Knowsley Council’s Cabinet has agreed to invest £450,000 to complete the comprehensive, whole site restoration of the historic Bowring Park in Huyton.
The park, the oldest in the borough, is currently benefitting from a £1.9 million Heritage Lottery funded project that is seeing a range of physical improvements implemented, along with new landscape features, replanting of gardens and work to repair, renovate and restore key elements of the park.
This additional funding that has now been agreed by the council will enable the refurbishment of the Coach House to be completed, along with improvements to the stable block.
Cllr Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council, said: “I am delighted that Cabinet colleagues have agreed this additional funding for what is undeniably one of our most historic assets here in Knowsley. The money we secured through the Heritage Lottery fund has been central to allowing us to realise some of our aspirations for the site and therefore we are pleased to be able to allocate additional budget to ensure the complete development and improvements can be delivered.
“We know how much parks and open spaces matter much to our communities and despite our budgets dwindling, we remain committed to investing, wherever possible, to ensure our open spaces are the wonderful much-used assets we want them to be.
“Hopefully once complete, Bowring Park will provide lots of benefits to the Knowsley community and go on to achieve Green Flag status – bringing our total in Knowsley to 19 – something we are incredibly proud of.”
What are the plans for Bowring Park?
When complete, the improvements at the park will provide additional benefits including opportunities for a broad range of community activities, heritage walks, educational links with schools and colleges and volunteering opportunities. It is hoped that this will help to bring more and more people into the park helping to boost health and wellbeing in Knowsley residents.
About Bowring Park
Bowring Park Golf Course
Bowring Park, located at Junction 5 of the M62, is a key gateway into the borough. Alongside the historic parkland, the site is also home to Bowring Park Golf Course – the oldest municipal course in the country. The restoration work is expected to attract a private operator to take over the running of the golf course, with whom the council is keen to explore options to improve the course to bring it up to Championship standards.
Cllr Morgan added: “The restoration at Bowring Park presents us with a fantastic opportunity to not only bring back to life one of our historic assets but also to make wider enhancements to the site that will go on to attract visitors not just from Knowsley but from across the wider region.”