A COUNCIL bid to create a temporary green space in Carlisle has taken another step forward - but county councillors raised concerns about 'value for money' in the scheme, which is designed to increase city centre footfall.
Cumbria County Council’s Local Committee heard a proposal from the city council on Wednesday, to create a pop-up park in the centre of Carlisle.
Carlisle City Council is proposing to use part of the Welcome Back Fund for the plan titled 'Greening the Greenmarket.'
The Welcome Back Fund is a pot of £56million for the nation's local councils.
It is hoped that the proposal, funded by an arm of the European Union will provide opportunities for individuals and families to relax, eat, drink and socialise whilst in the City Centre with additional seating, artificial grass and planting.”
The pop-up park would be found in front of the Crown and Mitre in Carlisle City Centre and has been included in a grant application to the Department for Levelling-Up.
County councillors for the area received sight of the plans at the local committee this week and did not object to them moving forward, but councillor John Bell asked if the temporary park would have the desired effect.
Councillor Bell said: “I’m struggling to find any advantage of this. I just don’t see the advantages of changing what we’ve got now, other than perhaps if we moved some of the trees.
“To me, I don’t think it’s value for money.”
Jeannie Pasley attended the meeting to discuss the initiative, responding to Cllr Bell’s comments, she said: “It’s temporary, it’s only going to be in the city centre for a matter of months.
“The benefits of green space, we have huge evidence of that from the pandemic period when people were getting a lot from going into their little park.
"So it’s just to bring that into the city centre to see, as a bit of a trial, how well it’s received or not.”
Public health portfolio holder Cllr Deborah Earl noted that environmental groups could be unhappy about the artificial grass.
Cllr Alan McGuckin asked if the proposal is ambitious enough.
But Ms Pasley said that the area will be decorated with ornamental animals and a planting scheme. She said: “It’s not just a bland green area.
"I think it’s trying to bring something different to the city following on from good practice elsewhere the likes of Manchester, Edinburgh, Newcastle, where they’ve introduced a bit of green space within the high street setting.
"We’ll see how well or not it’s received.”
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