09 January 2015
Parks' chiefs have welcomed in the new year with a £20.6m National Lottery boost to pay for restoration in historic green spaces.
Seven historic parks will benefit from the new investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund.
Funding aims to help parks generate income and involve volunteers and comes six months after HLF's State of UK Public Parks report highlighted a worrying decline in parks across the UK.
The two Green Flag Award parks who will recieve the investment are; Cannon Hall Park and Gardens in Barnsley and Poole Park in Dorset.
HLF chief executive Carole Souter said: "Since our report was published it's become clearer that parks are facing an uncertain future.
"Our investment will help to regenerate these historic parks and bring to life several exciting plans."
The seven parks include two with joint HLF-Big Lottery grants: Houghton Hall Park in Bedfordshire, which receives almost £2.2m and Highfields Park, Nottingham, awarded over £3,2m.
Parks earmarked for funding include Stanmer Park, Brighton, £4m; Cannon Hall Park and Gardens, Barnsley, £2.8m; The Canons, Mitcham, South London, £4; and Poole Park, Dorset, £3m.
"This investment will help bring communities together. Around 34 million people make visits to our parks. With improved facilities, many more will be drawn to our outdoor spaces," said minister for tourism, Helen Grant.
