News at Shipley Country Park

Changing Places at Shipley Country Park 

A Changing Places facility has recently been installed in Shipley Country Park, the first in a country park in the UK.

It is also just the second to be completed in the county.

Changing Places facilities are different to standard disabled toilets with extra features and more space to meet the needs of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well as other serious impairments such as spinal injuries, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis or an acquired brain injury.

They often need extra facilities to allow them to use the toilets comfortably.

At present there are very few in the UK, so we have joined the campaign and are actively seeking to promote the development of more facilities, whether through our own facilities such as Shipley, or by working with the private sector to encourage their inclusion in existing or new developments.

For further information about Changing Places please visit Mencap’s website: www.mencap.org.uk/changingplaces (opens in a new window)

Green Flag Awarded to Shipley Country Park

The Green Flag Award is the national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales. It is similar to the Blue Flag award for beaches.

The scheme began in 1996 as a means of recognising and rewarding the best green spaces in the country.

We first achieved the award in 2008, and we are pleased to announce that our application was again successful in 2009.

Shipley Country Park is the first Derbyshire County Council site to receive this prestigious award and we are now striving to maintain our standards and further improve the park as we will be judged again in the Spring of 2010.
Plans for Shipley Lakeside

On 30 September 2009 we announced that they are to start negotiations on the sale of the Shipley Lakeside site. The site was previously the American Adventure Them Park, which closed in 2007.

The plan is for Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to purchase the outer part of the site, and waystone Ltd to buy the inner part.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust hopes to find funding for this purchase and for the building of an eco-build visitors centre, and facilities for staff and visitors.

Waystone Ltd’s plan proposes a range of uses including offices and industrial development, commercial and retail development, education and learning development, leisure use, healthcare, residential and a hotel.