The park was gifted to the people of Liverpool by Alderman W. B. Bowring in 1906 but had since fallen into disrepair.
This project restored its historic buildings and gardens, established it as a space for new activities and reawakened people’s pride in the park’s history.
Renovations included improvements to access alongside new signage, paths, benches and a community café. The 18th-century stable block and coach house were restored and converted into hubs for community events and activities.
Garden features such as the walls, dell and terrace garden were transformed while elements of the gardens’ original design that had been lost were recreated.
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council also started a new programme of woodland management, planted trees and created meadowland to help nature flourish in the park.
The difference the project made to the lives of local people was huge. It:
- created four full time jobs
- recruited nearly 1,200 volunteers
- welcomed 10,000 visitors to 50 events
- trained 200 people, 139 of whom gained a formal qualification
Councillor Shelley Powell, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods, said the funding allowed the project to “transform this historic park for the benefit of the local community, restoring it to its former glory, preserving it for future generations and creating a significant visitor attraction for the region.”
The restoration was part of our Parks for People programme, which aimed to revitalise historic parks across the UK.
