Park restoration project due to start

Work on the Brinton Park restoration project looks set to start in the next couple of months after Wyre Forest District Council appointed contractors McPhillips (Wellington) Limited to deliver the scheme.

The project is to restore and conserve the park’s historic and natural heritage, fund new and improved facilities in the park and develop training, leisure, and volunteering opportunities. It is a £2.9 million investment into the Kidderminster park which includes a grant of £2.4 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.

The original plans have changed since the grant application was submitted. Legal issues have led to delays, costings have gone up since 2019 and the scheme has had to be redesigned to get within the budget.

The park will now benefit from a café and terrace overlooking a new ornamental pond. The café will be in the Sons of Rest Pavilion. Structural work is needed on the building and the inside is being remodelled to create a new community space too.

The new pond will be on the site of the old paddling pool. A borehole will be installed for the water supply. The pool will attract more wildlife to the park. Other improvements for attracting more wildlife include management of the woodland, installing bat boxes and  landscaping with new flower beds and shrub planting. Work will take place to improve the entrances to the park including a new traffic flow to make the main entrance safer. The toilet block is also being refurbished.

Councillor Tracey Onslow, Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Culture, Leisure, Arts and Community Safety said:

“We are delighted to be able to announce that work is due to start shortly on this project. It has been a long process, the delays have been unavoidable, but we have finally got the designs over the line and our contractors are ready to start. This is a really exciting project for Kidderminster and restoring the People’s Park for everyone’s enjoyment is now about to get underway. “

Planning permission for the project has been granted and discussions are now underway about when works can start on site. The project is expected to take around 14 months to complete.

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