Britain’s oldest public park is to get its park keeper back as part of plans for Salford residents to walk in their ancestors’ footsteps.
Councillors, council staff and Friends of Peel Park were celebrating today after hearing that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund has backed the park’s £2.5 million restoration plan with another tranche of funding.
The £1.6 million funding will help continue work to transform the city centre park, recreating the 1890’s layout of paths and terraces as well as bringing it into the digital age.
Councillor Gena Merrett, assistant mayor for housing and environment, said: “Peel Park is a garden for over 20,000 people who already live close by. Between now and 2025 we will see another 7,000 new homes completed within a kilometre of the park so it’s a very important green lung for both Salford and Manchester city centres – as well a major part of our country’s heritage.
“This National Lottery Funding will enable us to recruit a park keeper to work on the project, continue work to open up views, improve the paths, terraces and riverside walkway, enhance the play area, recreate the Victorian style flower beds and establish new wildflower meadows.”
The Reverend Andy Salmon, chair of the Friends of Peel Park, added: “Peel Park is a fantastic resource for our local community and it will be great to see it transformed so more people can enjoy it. Rejuvenating the park will create a great space for an exciting range of activities and events, a place where people can get involved in volunteering and a green oasis where people can relax and play in the heart of our city.
“We also want to open the park up digitally by using 21st century technology to add interest for visitors, to provide information and photos to recreate lost features, let people meet the Victorian gardeners who used to work there and learn about the history, the plants and what’s on and up and coming for the park.”
Peel Park, which opened in 1846, was paid for by public subscription, including many donations from working class men and women. It opened its gates to everyone, when other parks excluded ‘the humbler classes’ by charging and/or using dress codes to restrict entry, making it a world first.
Built on the former Lark Hill estate, Peel Park also pioneered well used public facilities for physical exercise. It included a gym, playground and swings for girls in an age when women were not thought to be strong enough for sport. Four years later Lark Hill mansion, originally the refreshment rooms for the park, was opened as a museum and library – the first unconditionally free public library in Britain.
Speaking on behalf of HLF and the Big Lottery Fund, HLF’s chair Sir Peter Luff said: “We all benefit from spending time outside in the fresh air, so it’s vital that we look after our green spaces, particularly in dense urban areas. National Lottery players’ money will give a boost to Peel Park, helping make sure it has a great future.”
