Queen's Park Caterham Masterplan

Queen’s Park is the largest park in Caterham, located in the Tandridge district of Surrey. The park was first opened in 1900 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and is now one of the district’s most popular parks. Arkwood have been commissioned by Tandridge Council to create a masterplan for the redesign and modernisation of Queen’s Park, and this masterplan fits into the wider Open Space Strategy set out for Tandridge.

Client and Contract Period

Tandridge District Council

2021-Ongoing

Project Objectives

Commencing in 2021 we set out plans for the Open Space Strategy for Caterham, part of which involved the development of a masterplan of Queen’s Park to RIBA Stage 2 as a key strategic priority for the district. One of the objectives of the masterplan is to implement a variety of SuDS features to help to alleviate surface water flooding, providing raingardens and planted swales to increase biodiversity and visual appeal in the park, as well as mitigating the flooding which is a widespread issue throughout Caterham. The introduction of the flood attenuation features across the park offers an opportunity to explore fluid elements that connect the site more effectively.

Issues, Challenges, and Outcomes

With consultation being key elements of developing the masterplan, four options had been developed. Each of these seeks to address the fundamental issues that the site presents. Queen’s Park is located on a surface water flow route and at the top of the water catchment. Water falling on Queen’s Park flows north toward the centre of Caterham before flowing on toward Croydon. One of the options included a balancing pond which formed the most significant feature of the flood alleviation proposals. Other options also included opportunities for improving pitch drainage and introducing bunds, swales or planted swales and raingardens in key locations.

After gathering feedback from public consultation, we have included a new café with public toilets and the provision of new ornamental planting areas. We refined the SuDS features to optimise the capture of water across the park, as well as creating an enhanced network of paths. The existing play area will be refreshed with new equipment to meet a range of ages and abilities. In addition, there will be an outdoor study area and reinforcement of biodiversity connectivity through new native planting and additional tree planting.

Services