Fawcett Park Completion at Consett – Absolute Civil Engineering joined Dysart Developments, Project Genesis and over 120 people from local business, government and the community to celebrate the official opening of Fawcett Park on the Berry Edge site in Consett.
The new urban park covers a two hectare area of land once occupied by the town’s steelworks and boasts a childrens’ play area, wildflower areas and a timber trim trail. The park shares a section of the C2C cycle way and also provides access to the Derwent walk.
During the development more than 50,000 cubic metres of spoil was removed. 7,000 cubic metres of subsoil and 4,000 cubic metres of topsoil was imported to make the grassed areas and shrub beds. More than 12,000 shrubs and trees have been planted in the park.
The park is also home to two large-scale public artworks. the Genesis Circle, with a diameter of 18 metres is made up of five corten steel panels each weighing a ton, showing scenes from the original steelworks in operation. There’s also circular stone seating and a stone centre feature which incorporates a stainless steel etched ‘coin’. The artwork was conceived by landscape architect Simon Auton and created by Cumbrian based metal artist Chris Brammall.
An iron ‘hook’, uncovered by ACE during the original development of Berry Edge, that was used at the steelworks to transport molten steel, has been incorporated into of a 30ft by 20ft artwork which stands at the entrance to Fawcett Park at Genesis Way. The park was officially opened by The Rt Hon the Viscount Devonport who is Chairman of the Project Genesis Trust.
