The scheme for the popular 150-hectare Telford Town Park (created in the 1970s at the centre of the ‘new town’) will focus on making the park welcoming for visitors and improving signage, in addition to involving local people in the park as a place for relaxation, inspiration, adventure and learning whilst conserving fascinating features relating to its industrial past.

The award has been made as part of a £10.6million funding package to six of the UK’s much-loved parks by the HLF and BIG.**

Telford Town Park has provided local residents with a much-loved green space for many years and is used for a wide range of leisure activities including children’s play, jogging, cycling, fishing and general relaxation. The park, containing signs of Telford and Wrekin’s rich industrial heritage such as old pit mounds, chimneys and railway tracks connects Telford’s thriving town centre to the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

Plans for the park include conserving the chimneys and pit mounds and uncovering more of the park’s history relating to iron and coke smelting and brick-making. Education trails will be introduced with opportunities for volunteers to take part in wildlife and horticultural workshops, with a particular emphasis for young people.

Anne Jenkins, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the West Midlands region, said on behalf of HLF and BIG: “Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of the year for our parks and the stunning colours make it the perfect time to get out and enjoy our wonderful open spaces. This joint investment from HLF and BIG, however, will ensure our much-loved parks such as Telford Town Park with its special industrial heritage are looked after and have a major role to play at the very heart of their local communities."

John Taylor, Big Lottery Fund’s Head of the West Midlands region, added: “Today’s Lottery funding is tremendous news for everyone who has worked to transform Telford Town Park into a better community space that can be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike. There will be some fantastic improvements in the park and we’re pleased to be able to play a part in preserving its future.”

The grant will enable the installation of newly designed gateways at each entrance and within the park itself incorporating information boards, maps and direction signs to help visitors improve access to the whole area. Two educational trails will be created and restoration work will improve the ecology of the ponds and waterways within the park.

Councillor Adrian Lawrence, Cabinet for the Environment with Telford and Wrekin Council, said: “It is fantastic that Telford Town Park has won this lottery funding from HLF and BIG. It means we can really move forward with our plans to improve Telford Town Park for local residents and visitors. 

“We are grateful for the effort put in by local voluntary groups and residents who’ve helped make this possible. The Town Park is a core element of our vision to create a vibrant town centre and we are committed to making sure it connects our thriving town centre with the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.”

The project, which will complement the £250million Telford Town centre redevelopment and Dawley Regeneration Scheme both planned to revive the area, is expected to take five years to complete.

Notes to editors

* Today’s second-round pass awards are from the Parks for People programme which has a two-stage or two-round application process. The full grant has now been awarded following a successful second-round application from these parks.  

** The six parks receiving funding in this round are:

• Telford Town Park, Shropshire - £2.1m.
• Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent - £1.8m.
• Whaley Bridge Memorial Park, Derbyshire - £478,000.
• Lordship Recreation Ground, Tottenham, London - £3.8m.
• Mesnes Park, Wigan - £1.9m.
• Cambuslang Park, South Lanarkshire, Scotland - £551,500 (HLF funded only).

The Parks for People programme uses Lottery funds to support the regeneration, conservation and increased enjoyment of public parks. The programme aims to improve the local environment and put parks firmly back at the heart of community life. In England the two Lottery Funds have been working in partnership from 2006 to deliver a multi-million pound investment in public parks of £150m. Over the past three years, the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has invested up to £80m (in England only) with £70m coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the UK.

HLF is continuing to fund public park projects in 2010 with an investment of £20m each year. The next closing date for applications is 28 February 2011. The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) remains committed to working in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in making a success of the Parks for People programme and has allocated £10 million in its grant budget for 2010/11 towards the programme in England.

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported 33,900 projects, allocating £4.4billion across the UK. 

HLF has invested £527m in over 530 historic public parks, gardens, squares and promenades right across the UK.

The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) rolls out close to £2million in Lottery good cause money every 24 hours, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across the UK most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project. BIG, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004.  The Big Lottery Fund and its predecessor bodies have invested more than £1.3billion in environmental initiatives. www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Mote Park and Lordship Lane Recreation Ground are Green Flag winners 2010. Green Flags are a quality standard for public parks. As a condition of Parks for People Lotteries' grant the parks will have to enter for Green Flag status and maintain it for 6 years. www.keepbritaintidy.org/GreenFlag/

Further information

Telford and Wrekin Council Press Office: Jenny McGregor or Russell Griffin on  01952 382 404.

Vicky Wilford, HLF Press Office on 020 7591 6046 / 07973 401 937 or vickyw@hlf.org.uk.

Julia Sweidan, BIG Press Office on 020 7211 1818 or Julia.sweidan@biglotteryfund.org.uk