After months of anticipation, work on The Great Field in Dorchester is set to begin.

The Duchy of Cornwall, which is leading the project, spent much of last year consulting with the community on its plans.

The Duchy received more than 692 detailed responses from the community, including schools and other interested parties, which helped to shape the plans for the park.

This Autumn, The Duchy’s contractors will be providing extensive pathways that will circle and cross the field to encourage walking and jogging, and will cover a perimeter of one mile.

A stepped amphitheatre will be installed near to Damer’s First School, providing a space for an outdoor theatre, events and classroom activities.

As well as this, The Duchy is planting around 450 trees and 26,000 shrubs this Autumn, with further swathes of species rich grassland sown from next Spring.

A natural play area will also be designed for children of all ages and installed next Spring. The play facilities will be placed west of the centre of the park, and the Duchy is exploring design and play equipment options with Dorchester Town Council and specialist play equipment suppliers with a reputation for working with the landscape, using natural materials.

The Duchy has decided to build a parkour/ free running area instead of a skatepark after receiving feedback in favour of the idea.

The total cost of the development is around £860,000, which is being funded by The Duchy of Cornwall, with councillors agreeing to fund around £450,000 of this using money from the arts and recreation budget accumulated from the earlier phases of Poundbury.

Funding and design options for a new pavilion building are being explored with a youth charity to operate the building, which could be designed to provide public access to toilets.

Ben Murphy, Estate Director for the Duchy of Cornwall, said “The Duchy was already committed to providing new play equipment in Poundbury, but we are really excited to be delivering all these additional recreational facilities and landscape improvements on The Great Field because we know from our consultation events how much support there is for this project amongst the wider community. As a general theme, the southern parkland area will continue to provide opportunities for sports and play, with the northern parkland being more of a pastoral ecology park with planting for wildlife and areas for quiet contemplation. Right now, we are busy improving the soil condition and finalising the list of tree species with input from HRH The Prince of Wales. We look forward to all this work being completed by summer 2019.”

Cllr Anthony Alford, Leader of West Dorset District Council said: “The Great Field is a very exciting project that proposes new outdoor facilities, wildlife and pastoral space for the residents of Poundbury and Dorchester. The project is the result of a successful partnership between the Duchy of Cornwall, the Town Council and West Dorset District Council. Following consultation with members, West Dorset District Council has awarded £455,786 of Section 106 money towards the Great Field project. The works are being delivered by the Duchy of Cornwall and once completed, the Town Council will take on the long-term management of the Field.”

Mayor of Dorchester David Taylor said: “The Great Field will become Dorchester’s largest open space, a wonderful contrast to other more formal spaces in the town. I am so impressed with how the design has emerged from an open conversation between the Duchy of Cornwall, the wider community and the Town Council, and am confident that the final outcome will be something that will be attractive to and used by all of the town’s residents. I can’t wait to see the new play equipment being installed and joining the first Park Run.”