Hylands Estate
Chelmsford Borough Council
Hylands Estate is one of Britain’s most quintessential English country houses and parks and the perfect location to enjoy history and hedonism as old blends perfectly with new.
The old takes the form of Humphry Repton, the iconic 18th and early 19th-century landscape designer who planned the park’s serpentine lake, dramatic site lines and quiet, contemplative Pleasure Gardens. Much of 232 hectares of the park’s grassland, woodland and formal pockets are designated Grade II by English Heritage. The park also proves itself to be relevant in the modern era by playing host to the V music festival.
The local authority has been painstaking in keeping Repton’s original designs – a stable block homes shire horses - but in order for the park to play a key role in the 21st century, new buildings and facilities including a visitor centre, café and shop have been introduced alongside many original features.
“The park is a green oasis in an urban setting and must have something for all ages and all kinds of people, from festival goers to local residents and people with disabilities to those from ethnic groups,” says Parks and Horticultural Officer Mike Keen.
Developments for the future
A management plan for Hylands Estate has established day-to-day measures that go towards long term policy objectives across the borough, such as sustainability, conservation and heritage. There are strict controls over pesticide use, litter is sorted for recycling and the park’s management is looking at using sustainable urban drainage systems to collect rain off the park buildings’ rooftops. There are also further proposals to improve habitats, green corridors and diversity of species.
A number of visitor surveys have been undertaken to asses the opinions of park users and give a detailed profile of who uses the park and for what. This yields a goldmine of data for marketing drives. Chelmsford Borough Council has therefore managed to target its marketing and publicity effectively through a variety of channels. For example, in order to promote a Race for Life event, park leaders used posters, flyers, newspaper adverts, newsletters and local radio in order to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Recent initiatives spawned from research include feasibility studies about increasing the number of interpretation signs around the park to inform visitors on the history and current use of the estate. Parks Managers are also looking at rolling out structured events such as orienteering to improve the health of locals and are focusing on initiatives to target teenagers.
“It’s important to get local teenagers to buy into Hylands and the wider area”, says Keen. “Park management is aware of the relative vulnerability of the park to attract antisocial behaviour. Regular talks with police, social services and drug agencies are designed to monitor and seek preventive measures for crime and vandalism.”
The World Scout Jamboree Day in 2007 attracted a number of teenagers to the park when around 55,000 scouts, guides and visitors converged on the park for a ten day event. The events also saw the park build the arts-crafts-styled One World Garden to celebrate the jamboree which was hailed as one of the most exciting contemporary gardens in East Anglia. This modern element again complemented the rich historical landscape of the park and ensured that Hylands Estate remains relevant to all sections of the community.