N o r t h E a s t & Yo r k s h i r e
Barnes Park spruced up after 100 years Sunderland City Council marked the centenary of its prized Barnes Park last year with a £3.6 million commitment to restore the popular facility to its original glory and more. The funding for the project has included a contribution of £2.4 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund Parks for People fund. The rest of the funding is made up of contributions of £800,000 from Sunderland City Council, £150,000 from CDENT, £200,000 from Play Pathfinder and £100,000 from the Local Transport Plan. A programme of works which has left no stone unturne d is now ne aring completion. Work at the p ark has involve d ve getation manage ment, water manage ment around the lake, improve ments to a c c ess and se curity, re -surfa cing of p athways and a d dition of a numb er of fe atures, both a esthetic and pra ctic al. A mong newcomers to the p ark are sensory and formal gard ens, fountains, stone and timb er artwork, new c ar p arks, new toilets and changing rooms, ste el and timb er bridges over the lake and the p ark's c entre pie c e b andstand, which will onc e more b e use d for public conc erts. M ain contra ctor Bramble down L andsc a p es, a comp any b ase d in the N orth- E ast which sp e cialises in both contra cting and retail, has b e en le a ding the construction. Bramble down's d evelopment manager, Paul C urry, spoke to Pre mier C onstruction: “ O f the 20 or so proje cts we're involve d in at the moment, this is one of the largest. We typic ally do b etwe en one and thre e of this kind every ye ar, and we like to b e he avily involve d so we've ha d up to 20 of our p e ople on site at the busier times. Ad d in a few sp e cialist sub -contra ctors and we're all set to complete in e arly 2011”. Discussing the extensive pre p aration that ha d b e en put into the proje ct, Paul a d d e d, “The works are extensive: it's a complete make over for the p ark. Some are as have b e en almost strip p e d b are and re constructe d from scratch. Sund erland City C ouncils landsc a p e d esign te am le a d by Phil Dorian took their inspiration from the historic images/plans and the unique topogra phy of the site, as well as working closely with the loc al community and the Friends of B arnes Park”. H e conclud e d, “ B y the time work is finishe d, it will b e like a brand new p ark. It will b e op en p ermanently with exc ellent
46
PREMIER C O NSTRU CTIO N
se curity and with everything we've b e en a d ding to it, there will b e something for everyone to enjoy”.