Get in touch with residents to shape local space.

A west country redevelopment project is giving residents a lead role in transforming local public spaces.

Over the next month, members of six communities around Bath will be participating in a series of workshops, in which they will design and build new infrastructure in their local parks.

Workshops by Bristol-based play installation specialists Touch wood Enterprises are part of a wider drive by Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council to improve park play facilities for 8-13 year olds.

Touch Wood uses simple traditional woodcraft techniques to engage members of the local community. Participants build a wooden structure such as a play or seating installation that will have an immediate impact on their park, before being asked for suggestions for further redevelopment.

Touch wood director Joe Cooper, said the activities build a sense of community ownership over changes taking place to the landscape.

"People feel like they have ownership of the park because they helped build it," he said. "This is a very effective way of tackling issues such as vandalism or anti-social behaviour."

Several BAKES communities have already shown what they are capable of with residents of Camerton, a village near Bath, building a covered seating area as a meeting place for youngsters in their local park, and Twerton, residents contributing to a dramatic spider climbing structure.

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