South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 03/07/2013

Development funding of £117,000 has been awarded to help South Gloucestershire Council and Friends of Page Park to progress their plans to apply for a full grant of £1.6 million at a later date.

The project will restore the park’s heritage features, provide a new café / community building and deliver a program of activities, events and training that will meet the needs of the local community whilst involving more, and a wider range of people with the park. The project will support a range of activities such as community and heritage celebration events, music in the bandstand, youth activities, get active in the park projects, training and skills development for local people and support for volunteers to help manage the park and much, much more. The project will also restore many of the park’s heritage features such as the stone boundary walls, gateways, clock tower shelter, and drinking fountain and replace the iron railings lost during WW2. There are also plans for a new community building / café with public toilets and upgrades to other buildings in the park. In addition a range of landscape improvements will be made that respect the park’s Edwardian character and enhance biodiversity.

Page Park was originally part of the Hill House estate and was gifted to the community of Staple Hill by a local benefactor, Alderman Arthur William Page in 1910. The heritage of the park is vitally important to the local community as it is part of their social and cultural heritage. The community came together to form the Friends of Page Park in 1999. They are a very strong and committed group working to conserve and restore the park’s heritage and without their tireless efforts, help and support it would not have been possible to secure Heritage Lottery funding.

Cllr Claire Young, Chair of Communities Committee, said: “We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Big Lottery Fund have given us this support. Page Park is the most important green space in Page Park and has been much loved by generations of local people since it was given to the people of Staple Hill in 1910. It is great to know that we are now a step closer to regenerating the park so that future generations can continue to enjoy it.

“Congratulations and thanks must got to the Friends of Page Park and the council officers who supported them for their hard work in mounting this bid. Page Park is valued by the residents of the Staple Hill area who gave wide support to this application.“

Lorna Carter-Stephens, Chair of the Friends of Page Park, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that the park has received this award and we will now work hard to ensure the local community have their say on what activities they would like to see taking place in their park.”

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said on behalf of HLF and the Big Lottery Fund: “We’re delighted to be able to provide this much needed support for Page Park, when it could not be more needed. Many public parks are really suffering in the current economic climate so this is particularly good news for the area. Parks are important to all of us and add so much to our quality of life. Page Park will help to bring the local community together and now, we can help to secure its future.”