A BID for lottery funding to restore Grosvenor Park has been rejected.
Chester City Council had hoped to raise £3 million through its ‘Parks for People’ bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to carry out much needed improvements at the popular city centre park.
The HLF received £60 million worth of bids from around the country, but only had £20 million available and decided that, although the city council’s bid could not have been better, Šthere were, they believed, more deserving places whereŠ the use of Štheir limited funds would have a stronger social and regeneration impact.
Councillor Eric Plenderleath, executive member for culture and community, said ‘Although this is a huge disappointment, the project team did a fantastic job of pulling the Grosvenor Park bid together.
“It seems that we missed out because Grosvenor Park is not in an area that is as needy as the other parks bids. We must go back, look at the priorities and decide what we can deliver for the park in the short, medium and long term.”
Chris Capes, project manager for the bid, said: “The work we have carried out in consultation with schools, community groups, stakeholders and the general public proves that there is an immediate need to improve Grosvenor Park.
“We need to look at other opportunities we have to improve this very important heritage asset for future generations.”
The city council is still waiting for the results of other applications for funding the project and in the meantime is working with partners on ways to deliver significant improvements to the park in the near future.
