Public Park in Barnsley Oversees a Huge Transformation

Client Overview

Alpha Rail have recently been involved in the Penny Pie Park improvements project, the purpose of which was to improve the environmental surroundings of a neglected park that is located on Dodworth Road, Barnsley.

The client for this job was Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Sarah Whittaker, at Barnsley MBC appointed CF Landscape to prepare a design for Penny Pie Park where a road (A628 Dodworth Road/Broadway Junction) improvement scheme was being put in place to alleviate congestion between the M1 motorway and Barnsley Town Centre and was going to divide the existing park into two areas.

Karen Elliot, the landscape architect appointed to this project, was in contact with Chris Campbell who is a metalwork designer, and his job involved drawing out the ideas that Sarah Whittaker had for the park in hope they could come to life.

Project Brief

Once all the ideas came together Alpha Rail were contacted by P Casey & Company Ltd who were the successful contractor for this project. They explained to us about what our role would be in the improvement scheme and inquired to see if we could provide the metal work that was required for this job.

Our job at Alpha Rail was to provide decorative railings and a large decorative archway to improve the environmental surroundings at the park by minimising the negative effects of having a road placed through it.

How did it go / Our Stratergy

Our role in the Dodworth Road improvement project went very well. We were hired for the supply and installation of multiple products including:

• Decorative Flat Top Railings
• Gates Decorative
• Arches
• Pedestrian Guardrail

We gave a lot of design assistance to Karen throughout the process to allow us to get to the best outcome in this project. To do this Karen visited us at the offices to meet the technician and discuss the designs, she was also able to come and look at the work on the shop floor before it was installed at the park.

Outcomes / Results

This project turned out very well, it successfully improved the environmental surroundings and still kept the park looking appealing despite the new road. The client was happy with the results of this and from our point of view it was one of our favourite projects to work on. Because of how successful we found this job we have entered it for the AFI fence of the year awards.