ABC Council is on the hunt for a landscape architect to develop ‘parklets’ in Armagh, Portadown and Lurgan.
The local authority has now gone out to tender to bring plans to fruition.
The contract – with an estimated value at just in excess of £340,000 – is for a team to “design, manufacture and install parklets, seating and bins across the urban centres of Armagh, Lurgan and Portadown”.
According to the tender brief: “This team, as a minimum, will comprise a principal designer, quantity surveyor and a planner.
“This commission will include liaising with all relevant stakeholders, the preparation of detailed designs, securing of all necessary statutory approvals, preparation of technical design details, procurement of an Integrated Supply Team to deliver the works, and then management of the delivery of the agreed scope of works.”
The deadline for return of tenders by interested parties is noon on Wednesday, October 8.
The estimated length of the contract is just over four months, with the works expected to be completed by the end of February next year.
The advertising of this contract comes after Armagh I reported in April of last year of plans for a ‘parklet’ at English Street in the city.
The site of the old Green’s barber shop – now long demolished – had been earmarked to ‘provide a public realm area with seating offering the opportunity for people to enjoy and reflect on the beauty of the surrounding buildings’.
It was reported that Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council had agreed to investigate the possibility of taking on a lease for the site and developing it.
A report to the council’s economic development committee at the time revealed: “The parklet will provide a public realm area with seating offering the opportunity for people to enjoy and reflect on the beauty of the surrounding buildings.
“There will be an acknowledgement to the key funders in the form of plaque secured to the side of a chess table which will be available for use by anyone.
“As the restoration of these buildings will offer a huge increase in residential housing in this area, the parklet will be a fantastic, shared community space for residents and visitors alike.
“In order to pursue this project, following agreement of the lease with the owner, planning permission will need to be approved and a suitable contractor will be procured.”
Councillors had agreed to move the scheme further and the costs would be included in its ‘activity plan’ for townscape heritage for the 2024/25 financial year.
The tender documentation – now live – does not give any indication of specific locations within Armagh, Portadown and Lurgan, other than “across the urban centres”.
