Lottery grant paves way for Haringey park transformation
Wednesday 7 May 2008
Plans to restore a 1930s park to its former glory have taken a major stride forward after Haringey Council was awarded a £235,000 development grant from the National Lottery.
The award for Lordship Recreation Ground from the Parks for People initiative, run by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund, will further develop the council’s £6.274million scheme to transform and regenerate this much-loved park.
The redevelopment plans, drawn up in consultation with the park’s Friends group and local residents, include building a new environment centre and a city farm within the N17 park.
If successful in its second funding bid, the council will also uncover the currently culverted River Moselle, which runs through the park, and restore the Shell Theatre and Model Traffic Area, set up in 1938 to teach children about road safety by enabling them to ride bikes and toy cars in a safe environment.
In addition, there are planned improvements to planting, trees, paths, fencing and the park’s lake.
The council hopes that the transformation proposals would lead to a seven-fold increase in visitors to the park, from 55,000 to 355,000 people a year.
Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Lifelong Learning, Cllr Dhiren Basu, said:
“I’m delighted that the Lottery has recognised the potential of our plans, which we hope would transform Lordship Rec into one of the most popular parks in north London.
“The park has some extremely unusual features, but it needs a major facelift to restore it to its former glory. I’m also very excited about the plans for the new environmental centre and the city farm.
“I’d like to thank the local community – and in particular the Friends of Lordship Rec – for their valuable contribution to these plans, and I hope our second funding bid proves successful.”
We and the council have worked very hard together over the last five years and have demonstrated what can be achieved by determined community-led partnership working.”
Dave Morris from the Friends of Lordship Rec said:
|back to top"We are thrilled that the much needed improvements can now go ahead. It’s no more than the people of Tottenham deserve for our largest green space."
The ‘Parks for People’ programme invests Lottery good cause money in regenerating public parks across 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 £160million over three years. The Big Lottery Fund is investing £90 million (in England) and up to £70million 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 £400million. The Big Lottery Fund has invested over £700 million in environment initiatives.
Head of HLF in London, Sue Bowers, said:
“We’re delighted that Haringey 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.”
Debbie Pippard, Big Lottery Fund Head of Region for London, added:
“The proposed improvements to Lordship Recreation Ground will mean that there will be something for everyone in the local community to enjoy. Green spaces are vital in London and we feel that this investment will really improve the local environment for those living nearby as well as provide a green lung for a very densely populated area of north London."
Other parks in London to have been granted awards in this round include Lloyd and Aveling Park, Waltham Forest, which has been awarded a development grant of £167,000.
Every completed park project will be expected to aim for the ‘Green Flag’ – demonstrating quality standards of care and upkeep.
|back to topThe ‘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 the Heritage Lottery Fund website (external link).
|back to top‘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.
|back to topThe 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 £4billion across the UK. For details on future funding for parks and all other HLF programmes from 2008 to 2013, visit the Heritage Lottery Fund website (external link).
HLF has already invested more than £400million in nearly 300 historic public parks, gardens, squares and promenades right across the UK.
|back to topOver £11million 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 £9.7million of this funding.
Grants in the Parks for People programme range from £250,000 to £5million with two rounds of funding each year. The next deadline for round applications is 30 September 2008.
|back to topThe Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has invested more than £700 million on environmental initiatives to date.
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.
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 (external link).
For further information, please contact:
- Vicky Wilford or Priya Shah at HLF’s press office on 020 7591 6046/6027
Email: vickyw@hlf.org.uk or priyas@hlf.org.uk - Jonathan Hall at the Big Lottery Fund on 020 7211 1766
Email: Jonathan.Hall@biglotteryfund.org.uk
Out of hours: 07867 500 572
Photos show:
- Top: Lordship Recreation Ground
- Bottom: an image from a “Restore the Rec” community day held in September 2007 to support the council’s Lottery bid.
Return to Latest News or the News Archive
