Park plans get first round green light
by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
04/03/2008
Plans to give one of Fulham’s best loved parks a facelift have been given a boost by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Councillors last night agreed to apply for a £4 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Parks for People programme to improve Bishops Park and part of Fulham Palace – and backed the scheme by earmarking up to £2 million from the local authority itself.
The partnership project comes after extensive consultation with residents who have been instrumental in designing a park they want. Feedback from a public open day in November showed that 90 per cent of residents who spoke to the council were pleased with the proposals.
Councillor Paul Bristow, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “From the outset our residents have been at the heart of this project and this design incorporates all the features and uses they wanted for their park.
“We must now hope that our application is successful so that the community will be able to enjoy what will be a beautiful space.”
The bid must be submitted by the end of March and a decision is expected in September. If it is successful, detailed designs will be developed and submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund for approval with work due to start in 2010.
In Bishops Park this includes restoration of the lake, pond, balustrade and Fulham Beach, which hark back to Victorian times. The pitch and putt golf course will return, the outdoor play area will move to another part of the park and an interactive fountain will be built on the site of the former bandstand. The café building will be refurbished with new toilet blocks and an extension serving as a community room and bowls club.
At Fulham Palace, there are plans to restore and extend the stable block for proposed shop use and education activities, bring back the vinery and herb garden, restore the bothy, reinstate a section of the moat and renovate the Gothic Lodge as the head gardener’s cottage.
