Latest News
The Garden Room at Wepre Park Visitor Centre
Published: 22/07/2015
The Heritage Lottery Funded (HLF) extension to the Wepre Park Visitor Centre
was opened recently by the Vice Chair of Flintshire County Council Peter Curtis
and Cllr Gill Faulkner Chair of Connahs Quay Town Council.
The Garden Room as the extension will be known is a much needed educational and
community resource for the park and local people. The room looks out on to the
old formal gardens of Wepre Hall which will be fully restored as part of the
project. The new space will provide both a classroom and meeting space for a
variety of groups and will be available to hire out.
The £583,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund Parks for People programme
has enabled a package of much needed improvements across the park including new
fencing and footpaths, a programme of heritage themed educational activities
for school visits and support for the current Friends of Wepre Park volunteer
group with training opportunities in conservation and horticultural skills, as
well as restoration of the Old Hall Pleasure gardens and interpretation to help
local people and visitors explore the story of the Park, Old Hall Gardens and
Ewloe Castle.
Cllr. Bernie Attridge, Cabinet Member for environment said,
I am delighted with development of this wonderful new facility that I am sure
will be enjoyed by many people and will complement the other marvellous
resources visitors to Wepre Park already enjoy. The gardens, when restored,
will also bring back to life a vital part of this historic and much loved area
of Connahs Quay.
Richard Bellamy, Head of HLF in Wales said,
“We are fortunate in Wales to have some fantastic public parks. They are
places that everybody can visit and enjoy. However, as detailed in our State
of UK Public Parks report, it has become clear that public parks across the UK
are at risk from budget cuts. We are therefore very pleased to see that HLF
funding for Wepre Park is helping the park return to its former glory, once
again being a community asset, essential to the local economy and public health
and wellbeing.”
Tom Woodall Head of Flintshire Countryside Service said:
It is a fantastic addition to the facilities at Wepre Park and we look forward
to seeing the Garden Room being used by a wide range of groups.
Note to editors:
About the Heritage Lottery Fund:
From the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we
love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife, we use National
Lottery players money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect
the heritage they care about.
The Heritage Lottery Fund is the UK’s largest dedicated funder of heritage:
· It invests around £430million a year on a broad range of projects - from
museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and
cultural traditions
· HLF has supported just over 38,000 projects allocating more than £6.6billion
across the UK since the establishment of the Lottery in 1994
· In Wales HLF has invested over £323million and supported over 2,300 projects
in local communities all over the country.
· Visit the website www.hlf.org.uk or follow HLF on Twitter @HLFCymru
The Parks for People programme uses Lottery funds to support the regeneration,
conservation and increased enjoyment of public parks and the conservation of
cemeteries. The programme aims to improve the local environment and put parks
firmly back at the heart of community life. HLF is continuing to fund public
park projects in 2015/16 with an investment of £34.7m. The next closing date
for applications is 1 September 2015. See www.hlf.org.uk for details.