Milton Common

milton pier images(4)

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milton pier images(3)

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milton pier images(2)

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milton pier images(1)

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Milton Pier - Where water once was

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From just north of Shore Avenue on the East coast of the Portsmouth Peninsular, Milton Pier stretches across the expansive coastal open space of Milton Common for half a mile.

The Pier is not a continuous solid structure, but a corridor of creative interventions that evoke the idea of the Milton Common as land re-claimed from the sea. The idea of water flowing in the place where we then stood brought back memories for some of houseboats and cockling in the mud and revealed a history hidden below Portsmouths largest natural grassland area.

The Pier provides a vehicle for the creation of a series of sculptural interventions over the whole site. The trail, no more than three metres wide, stretches across the common, over wild grass, brambles, undulations, paths and ponds.

Platforms and posts made from reclaimed greenheart timber sea defences rise out of the ground, creating places to meet or for solitary contemplation, observation and exploration, a place to rest or for active physical play. The objects are connected by wild flowers that have been planted to enhance the concept of the corridor of interventions that form the pier.

Notions of landscapes changing through human intervention is at the forefront of contemporary environmental study and this work is intended not only to provide a fun and active place for young people but a place for reflection and contemplation.

Design Methodology

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Based on my research I have developed a design concept that responds to the special nature of Milton Common and the way it is used by local residents.

Milton Common has plenty of ‘natural play’ opportunities in its current form and my proposals aim to encourage further Exploration, Play and Discovery across the whole site through revealing some of the hidden aspects of the Common and to build stronger links between human activity, wildlife habitats and a historical and cultural understanding of the site.

Through a holistic understanding of the area the designs will create new play opportunities
that generate further exploration across the Common. The proposed creative interventions
will encourage a deeper understanding of the site and the relationship we have with the
‘natural world’.

Feedback

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Over the three days spent at Milton Common I spoke to a total of 44 people: those aged 6-14 years (29), 15-21 years (0), 22-59 years (6) and those over 60 years (9)

The dog walkers
Generally 60 years+. Usually on their own or in couples, often stopping to chat with other dog walkers. Predominantly walking on the paths to the coast and taking a circular route back. From those who I spoke to, their main interests were the views over Langstone harbour and the ecology of the site. Some of the older residents were keen to tell me about how the land had been reclaimed and where the shoreline used to be. There was a real sense of pride and ownership over the Common and the main concerns for the place were: housing development; anti-social behaviour in the form of large groups of young people drinking, and the rubbish.

The players
Between 8-13 years. Always at least two together and in groups of up to six or seven. The young people seemed to walk or cycle to the sea front and return the same way they came. They were all very happy to participate and enjoyed making drawings to illustrate their ideas for the common. Once we moved beyond ideas for fixed play (i.e. bigger slides & swings) they came up with loads of ideas using natural and reclaimed materials including colour trails, climbing structures, humps & bumps, mazes, and a bird watching platform. The beach was a real attraction, particularly crabbing, and bike riding was very popular. There was very little understanding of what the site was like before it became the common.

The families
All ages and using the whole site. The children used the site in the same way as ‘the players’ although would usually be younger than those out on their own. The families enjoyed doing things together and were keen that new ‘play opportunities’ should consider the parents as well as the children. It was no real surprise to learn that the weather and seasons played a huge role in how long families would stay on the Common and the activities they engaged in.

The twitchers
Usually male, over 50, solitary, with binoculars and camera close at hand. Often standing very still on the seaward periphery of the common, wearing an aura of ‘do not disturb’. So I didn’t.

Approach

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To understand this large area of reclaimed land I have focused on a holistic approach, spending time on the Common engaged in walking, looking, listening, talking to people, picking up objects, collecting anecdotal information, drawing, writing and taking photographs. Alongside this empirical research I have collected historical maps and information about the flora and fauna with help from the PCC team.

The core of my research consisted of a series of workshops aimed at learning about the
Common from the people who use it. For three days between the 28th to the 30th October I based myself on the Common with the specific intention of attracting interest from passers by and gathering information.

Conversations with adults took the form of creative consultation, giving me an opportunity to learn about the history of the Common, their fears and aspirations for the site and ask how they thought young people’s experience of the Common could be improved.

The informal workshops with young people were similar although I put much more emphasis on expressing the future potential of the Common through drawing.

Milton Materials 3

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Milton Materials 2

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Milton Materials 1

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30/10/09

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On the Common 30/10/09

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Where did everyone go? The wind had picked up, it was a bit cold and the common was practically empty. Thankfully Sophie came on site today and kept me company. We had a good walk around the site, got some good photographs and had a chance to work on some of the ideas that were suggested on the previous days.

29/10/09

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On the Common 29/10/09

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Another busy day on the common, I spoke to 25 people not including the commoners that came back from the day before. The young commoners liked having something different to and really wanted to show me what they liked about the place. Unfortunately this did end up in the Great Crab Massacre of Milton Common, when a group of 6 under 12’s brought back a bucket full of crabs to show me and couldn’t be bothered to take them back to the sea, so jumped on them instead. Humm, the seagulls were happy.

This event aside the youngsters came up with more drawings for the site and showed an interest in helping with the production of work for the site in the New Year. When I went for a walk later in the day there was a group of about 7 children between 4 – 10 years old crabbing on the beach without adults, bikes rested up on a bench.

I had some interesting talks with older commoners, particularly about the site pre-common, and the houseboats on the shoreline, which is now the new housing development. One lady described in my notes as orange jumper dog lady (she had about 5 or 6) was particularly interesting. I explained my intentions and she ranted at me how children didn’t know how to play anymore…. seemingly completely unaware that there were a group of boys on bikes riding past her, and at least 50% of the people I had spoken to that day were under 12. The activities that her children got up to on the park did sound like good fun though, building rafts on the lakes and blackberry fights.

I also had a good chat with Willie Goldfinch who was building the war memorial to the north of the common and he talked to me about his nickname, working 7 days a week building the memorial and his ‘soft place to land’, being a poet.

28/10/09

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On the Common 28/10/09

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What a great start to the first of three days on the common. Launa (9), Matthew (7) and Jemma (11) with their grandfather were the first people I spoke to whilst I was setting up. They had all been down to the harbour painting seascapes. What a wonderfully cultured bunch.

During the first day I spoke to sixteen commoners (as they shall be known), of which ten were between 7 –11 and five were 50+.

The older commoners were mostly concerned that my presence signalled that the site was going to be used for housing development. There was a genuine passion for this green space and the commoners were very happy to talk to me about the recent history, ecology and current use of the site. Good and bad. The re surfacing of the paths had been popular and the general feeling was that they didn’t want anything much to change. One lady was very keen to volunteer over at Tamworth Fields (an adjacent play pathfinder site) and I was encouraged that despite the large area that Milton common covers there was a real sense of pride and ownership.

Two of the negative aspects that were often repeated were about it not feeling safe (particularly at night) and the litter.

The young commoners that I met were nearly all 11 years old and enjoyed riding bikes, going crabbing and just hanging out on the common. They all got really involved in coming up with ideas for ‘improved play possibilities’ and made interesting contributions to the ideas map. The ideas ranges from treasure trails to tree houses, humps and bumps for bikes to places to shelter when it rains.

Evolution of the Common

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War Memorial

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First Thoughts

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My first visit to the common was in mid October, to meet with Louise and Antje (PCC Landscape Architects) and Sophie (Play Pathfinder Community Projects Manager) to have a tour of the site. Before they arrived I had a short walk around to get a first impression of the Common.

There are a number of things that have stuck with me from this first visit.

•Entering the Common from the entrance opposite Moorings Way Infant School it takes quite a while to realize that this green space has its own beach and incredible vistas over Langstone Harbor.
•The evolution of this site is made apparent by the rubble and debris that breaks through the surface of the common, hinting at the history of this 'natural' environment. Looking back at the Common from the beach you can start to understand how this area was reclaimed from the sea.
•Dog walkers rule. People walking dogs make up a very high percentage of the people I saw on the park. Unlike working at the Chalk Pit in Paulsgrove my initial feeling is that due to the large size and relative openness of this site it would be much harder to identify local residents that are passionate about this site.
•Natural materials that could be used for the production of physical work seem quite scarce.
•The war memorial being constructed by 2 men to the north east of the common was a passionate and creative public response to personal concerns. There endeavours add another dimension to the park environment. (with a little help from Louise, see the memorial photo!)

milton wildlife map

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Milton Common 1898

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Milton Common 2009

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The Site

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Milton Common is an expansive coastal open space, reclaimed from the sea by tipping from the 1950s up to 1970. It has been encouraged to develop into a natural grassland area that has become significant for nature conservation. A network of informal paths provides good access around the area and to the Langstone Harbour Coastal Path.

The aim of this commission is that we would like to get the local community onto the site, and for them to experience an artistic, interpretative play trail that is sensitive to the area.

Background

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In 2008 Portsmouth City Council were awarded a grant of £ 2.5million as part of the Play Pathfinder to improve 28 play areas and build a new Adventure Playground.

Play Pathfinder is distinct from other play initiatives in that its aim, through this funding, is to design & equip play sites that encourage risk & challenge especially for 8 and 13 year olds. Getting away from the 'off-the-peg' play sites and instead designing 'equipment' that use natural materials and stimulate creativity. It is also about creating initiatives that begin to break down the barriers that children have in accessing their local environment as sites of play i.e. attitudes, road danger etc.

To facilitate the departure in thinking behind the design of Play Pathfinder play sites, the dcsf (department for children, schools and families) in partnership with Play England produced the guide to creating successful play spaces – ‘Design for Play.’
Included in this are: the 10 principles for designing successful play spaces – Successful play spaces…
• Are bespoke
• Are well located
• Make use of natural materials
• Provide a wide range of play experiences
• Are accessible to both disabled and non-disabled children
• Meet community needs
• Allow children of different ages to play together
• Build in opportunities to experience risk and challenge
• Are sustainable and appropriately maintained
• Allow for change and evolution

Introduction

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This aim of this blog is to document the creation of a series of artworks that will improve the play value of Milton Common for young people. My hope is that this publication will give an insight into the creative process behind the decision making and encourage ongoing discussion throughout the design process.