Funding to restore parks announced

This article is provided courtesy of the news feed at http://www.newstartmag.co.uk/news

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has announced a £1.39m grant to restore Neath’s Victoria Gardens, as well as initially endorsing proposals for ten other historic parks across the UK.

Funding has been earmarked for restoration work and the creation of new visitor facilities at the grade II registered park in Wales, while a series of ‘first-round passes’ - an endorsement of outline proposals - has also been rubberstamped by the HLF for other historic local parks including Belfast, Aberdeenshire and Wolverhampton.

HLF chair Dame Jenny Abramsky said: ‘The HLF has a track record of providing much needed support for public parks across the UK. Without it many of them would revert back to how they were 20 years ago – run-down, neglected and often unsafe.

‘We continue to champion parks, not just because they are an important part of our heritage, but also because they make a huge difference to the quality of so many people’s daily lives.’

Built in 1897 to provide open space for Neath’s expanding population, Victoria Gardens is at the heart of the local community and retains many surviving original features.

The parks receiving first-round passes include:

• Grosvenor Park, Chester – £2.26m bid to support creation of a Green Flag standard park with community involvement.

• Victoria Park, St Helens – £2.79m to assist proposals such as additional tree and flowerbed planting and the creation of a sensory garden and labyrinth.

• Forty Hall Park, Enfield, London – £1.3m bid to help conserve and restore the grounds and maximise potential as a wildlife habitat.

• Dalmuir Park, Clydebank – £732,600 to revitalise woodland areas, upgrade existing play facilities and replace boundary fences and gates.

• Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea – £715,600 bid to protect and build on the unique qualities of one of the oldest municipal parks that played an important role in the ‘Open Parks Movement’ – a campaign for more parks for deprived, working class areas