£2.6m lottery funding for park is a ‘game changer’
SOUTH Gloucestershire Council and the Friends of Kingswood Park are celebrating after securing a grant of more than £2.6 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to restore Kingswood Park to its former glory.
The council has been working closely with the Friends of Kingswood Park community group to restore and enhance the park, with the latest announcement yesterday being the biggest-ever grant-funded investment for a green space or park in South Gloucestershire.
The grant forms a large part of the total project cost of £3,360,857 and means the Friends can realise their dream of bringing the park back to its former glory, which has been a goal since the volunteer group was formed in 2005.
Restoration of the park is part of the council’s wider £25 million Kingswood Masterplan, a regeneration vision for Kingswood town centre to make it a better place to live, work and visit.
Kingswood Park opened in 1934 and is the only significant area of green space in Kingswood town centre. The next step of the project will be to start implementing plans to make the park and its heritage accessible to everyone, with work expected to begin this spring.
Funding will be used to improve park amenities including new centrally located accessible toilets and changing places facility, an improved and expanded play area with better equipment, an improved performance space, and a mobile refreshment facility, all combining as a hub for the park and local community.
There will also be improvements to signage around the park, restoration of walls, gates and railings and other heritage features, resurfacing of paths, additional new wildlifefriendly planting including native trees, hedges and fruit tree planting.
Access will be improved by building a new “missing link” footpath to create a full circuit of the park, along with the installation of new access ramps.
A three-year programme of activities will also allow people from across the Kingswood community to learn about and celebrate the park’s heritage.
Running alongside the improvement work will be a three-year programme of community events and activities with a focus on health and wellbeing, skills, and training.
Councillor Leigh Ingham, cabinet member for communities and local place at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that the National Lottery Heritage Fund has granted this considerable support to rejuvenate and improve Kingswood Park.
“The park is the most prominent green space in Kingswood town centre and has been enjoyed by generations of local people since 1934. We’re hoping the activities we put on will get even more people enjoying the park on a regular basis. The funding is a game-changer in terms of how we’ll be able to transform and update the park for the benefit of residents and the wider local community.
“As ward member I understand how much of a positive impact this investment into the local community will have and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help and support of the Friends of Kingswood Park. We would like to extend our sincere thanks for their continued work and commitment.”