Round two of restoration plans for Mesnes Park has been given the green light by lottery chiefs.
The council and Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust have been awarded a development grant of £12,000 to move forward with the second phase of the much loved Wigan park’s transformation.
In 2007 Heritage Lottery and the Big Lottery awarded £1.8 million to regenerate the park. Funding from the council, leisure trust and Fredericks Ice Cream saw the total investment set to reach £3.4 million.
Work starts early next year and will see the pavilion and bandstand restored to their former glory, the Dalton steps repaired and a multi-purpose play shack refurbished.
The latest grant announcement forms the basis for a further £3.1 million investment and will see the entrance lodge restored for community activities. The main entrance, pillars, gates, railings and footpaths will also be restored and there will be a new crazy golf course, games area, refurbished tennis courts and extreme sports zone.
New lighting and CCTV are also part of the plans and a final announcement on the lottery funding is expected next year.
Wigan Council’s cabinet champion for culture, Cllr Brian Baldwin, said: "This latest grant gives the green light to allow the restoration of this wonderful place. I must pay tribute to the work of the Friends of Mesnes Park for their determination and enthusiasm over the years.”
The popular green space was Wigan’s first municipal park and opened back in 1878 as a ‘green lung’ for the industrial town. Today it receives around two million visitors a year.
