurst Symonds & Co", including flooded clay pits, Apex being

924-485: The wealthy. In The Politics of Park Design: A History of Urban Parks in America, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1982), Professor Galen Cranz identifies four phases of park design in the U.S. In the late 19th century, city governments purchased large tracts of land on the outskirts of cities to form "pleasure grounds": semi-open, charmingly landscaped areas whose primary purpose was to allow city residents, especially

957-484: The workers, to relax in nature. As time passed and the urban area grew around the parks, land in these parks was used for other purposes, such as zoos, golf courses and museums. These parks continue to draw visitors from around the region and are considered regional parks , because they require a higher level of management than smaller local parks. According to the Trust for Public Land , the three most visited municipal parks in

990-524: The world are joining together to support local parks that have suffered from urban decay and government neglect. A linear park is a park that has a much greater length than width. A typical example of a linear park is a section of a former railway that has been converted into a park called a rail trail or greenway (i.e. the tracks removed, vegetation allowed to grow back). Some examples of linear parks in North America include New York's High Line and

1023-595: Was discovered and removed by the Explosive Ordance Royal Engineers . In 1972 drainage work began connecting an outfall pipe to the River Brue allowing a wider choice of recreation for the public. The park straddles both Highbridge and adjacent Burnham-on-Sea , it is listed as Apex Wildlife and Leisure Park, Highbridge on the Somerset Council website. The park runs along the River Brue . There

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1056-525: Was of secondary importance. As urban land prices climbed, new urban parks in the 1960s and after have been mainly pocket parks . One example of a pocket park is Chess Park in Glendale, California. The American Society of Landscape Architects gave this park a General Design Award of Honor in 2006. These small parks provide greenery, a place to sit outdoors, and often a playground for children. All four types of park continue to exist in urban areas. Because of

1089-537: Was rented out to the Batthyány family to carry out such a project but the city had eventually taken back control and in 1813 announced a design competition to finally finish the park; works started in 1816. An early purpose-built public park, although financed privately, was Princes Park in the Liverpool suburb of Toxteth . This was laid out to the designs of Joseph Paxton from 1842 and opened in 1843. The land on which

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