AREAS OF THIS SITE ARE STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION - PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES
Green Spaces and Childhood on Mansel Park
How Green Space Is Used in Millbrook.
This research explores how people use green spaces in Millbrook, with a particular focus on Mansel Park. By combining observations of the park with survey responses from local residents, the project looks at when different areas are busiest, what activities take place there and how green spaces support play, recreation, social connection and family life across generations.
Nadine’s original research set out to understand how the use of green space in Millbrook has changed since the estate was built, particularly in relation to childhood play and outdoor activity. Her planned approach brought together three sources of information: direct observation of Mansel Park, a survey about people’s childhood and present-day use of outdoor spaces, and historic oral-history material. This allowed her to compare how residents remember using green spaces in the past with how those spaces are being used today.
Living on the 24th floor of Millbrook Towers gave Nadine a clear view across Mansel Park. From 29 March to 19 May 2026, she recorded how many people were using different areas of the park at several times of day, including the children’s park, gym, multi-use games area, football pitches, greens, paths and the area around the MP3 Centre. Her findings showed that the children’s park was the most frequently used location, followed by the outdoor gym and the multi-use games area. The evening was the busiest period, rather than the afternoon as she had initially expected.
The children’s park recorded average figures of approximately three visitors in the morning, nine in the afternoon, seventeen in the evening and three in the late evening. Nadine suggests that evenings may be particularly popular because the temperature is cooler, working parents are more available and families are able to spend time outside after dinner. She also notes that the park is especially valuable to residents of Millbrook Towers and other nearby homes without private gardens.
The survey responses added a longer historical and personal perspective. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 67 and recalled using green spaces for football, basketball, roller skating, swimming, hide and seek, tag, hopscotch, “kerbies”, building dens and playing in the mud. Many of those who used Millbrook’s parks as children now take their own children or grandchildren to the same spaces, showing how memories and patterns of outdoor activity are passed between generations.
The research also shows that Millbrook’s green spaces are important social places. Residents described meeting friends, spending time together, watching BMX riders, holding water fights and community barbecues, and attending activities such as pop-up film screenings. These spaces provide more than recreation: they offer opportunities for people to form friendships, connect with neighbours and create shared memories.
Overall, Nadine’s findings suggest that Mansel Park and Millbrook’s wider green spaces remain well used and highly valued. They support children’s play, physical activity, family life, informal gatherings and community connection. The project demonstrates that accessible green space is not simply an attractive feature of the area, but an important part of everyday life in Millbrook.
© 2026. All rights reserved.
Made in Millbrook is a University of Southampton community heritage research project, delivered with support from the Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities and Testlands. The project has received ethical approval through the University of Southampton’s Ethics and Research Governance Online system: ERGO 112697. The views and experiences shared through the project belong to individual contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Southampton or Testlands. Copyright remains with the respective authors, photographers and rights holders; archive material is credited wherever possible.