National Lottery transformation

National Lottery puts Walsall on track for park transformation

The National Lottery has today announced that Walsall Arboretum is on track for a major transformation with a £220,000 development grant to back their exciting regeneration plans.

The go-ahead for the borough’s flagship park to kick-start its scheme has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund’s £160 million ‘Parks for People’ initiative.*

Walsall Council will use the funding to further develop an £8 million scheme to transform and regenerate this much-loved park.

Councillor Louise Harrison, Portfolio Holder for Leisure Culture and Lifelong Learning, welcomed the announcement: “Obviously we’re delighted that our bid has been approved and can take our plans several steps forward for what is an exciting time for everyone who visits and has an interest in Walsall Arboretum. Thanks to investment from the Lottery, we can now go ahead and develop these innovative plans further.”

The project will embrace the restoration of the landscape and buildings, including:

The construction of a flagship visitor centre at the Centre Green which will house a café, meeting room, education classroom, public toilets, reception area, accommodation for staff and changing rooms;
A new youth play facility next to the children’s play area
Restoration of the Grade II listed boathouse to be used by the council’s watersports activity team for boat storage and launching;
Restoration of the bandstand and terraced seating area;
Conversion of a former cafeteria building into a clubhouse for Walsall Ladies Bowling Club;
Conversion of the Lakeside café building;
Improvements to the landscape and entrances, repairs to the park boundaries and footpaths as well as park benches.

Preparation work for the park’s development is now underway and the go ahead from the two lottery funds now means the council can appoint a project manager who will oversee the restoration programme.

The restoration programme will take shape between 2009 and 2012 with the aim of restoring the historic core of the park and bring it into the 21^st century.

The ‘Parks for People’ programme invests Lottery good cause money in regenerating public parks across the UK. The initiative aims to improve the local environment and put parks firmly back at the heart of community life. The two Lottery Funds are working in partnership to deliver this multi-million pound investment of up to £160 million over three years. The Big Lottery Fund is investing £90 million (in England) and up to £70 million is coming from HLF. The scheme is being administered by the HLF, which has been regenerating historic parks for the past 13 years to the tune of over £400 million. The Big Lottery Fund has invested over £700 million in environment initiatives.

Head of HLF in the West Midlands, Anne Jenkins, said: “We’re delighted that Walsall Council has been given the green light to develop their exciting plans. Heritage lottery money has already played a vital role in the renaissance of the UK’s parks for more than a decade but there is much more to be done. This scheme is designed to get the local community really involved and to ensure a much-improved environment and standard of living for all those who use the park.”

Big Lottery Fund Head of West Midlands region, John Taylor, added: “This investment comes at a time when healthy living is on the top of the agenda and our parks play a vital role in improving well-being, the environment and community life. This funding is a tremendous starting point for plans to transform the Walsall Arboretum into a community space that can be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.”

Councillor Barry Sanders, Arboretum Champion, “The Arboretum has a rich and varied history and it’s our aim to capture the park’s original Victorian character and restore some of its early features to their former glory. At the same time we want to create an attraction and an atmosphere that captures the verve of a modern day community recreation facility.”

Local residents and park users will also have a major say on the park’s proposals and a consultation programme will take place during summer and autumn this year to build upon the council’s initial plans.

Every completed park project will be expected to aim for the national ‘Green Flag’ award which sets quality standards of care and upkeep.

Parks funding in May 2008

Over £11 million of grants and development funding has been awarded in May this year. The Rose Gardens in Hertfordshire, South Park Gardens in London, Roberts Park in Bradford and Clifton Park in Rotherham, will share £9.7 million of this funding.

Future funding

Grants in the Parks for People programme range from £250,000 to £5 million with two rounds of funding each year. The next deadline for round applications is 30 September 2008 with a further round of grants due to be awarded in September 2008.

Notes to editors

The ‘Parks for People’ programme has a two-stage application process. *At Stage One, an organisation can apply for a development grant to contribute to the costs of developing the project for a Stage Two application. If a Stage One Pass is awarded, with or without development funding, it does not guarantee a full grant at Stage Two.

CD-ROM application packs can be obtained by calling 020 7591 6042. Further information can be found by visiting www.hlf.org.uk.

‘Parks for People’ is a joint grants programme for public parks in England. HLF provides funding for the programme for parks in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings, to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy. HLF has supported more than 26,000 projects, allocating over £4 billion across the UK. For details on future funding for parks and all other HLF programmes from 2008 to 2013, visit www.hlf.org.uk

HLF has already invested more than £400 million in nearly 300 historic public parks, gardens, squares and promenades right across the UK.

The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has invested more than £700 million on environmental initiatives to date. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

The BIG rolls out close to £2 million in Lottery good cause money every 24 hours, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project. The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.

Good causes

Out of every pound spent on a National Lottery ticket 28p goes directly to good causes. The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for distributing half of the money to improve communities and the lives of people most in need. HLF distributes 16.67 % of the money to heritage projects across the UK. There are 12 other organisations responsible for distributing lottery money to good causes. www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk

Contact

For further information please contact

Vicky Wilford
HLF Communications Account Manager for the West Midlands
Telephone 0207 591 6046
Email vickyw@hlf.org.uk

Jonathan Hall
The Big Lottery Fund
Telephone 020 7211 1766
Email Jonathan.Hall@biglotteryfund.org.uk

Out of hours telephone 07867 500 572

This page was last updated on 12 May 2008