Manor Heath Park and Jungle Experience
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Despite its grand-sounding name, the Manor Heath Park and Jungle Experience is actually a municipal park close to the centre of Halifax in Yorkshire. However, the council has turned the park into an important visitor attraction which, in 2009, was honored with a Green Flag Award for the fourth year running.
The park occupies the site of an old manor house that fell into terminal decline after the war and was demolished in 1959. Fortunately, the park has continued in use and has become a valued local resource. Paul Marshall, the Estate Manager in charge of the park, says: “We like to think that we run a nice old-fashioned, well-maintained park with a modern focus.”
The park occupies around eight hectares with a large number of facilities on the site. The area where the manor house once stood is now a sunken garden. The house’s walled garden still exists and has been split into ten smaller gardens which include a Millennium garden, trial beds, a rockery, a container garden and a Mediterranean garden. Other features of the park include a woodland walk and wild flower area, which is planted with more than 30 species of wild flower.
The Jungle Experience is housed in a series of glasshouses which are home to a variety of plants and animals. The Experience is divided into a number of sections: a tropical area called the “stumpery;” a time zone which shows how flora has changed over time; there’s an area displaying plants that have been cultivated by mankind and the final section is a butterfly area.
A popular attraction
Around 55,000 people a year visit the Jungle Experience with many people returning again and again. “There are lots of things in a condensed area,” explains Marshall. “You can go through everything in an hour or two, but you can always come back and find something new.”
In addition, the park plays host to a variety of events – there’s an annual gala which attracts around 10,000 people and there are regular wildlife events and children’s events. In summer there are Punch and Judy shows and one event, entitled Dinner with Dinosaurs, attracted 1,400 people in one day.
Part of the reason for the popularity of the park is the high standards of service. Another good reason is that admission is free, although donations are encouraged.
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council is very pleased with its park which helps to ensure that the area retains its reputation as a tourist destination. It’s also an area occupied by a lot of young business people for whom high quality parks are important. “These people feel that a good park keeps the area desirable and keeps the property prices high,” explains Marshall.
The park has further plans for the future – a new café will be opened and the toilets will be replaced. In addition, it is working with the local Primary Care Trust to help find funding for an outdoor gym.
All this has meant that a fairly ordinary, local park has been transformed into an exciting centre that has not only won the Green Flag Award but also rated highly in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition and provides an attractive place for families from across the region to visit.