Tyneside parks are on target for a £7m facelift

Jul 5 2010 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

RESTORATION schemes for three Tyneside parks picked up speed today thanks to lottery cash windfalls.

Wallsend Parks in North Tyneside is on target for a £7m facelift after the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund awarded a grant today of £2.45m.

North Tyneside Council has also pledged £2.85m towards the project.

Wallsend Parks consists of Princes Road Arboretum, Richardson Dees Park and Wallsend Civic Hall grounds.

The HLF also announced it was awarding £109,000 to the council so it can develop final specifications for the revitalisation of Northumberland Park in North Shields ahead of a £2.2m HLF funding application.

The Wallsend Parks funding will be used to:

Extend the Park Lodge to provide office space for council parks staff, police and probation services.

Restore historic features, including the bandstand, lake, Duffy Memorial, Vinery wall and upper promenade at the Civic Hall.

Improve sports and play facilities, planting, and increase management and maintenance.

The plans for Wallsend Parks were drawn up after extensive consultation with the local community, schools, park users and other interested groups.

Pupils from Burnside Business and Enterprise College in Wallsend produced a DVD about the parks to accompany the council’s bid document.

Other grants will be sought to fund further proposed improvements within Wallsend Parks, which include community planting schemes, art features and nature projects. Although the main body of work is due to begin in January some schemes will start this year.

They include work on an adult outdoor gym in August, which will feature a range of exercise equipment to suit all ages, and a new play site in September.

The Wallsend Parks scheme forms a key part of the council’s regeneration of Wallsend town centre.

North Tyneside Mayor Linda Arkley said: “This is fantastic news. Wallsend Parks has been enjoyed by residents for generations but have gradually fallen into decline over the years.

“With this investment we will be able to revitalise Wallsend Parks and make sure it once again meets the needs of the local community.”

Inspector Pam Bridges, of the Wallsend Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This upgrade to the park facilities will ensure the park is a safe and happy environment for Wallsend residents and visitors to enjoy for many years to come.”

In 1897 Robert Richardson Dees bequeathed land to Wallsend Corporation for the creation of a public park.

It was originally named Wallsend Park and was opened on June 4, 1900. The park was created so that people could escape the pollution and noise of the busy industrial town. In 1916, the then owner of Wallsend Hall, Sir GB Hunter, presented the Hall Grounds to the corporation in order that it could also be used as a public park. The hall grounds provided open space for leisure and recreation. Northumberland Park was opened in 1885 by the Duke of Northumberland who donated the land. It includes wooded areas, a pond, two bowling greens a play site, a pet cemetery and the medieval remains of St Leonard’s Hospital.

Both plans are part of a council scheme to regenerate parks across North Tyneside, including Killingworth Lake Park, Tynemouth Park and Churchill Playing Fields.